PepsiCo brand Frito-Lay’s inaugural WomanMade Challenge hosted its finalist pitch-slam online, awarding $100,000 in business grants to three female entrepreneurs.
Originally intended to be a live, rapid-fire event, WomanMade leveraged the power of technology to carry on virtually via Zoom after Natural Products Expo West was postponed indefinitely last week.
Ten finalists, chosen from more than 100 applicants, presented to the panel of five judges comprised of PepsiCo executives, fellow entrepreneurs and other industry experts before three were named winners:
- First Place: Sashee Chandran; founder of Tea Drops, organic shaped teas that dissolve instantly in hot water and generate 20% less waste than traditional tea packaging.
- Second Place: Nydia Shipman; co-founder of The Worthy Company, the first plant-based, all-in-one snack bowl made for on-the-go.
- Third Place: Kate Flynn; co-founder of Sun & Swell Foods, on a mission to make healthy, on-the-go snacking more accessible.
The winning female entrepreneurs will receive $50,000, $30,000 and $20,000 grants, respectively, that can be used in any aspect of their businesses.
“Female founders are the epitome of persistence in the face of unexpected obstacles, so we as a team knew immediately that we couldn’t let the cancellation of Expo West deter us from bringing the WomanMade Challenge finalists together and awarding our winners,” said Ciara Dilley, vice president of marketing, transform brands & portfolio innovation Frito-Lay North America. “We are so grateful to the finalists and judges who adopted new technology to join us in ending the week on an uplifting note, inspired by all 10 women and the brands they are building.”
The 10 finalists of the inaugural WomanMade Expo West Challenge represented a diverse group of business owners:
- Half of the finalist companies are founded by women of color.
- Four of the 10 finalists are Certified B Corporations.
- Half of the companies are founded by moms.
- Four of the organizations are committed to increasing access to better-for-you snacks.
- Four of the businesses are partnered with charitable organizations or donate proceeds of sales to charitable causes.
- Three of the companies have gluten-free products.
- Half of the finalists’ products are organic.
- Three of the companies are non-GMO or Non-GMO Project Verified.
- Four of the contestants have created vegan food or beverages.
According to PitchBook, in 2019, female entrepreneurs again received a meager percentage of all venture capitalist funding, specifically 2.8%, up from 2.2% the year before. Research conversely shows that women-owned businesses have an average ROI of two times per dollar invested and that companies with diverse management teams deliver higher on innovation while also having lower employee turnover.
In addition to awarding a total of $100,000 in business grants to three female entrepreneurs, in partnership with Hello Alice, a free multi-channel platform that helps New Majority Entrepreneurs, all applicants will receive support for their business through the WomanMade Community on Hello Alice, as well as tickets to Hello Alice’s Business for All conferences in 2020.