To honor their brand stories and celebrate Barbie’s 65th anniversary, Stacy’s is getting the full Barbie treatment with limited-edition Stacy’s Pita Chip bags. The specialty bags feature a signature Barbie-pink metallic exterior and the classic Stacy’s Simply Naked chips inside. Barbie dolls are getting their own signature bag, too. The limited-edition Barbie-fied Stacy’s Pita Chip bags will also come in a miniature size, fitting perfectly for any Barbie doll.  

Additionally, Stacy’s has pledged a $100,000 donation to the mentorship nonprofit Step Up. Step Up provides mentorship and programs for girls to define their ideal destination and get there, wherever that destination may be. The donation from Stacy’s will go towards sponsoring conferences in Los Angeles, Chicago, Nashville, and New York to help provide 1,000 hours of mentorship to girls of middle and high school age.

“Step Up believes mentors play a crucial role in guiding girls to their success, so we are inspired and grateful to continue our partnership with two of our mentors, Barbie and Stacy, as part of our Women’s History Month collaboration with the Barbie Dream Gap Project and Stacy’s Pita Chips,” Step Up CEO Delores Druilhet Morton says. “With this investment in the next generation, Step Up will be able to offer valuable mentorship to help girls define and achieve their unique visions of success through our career exploration conferences.” 

Stacy’s also has announced the 2024 Class of Stacy’s Rise Project winners. This year, Stacy’s has awarded 15 North American women founders each a $25,000 grant, mentorship from Frito-Lay and PepsiCo leadership, and a built-in community of powerful women. The 2024 Stacy’s Rise Project class includes: 

• Alak Nanda (Atlanta) founded PODI Life, a brand committed to bringing the best in South Indian food to culinarily curious American tables with seasonings (made of roasted lentils, nuts, herbs, and spices) and easy, one-pot comfort meals (made of organic rice, lentils, climate-smart millets and spices)
• Delia Hughes (Westchester, NY) and Lindsay Simon co-founded Tazzy, a candy brand on a mission to make candy with tried-and-true ingredients; a portion of sales from every item sold supports the fight to find a cure for metastatic breast cancer. 
• Diane Garber (Chicago) founded WillPOWER Your Day, whole-food, plant-based snacks –including Unbelieva-Brittle Seed Crunch, and Fruit-SweetenedTruffles –  that appeal to and satisfy mainstream consumers while addressing nutritional priorities of vegan and specialty shoppers
• Jamie Kim (New York) founded Jamie’s Farm, award-winning granolas baked with ghee for a luxurious flavor profile and perfectly delicate, crunchy texture
• Jen Caines (Boulder, CO) founded Moksha Chocolate, an artisan bean-to-bar chocolate company that hand-crafts chocolate in small batches with direct-trade cacao
• Kristen Fields (Austin, TX) founded mmmpanadas, award-winning, better-for-you empanadas that are wholesome, delicious, and really easy to heat and eat
• Laura Melgarejo Silva (Bend, OR) co-founded Altitude Beverages, zero-proof cocktails packed with functional ingredients for an unwinding without the booze
• Martha Diaz (Sacramento) founded Itacate Foods, dehydrated Latin meals for backcountry recreation that are all vegan or vegetarian, rehydrate quickly, and bring authentic Latin flavors to the market
• Ms. Fields (Baltimore) founded Sweet Fields, which offers artisan-crafted cinnamon rolls that bring warmth and indulgence to vegan-friendly lifestyles, providing decadent, sinfully delicious treats that are ready in moments
• Orleatha Smith (Los Angeles) founded Sip Herbals, a pre-biotic tea that provides a gut health-supporting, caffeine-free, herbal coffee alternative made for label readers
• Ajoa Mintah (Waterloo, ON), founder of Four All Ice Cream, is an engineer-turned-entrepreneur who blends her education, diverse experiences, and unwavering creativity to spread the joy of ice cream to everyone, no matter their dietary preferences or restrictions
• K. Dee Howard (Cobourg, ON) founded Sootsoap Supply Co. to detoxify, deodorize, and sanitize with the power of white charcoal, inspired by a lack of solutions for the devastating health effects of firefighter exposure
• Evelyne Nyairo (Calgary, AB) founded Ellie Bianca – inspired by her daughter, Eliana – with the mission of giving every woman the opportunity to embrace and own her strength and beauty, inside and out
• Kate Tremills (Chemainus, BC) founded Flourish Kitchen to bring easy-to-digest meals to women who desire big, joyful lives. The meals are designed to ease the stress of busy lives while delivering all the flavour and nutrition of a homemade meal
• Nadia Ladak (Toronto, ON) founded Marlow on her mission to revolutionize women’s health by pioneering the first-ever lubricated tampon for smoother and more comfortable insertion.  

Since 2017, Stacy’s Pita Chips has connected thousands of women founders and provided more than $1 million in funding. The annual Stacy’s Rise Project has provided grants to 75 women, as well as resources, mentoring, and a thriving network. Year over year, the application numbers have continued to increase, thanks to the brand’s longstanding partnership with Hello Alice, with over 35,000 Stacy’s Rise Project applications received in five years.