When life hands you lemons in the form of coronavirus and cancellations, you make lemonade by pivoting from an in-person announcement to a virtual event. That pivot is exactly what Frito-Lay did when it awarded $100,000 in business grants to three female entrepreneurs.
The inaugural WomanMade Challenge hosted its finalist pitch-slam online after Natural Products Expo West was postponed indefinitely, awarding $100,000 in business grants to three female entrepreneurs on March 6 as planned. Originally intended to be a live, rapid-fire event, WomanMade leveraging the conferencing software Zoom instead.
Ten finalists presented to the panel of five judges. The winning entrepreneurs are due to receive $50,000, $30,000 and $20,000 grants, respectively.
Those winners are:
- 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.
Originally posted on February 13:
On your mark. Get set. Pitch.
Ten female entrepreneurs will get their chance to pitch their business plans in front of Frito-Lay leaders and industry experts on March 6, 2020 during Expo West in Anaheim, CA.
The pitch-fest is part of the WomanMade Female Founders Funding Challenge, a PepsiCo initiative "committed to advancing female-founded businesses in the food and beverage industry."
Business pitches were due in February 7, 2020 and top 10 finalists will pitch their business plans in a live, rapid-fire format in hopes of winning $100,000 in business grants.
The winner of the WomanMade Funding Challenge will receive $50,000 in funding, second place will receive $30,000 and third place will receive $20,000.
