Corporate Backgrounder
A corporate backgrounder is a one- to two-page document that explains who a company is: what it sells, who runs it, how big it is and how it got here. It answers the questions a journalist or investor would otherwise have to ask you.
What a corporate backgrounder is
A backgrounder is the reference document behind a story. A press release reports one piece of news; a backgrounder supplies the context around it — history, products, leadership, size, market and milestones — so a reporter can write accurately without a round of questions.
Most companies keep one backgrounder and update it, rather than writing a new one each time. Attach it to a media kit, link it from a media page, and send it alongside a press release when the audience doesn't know the company yet.
Backgrounder vs. boilerplate vs. fact sheet
| Document | Length | Job |
|---|---|---|
| Boilerplate | 40–120 words | The "About [Company]" paragraph pasted at the end of every release. Barely changes. |
| Fact sheet | One page, bullets | Numbers and specifics: sites, employees, prices, dates. Little explanation. |
| Corporate backgrounder | 1–2 pages, prose | Explains the company as a whole, with enough narrative for a reporter to summarize it. |
| Executive bio | 100–250 words | One person: role, background, credentials, quote-ready detail. |
In short: a boilerplate is a paragraph, a fact sheet is a list, and a backgrounder is the story of the business.
What to include
- Overview: what the company does, in one paragraph a stranger could repeat.
- History: founding year, founders, the reason it started, major pivots.
- Products or services: lines of business and who buys them.
- Markets served: regions, industries, customer segments, typical deal size.
- Company facts: legal name, headquarters, employee count, facilities, revenue range if you publish one, registration number if the audience is corporate.
- Leadership: names, titles and a line of background each.
- Milestones: dated achievements — launches, funding, awards, expansions.
- Media contact: a named person and an email that reaches a human.
Keep the tense consistent: history in the past tense, everything current in the present. Use AP style for titles, dates and numbers. Write it so that any single paragraph can be lifted whole — that's what reporters actually do.
Full example
Harvest Lane Markets
Overview. Harvest Lane Markets is a family-owned grocery chain operating 22 stores in Oregon and Washington. The company is known for produce sourced from farms within 150 miles of each store, a house bakery in every location, and a membership program that funds local food-bank deliveries.
History. Marisol Okonkwo and Peter Lind opened the first Harvest Lane store in Eugene, Ore., in 2004, converting a closed hardware store. The company added a distribution center in 2011, expanded into Washington in 2015, and passed 20 stores in 2023. It remains privately held and 100% family owned.
Products and services. Grocery, bakery and deli; a private-label line of pantry goods under the Harvest Lane name; online ordering with curbside pickup, now around 18% of store volume. The company also operates a small commercial bakery that supplies 40 regional restaurants.
Markets served. Households in 31 Oregon and Washington communities, with a typical store of 24,000 square feet drawing from a 10-mile radius. Restaurant and wholesale accounts make up just under 9% of revenue.
Company facts. Founded 2004. Headquarters: Eugene, Ore. 1,860 employees, 74% of them full time. 22 stores, one distribution center, one commercial bakery. Fiscal 2026 revenue: $412 million.
Leadership. Marisol Okonkwo, co-founder and CEO, previously a buyer at a national chain. Peter Lind, co-founder and chief operating officer, grew up in a family grocery business. Dana Whitfield, chief financial officer, joined in 2018.
Milestones. 2004 first store opens · 2011 distribution center · 2015 first Washington store · 2019 local farm partnership program launches · 2023 20th store · 2026 curbside pickup reaches 22 locations.
Media contact: Dana Whitfield, press@harvestlane.example, (541) 555-0110
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Fictional example for illustration. A backgrounder has no news in it, so it needs no dateline.
Backgrounder template
CORPORATE BACKGROUNDER [Company Name] [Subtitle: sector, size, locations] Overview [Two or three sentences: what the company does, for whom, where.] History [Founding year, founders, why it started, key turning points, ownership.] Products and Services [Lines of business, flagship product, pricing model, anything unusual.] Markets Served [Regions, industries, customer segments, rough scale.] Company Facts Founded: [year] | Headquarters: [city, state] | Employees: [n] Locations: [n] | Ownership: [private / public, ticker] Revenue: [figure or range, and the fiscal year] Leadership [Name], [Title] - [one line of background] [Name], [Title] - [one line of background] Milestones [Year] - [what happened] [Year] - [what happened] Media Contact [Name] | [Email] | [Phone] ###
How long should it be?
One to two pages, 600–900 words. If a reporter can't find your founding year, employee count and three products in ten seconds, the document is too long. Company profiles also feed the "About" section of a release — the same facts, trimmed to two sentences, become your boilerplate.
Need the paired documents? Have our editors write the backgrounder as part of your release — packages start at $195 and include a live-link report. Sample announcements show how the pieces sit together, and a backgrounder pairs well with a company registration number or EIN on the boilerplate.
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Start My Order — From $195 See pricing »FAQ
What is the difference between a backgrounder and a press release?
A press release carries news and has a dateline and an angle. A backgrounder has no news and no dateline — it's the standing reference document you attach when a reporter needs context.
Does a corporate backgrounder need a dateline?
No. Datelines belong to news. See AP style datelines for the rules when you do have news.
Should I include revenue in a backgrounder?
Include it if you're comfortable being quoted on it. If not, use a band ("revenue in the $10–20 million range") or leave it out and let the reporter ask.
How often should I update it?
Twice a year, and immediately after anything structural — a new CEO, a new location, a funding round, a name change.