Society of Product Safety Professionals

What Society of Product Safety Professionals does

The Society of Product Safety Professionals (SPSP) is a nonprofit professional membership association founded in 2016 and headquartered at 4571 Laclede, #326, St. Louis, MO. It was established by a group of consumer product safety professionals with shared Saint Louis University educational backgrounds to create formal career development, education, and certification pathways in the product safety field. The organization serves product safety professionals working at manufacturers, retailers, consulting firms, government agencies, and industry associations, with board representation from Mattel, 3M, Samsung, Spin Master, BRP, Milwaukee Tool, Amazon, and other major consumer product companies.

SPSP's product portfolio comprises three structured educational programs organized around the proprietary Five Pillars of Knowledge framework (Organizational Culture and Ethics, Risk Assessment and Management, Regulatory Compliance, Incident Management and Forensics, and Product Recalls and Returns). The Fundamentals of Product Safety Program is a 2.5-day orientation for entrants or those seeking a refresher. The Advanced Practices in Product Safety Program is a $1,900 immersive course for experienced practitioners preparing for senior roles. The Certified Product Safety Professional (CPSP) Program is a $3,900 hybrid certification comprising in-person workshops, online webinars, and a multi-stage assessment culminating in a live case study presentation before an expert panel. The organization also offers an ongoing webinar series, an Ask the Expert Q&A service, and a $125/year individual membership providing member-only content, discounts, and networking. Webinar content is sponsored exclusively by Sedgwick Brand Protection.

Revenue is generated from membership dues, program tuition, and certification fees, delivered through a community-led GTM model leveraging industry networks, peer referrals, partnerships with ASTM, ICPHSO, JPMA, and venue partners including Virginia Tech, 3M Innovation Center, and Bureau Veritas laboratories. SPSP operates with 1-10 employees and a volunteer board of directors led by President Joe Mohorovic, a former U.S. CPSC Commissioner (2014-2017). The organization maintains no disclosed external investors, parent company, or private equity ownership, and operates as a member-governed nonprofit.

Name

Society of Product Safety Professionals

Legal name

Society of Product Safety Professionals

Website

https://productsafetyprofessionals.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Society of Product Safety Professionals is a nonprofit membership association founded in 2016 in St. Louis that provides education, certification, and networking for product safety professionals working at manufacturers, retailers, consultants, and government agencies, anchored by the CPSP credential.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Certification and Training Services

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Professional and Management Development Training (61143)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Quality Assurance, GxP Compliance & Auditing FSP (HLAGAOAE)

Keywords

• Professional certification programs
• Product safety education
• Consumer product compliance
• Professional association membership
• Workforce training services

Headquarters

HQ city

St Louis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership dues of $125 providing access to member-only content, discounted program fees, networking opportunities, and Ask the Expert confidential Q&A access.
2. Advanced Practices Program: Tuition-based educational program priced at $1,900 for the 2.5-day intensive course held at partner locations, with $150 discount for members.
3. Certification Program: Comprehensive certification program priced at $3,900 including in-person workshops, online webinar series, and examination fees. Final application deadline August 6, 2026.
4. Fundamentals Program: Orientation and training program for new product safety professionals, conducted over 2.5 days at partner laboratory locations with optional tours.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

SPSP delivers professional development and certification services for product safety professionals, offering three structured educational programs (Fundamentals, Advanced Practices, and Certified Product Safety Professional), a free sponsored webinar series, and an annual individual membership that grants access to member-only content, discounted program fees, and the Ask the Expert Q&A service. All programming is built around the Five Pillars of Knowledge framework covering organizational culture, risk assessment, regulatory compliance, incident management, and product recalls.

Product overview

The Society of Product Safety Professionals (SPSP) offers a portfolio of educational programs and professional development services for the product safety field. The core offerings include three structured educational programs (Fundamentals of Product Safety, Advanced Practices in Product Safety, and the Certified Product Safety Professional certification program), a webinar series with live and archived content, an Ask the Expert Q&A service, and a membership program. All programs are built around the Five Pillars of Knowledge framework, which serves as the common foundation for developing, assessing, and advancing product safety knowledge and professional practice.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SPSP Membership Program Annual individual membership ($125) granting product safety professionals access to member-only website content, discounted registration fees for educational programs, the Ask the Expert Q&A service, and networking with other product safety professionals.
• Fundamentals of Product Safety Program An orientation and training program for new product safety professionals or experienced practitioners seeking a refresher, conducted over 2.5 days at partner laboratory locations with optional testing facility tours. Covers organizational culture, risk assessment, hazard identification, and recall management.
• Advanced Practices in Product Safety Program Immersive 2.5-day training program priced at $1,900 tuition (members save $150) for experienced product safety professionals seeking to deepen skills and prepare for senior specialist or management roles. Covers strategic leadership, risk management, and recall strategy. Hosted at partner venues including the 3M Innovation Center.
• Certified Product Safety Professional (CPSP) Program Comprehensive professional certification program priced at $3,900, awarding the Certified Product Safety Professional (CPSP) designation upon successful completion of a multiple-choice exam, written essay, and live case study presentation before a panel of experts. Includes in-person workshops at Virginia Tech Alexandria, five live online webinars, materials, and meals.
• SPSP Webinar Series Free hour-long educational webinars on product safety topics featuring expert speakers from industry and government, with an archive of past webinar videos, slides, and resource materials. Sponsored exclusively by Sedgwick Brand Protection.
• Ask the Expert Q&A knowledge service where product safety professionals submit questions to be answered by SPSP experts, with responses posted publicly on the website. Accessible to members as part of the annual membership benefits.

Quantifiable outcome

• Professionals earn Certified Product Safety Professional (CPSP) designation upon successful completion of certification program
• +1 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Sedgwick Brand ProtectionflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerSedgwick Brand Protection is the exclusive sponsor of the SPSP webinar series. Since 1995, Sedgwick has managed more than 5,000 of the most sensitive and time-critical global product recall and remediation programs spanning 60+ countries and 20+ languages. SPSP webinars are presented with special thanks to Sedgwick.
• Virginia TechcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVirginia Tech hosts the 2026 Consumer Product Safety Professional Certification Program at its Alexandria location. The partnership provides the venue for in-person opening and closing workshops as part of the hybrid certification format.
• 3McoreStrategic or Co-development Partner3M hosts the Advanced Practices in Product Safety program at its Innovation Center in St. Paul, MN. The 2025 program runs September 17-19, 2025, facilitated by SPSP with venue and tour of 3M Innovation Center included.
• AmazonminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAmazon sponsors the evening networking event (boat trip and dinner) for Day 1 of the Advanced Practices program, with transportation provided.
• Bureau VeritasminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBureau Veritas consumer product testing laboratories in Buffalo, NY are included as an optional tour during the Fundamentals of Product Safety program, providing hands-on exposure to testing facilities.
• ASTM InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSPSP board member Don Mays serves as Chairman of ASTM F15 Committee on Consumer Products. The organization maintains deep ties to standards development processes, with programs aligned to ASTM standards and regulatory frameworks.
• ICPHSO (International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMultiple SPSP board members and instructors serve on the ICPHSO board of directors and executive committee. Board member Chris Harvey serves on ICPHSO's board of directors and executive committee. SPSP collaborates on educational programming.
• JPMA (Juvenile Product Manufacturers Association)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSPSP board member Lisa Trofe serves as Executive Director of JPMA. JPMA represents 95% of baby product manufacturers in the U.S. and is a referral source for member professionals.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society (RAPS): Global professional society for regulatory professionals in healthcare and adjacent industries, offering the RAC credential. Highly comparable membership, training, and certification model targeting a single occupational specialty, mirroring SPSP's CPSP approach for product safety.
• Society for Standards Professionals (SES): Professional association for standards professionals offering education, certification, and networking — a structural analogue to SPSP's model, but focused on standards development practitioners rather than product safety practitioners specifically.
• American Society for Quality (ASQ): Largest U.S. professional association offering quality and compliance-related certifications (CQE, CQA). Closely comparable membership-and-certification business model targeting professionals responsible for product quality, risk, and regulatory compliance — a near-adjacent occupational niche to SPSP's product safety focus.
• National Association for Healthcare Quality (NAHQ): Professional association offering the CPHQ certification for healthcare quality professionals. Same membership-plus-certification business model targeting a specialized compliance/quality occupation, providing a useful structural comp for SPSP's CPSP program.
• International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization (ICPHSO): Membership organization specifically focused on consumer product health and safety. Operates in the same product-safety niche as SPSP, with overlapping leadership and shared programming — making it a direct peer as well as an active partnership counterpart.

Broad incumbents

• Intertek: Global testing, inspection, and certification company with a substantial product-safety training business and prior employer of SPSP's president. Competes for the same corporate training dollars with deeper resources and global delivery.
• ASTM International: Global standards development organization whose F15 Committee on Consumer Products is chaired by an SPSP board member. Wider scope (industrial standards across many sectors) but directly relevant because SPSP's curriculum is built around ASTM standards.
• Bureau Veritas: Global testing, inspection and certification firm that hosts SPSP's Fundamentals program lab tour. Operates consumer-product testing labs and offers adjacent training to manufacturers — a direct adjacent incumbent for corporate training share.
• UL Solutions: Global testing, inspection and certification company that also offers product-safety training to manufacturers and retailers. Serves the same buyer base as SPSP but with a far broader services portfolio and at significantly greater scale.

Emerging players

• Juvenile Product Manufacturers Association (JPMA): Industry trade association representing 95% of U.S. baby product manufacturers; its executive director sits on SPSP's board. Adjacent rather than overlapping — JPMA certifies juvenile products while SPSP certifies the professionals who manage product safety.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.productsafetyprofessionals.org%2Fpaymembership%2Ffull-membership-rf7bx
• Facebookfacebook.com/societyofproductssafet
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/spsp-society-of-product-safety-professionals

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Society of Product Safety Professionals