Plano, TX — Stacy’s Pita Chips, a brand owned by PepsiCo, is launching the 2024 Stacy’s Rise Project, a program that will award 15 female business founders a $25,000 grant, mentorship and community resources.
This year the company is also introducing Stacy’s Rise Pies, pie-crust cookies that provide people with more ways to directly support women-owned businesses. The company explains that the pie deliveries illustrate what 2 percent of the pie looks like.
Former Stacy’s Rise Winner Janie Deegan of Janie’s Life-Changing Baked Goods created the Stacy’s Rise “Pies,” inspired by her iconic Pie Crust Cookies. Deegan has brought passion for baking with a purpose to the kitchen table as she also provides second-chance employment, provides mentorship for New York City youth, and donates time and baked goods to local community centers and homeless shelters.
“Receiving a grant from Stacy’s in 2017 allowed me to quit my day job, fully pursue my passions, and focus on making positive changes in my community,” says Deegan. “Every year, Stacy’s Rise helps more women make their entrepreneurial dreams a reality and those women give right back to the community. I was thrilled to team up with Stacy’s again to encourage other founders to apply to the Stacy’s Rise Project and help draw attention to how much more funding should be going to support women entrepreneurs.”
A special take on Janie’s Famous Pie Crust Cookie, Stacy’s Rise Pies includes pie crust and a layer of apple pie filling; topped with caramelized streusel and Stacy’s Cinnamon Sugar Pita Chips. They are available via StacysRise.com through Thanksgiving, or while supplies last, for $25 plus shipping. In addition, every Stacy’s Rise Pies order will include a selection of products from some of the previous Stacy’s Rise Project winners during the past five years. 100 percent of the proceeds from the Stacy’s Rise Pie purchases will go to Deegan’s business, Janie’s Life-Changing Baked Goods.
Applications for the 2024 Stacy’s Rise Project are open through December 1. Founders across the U.S. and Canada can apply on the Stacy’s Rise website. The 10 winners in the U.S. and five winners in Canada will be announced in early 2024 and each will receive a $25,000 grant, mentorship from Frito-Lay and PepsiCo leadership and a built-in community of powerful women.
“The goal of the Stacy’s Rise Project is not only to spread awareness of the funding gap women-owned businesses face, but to ensure these founders have access to resources, mentorship and community to help them overcome the statistics,” says Rhasheda Boyd, vice-president of marketing, Frito-Lay North America. “Because at Stacy’s, we believe that when one woman rises, we all rise.”
As a woman-founded business that grew from a sandwich cart to a household snack brand, Stacy’s Pita Chips has invested more than $1 million in 60+ women-owned businesses since 2017. With support from grant partner Hello Alice, the application numbers increase every year, the company reports, totaling over 29,000 Stacy’s Rise Project applications received since its inaugural year.
