September 22, 2022

Applications open today for the opportunity to be one of four women running small businesses who will be awarded a $15,000 CAD grant and access to a mentorship program with leadership from PepsiCo Foods Canada and Frito-Lay .

As a woman-founded business, the Stacy's brand believes in celebrating and supporting women with entrepreneurial passions. For the first time, the snack brand will be launching the Stacy’s Rise Project™ in Canada as part of its ongoing efforts to support women entrepreneurs who are still experiencing a lack of resources needed to help them rise.

Starting today until October 28, 2022, Canadian women running small businesses can apply for the Stacy’s Rise Project™ at www.stacysriseproject.ca. Four recipients will be selected to receive a $15,000 CAD grant and gain access to a once-in-a lifetime mentorship opportunity with PepsiCo Foods Canada and Frito-Lay leadership from across North America to help them grow their business.

“After a successful U.S. launch in 2019, we are proud to expand the Stacy’s Rise Project and start our journey in Canada where there are more than 1.1 million entrepreneurs.  Across the country, women-owned businesses receive an estimated 4% of VC funding so we know there is more to be done,” said Jess Spaulding, Chief Marketing Officer of PepsiCo Foods Canada. “It is important for programs like the Stacy’s Rise Project to continue expanding, so that more women receive the support they need through funding, mentorship and resources.” 

For its Canadian launch, the Stacy’s Rise Project™ has partnered with the Women’s Enterprise Organizations of Canada (WEOC), an authority on women’s entrepreneurship in the country. Together, the organizations aim to address the unique challenges that women face and support them on their paths to establishing a successful business through funding, mentorship, and community.

“Despite the many barriers experienced by women entrepreneurs in Canada and the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, women continue to play a leading role in the management of new businesses, creation of jobs and advancing innovation,” said Alison Kirkland, CEO of Women’s Enterprise Organizations of Canada. “Supporting women entrepreneurs is integral to the recovery and growth of our national economy and it is programs like the Stacy’s Rise Project that bring us closer to gender parity in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.”

Based on a 2022 study by Maru/Blue, commissioned by the Stacy’s brand, nearly 9 in 10 Canadians (87 per cent) agree that there needs to be more support and resources (such as funding and mentorship programs) to help support women entrepreneurs in Canada.

Furthermore, only about half of Canadian women entrepreneurs are aware of the support programs available to them (51 per cent) or believe they have a strong network of support and mentorship (52 per cent). With programs like the Stacy’s Rise Project™, it is important to continue to empower more Canadian business founders to gain access to the resources they need.

About The Stacy’s Rise Project™

Since 2017 in the U.S., Stacy’s Pita Chips has connected thousands of women with each other and provided nearly $1,000,000 in funding, in addition to resources and mentoring to elevate the leaders that help our communities thrive. The Stacy’s Rise Project™ was launched in the U.S. in 2019 and has since supported over 50 women founders and provided over $450,000 (USD) in grants. This is the first year the program has expanded to Canada in the brand’s effort to support women entrepreneurs across North America.

This year, the project will also be debuting a short film, directed by Canadian film director Nisha Ganatra and narrated by Punjabi-Canadian best-selling poet Rupi Kaur. The film will feature four past Stacy’s Rise recipients and the stories of their struggle and success as entrepreneurs to bring to light the resilience and fortitude needed to propel us into the future.

The film is produced in partnership with Hello Sunshine, a media company founded by actress Reese Witherspoon with the goal of creating and discovering content that celebrates women.

For more information on the program, please visit: www.stacysriseproject.ca.

Stacy’s Woman-Founded Story

As a women-founded business that grew from a sandwich cart to nationwide distribution, the Stacy’s brand is building upon its legacy of helping women rise through the Stacy’s Rise Project™.

When Stacy Madison started making pita chips at her sandwich cart in Boston, she knew passion, hard work, and using only quality ingredients were what her customers deserved. Stacy would make baked pita chips every day and would hand them out as free samples to customers waiting in line for their sandwich. The samples were an immediate hit, and Stacy’s Pita Chips was founded shortly after in 1997.

Now, more than two decades later, the brand is still committed to its values and doing what it takes to make the best snacks. True to the brand’s history as a women-founded business, the Stacy’s Rise Project™ was created to help women entrepreneurs of today through mentorship, grants and community.

About Stacy’s

Stacy's is one of the many brands that make up Frito-Lay North America, the $17 billion convenient foods division of PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE: PEP), which is headquartered in Purchase, NY. Learn more about Frito-Lay at the corporate website, http://www.fritolay.com/ and on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/fritolay.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $79 billion in net revenue in 2021, driven by a complementary beverage and convenient foods portfolio that includes Lay's, Doritos, Cheetos, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Quaker, and SodaStream. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including many iconic brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.

Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Beverages and Convenient Foods by Winning with PepsiCo Positive (pep+). pep+ is our strategic end-to-end transformation that puts sustainability and human capital at the center of how we will create value and growth by operating within planetary boundaries and inspiring positive change for planet and people. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com.

About PepsiCo Foods Canada

PepsiCo Foods Canada is comprised of the Frito Lay Canada and Quaker Canada businesses. The company employs over 6,000 Canadians with seven manufacturing plants and sales and distribution facilities from coast to coast. Frito Lay Canada is the country's largest snack food manufacturer and the company's brands include Lay's®, Doritos®, Tostitos®, Ruffles®, Smartfood® and Cheetos®. The Quaker brand portfolio includes a wide range of wholesome cereals, oatmeal, rice and corn snacks and snack bars, and features other prominent brands such as Life®, Quaker Chewy®, Harvest Crunch® and Crispy Minis®. For more information, please visit www.pepsico.ca.

About WEOC

Women's Enterprise Organizations of Canada is a leading voice in the women's entrepreneurial ecosystem and supports a diverse membership of organizations that directly impact the growth and success of women entrepreneurs. For more information, www.weoc.ca.

For further information, please contact:

Sara Hoffman, Citizen Relations - sara.hoffman@citizenrelations.com