RISE TO THE OCCASION: STACY'S® PITA CHIPS AND HELLO SUNSHINE CELEBRATE STORIES OF RESILIENT WOMEN THROUGH ANNOUNCEMENT OF SHORT FILM

Stacy's® Pita Chips continues its legacy of championing women entrepreneurs through Rise, a short film created by Nisha Ganatra with original poetry by Rupi Kaur along with the launch of the 2022 Stacy's Rise Project

PLANO, Texas, Sept. 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- As a woman-founded brand that grew from a sandwich cart to a household snack brand, Stacy's® Pita Chips has been fiercely dedicated to helping women rise through its annual mentorship program, the Stacy's Rise Project. With the launch of this year's program, the brand is deepening its commitment by celebrating women's strength in the face of adversity with Rise, a short film created by PRETTYBIRD filmmaker Nisha Ganatra, and produced in collaboration with Hello Sunshine, the media company founded by Oscar-winning actress and producer Reese Witherspoon and Ventureland. The film will debut in January, but a preview of the film will be released during tonight's Primetime EMMY® Awards.

"We're so thrilled to continue our partnership with Stacy's Pita Chips through this inspiring short film that shines a light on the unique stories of three women entrepreneurs," said Witherspoon. "At Hello Sunshine we are honored to continue telling stories that put women at the center of the narrative, and we're so grateful to partners like Stacy's who believe in and support this mission through our work together. We're beyond thankful to them for helping to bring Nisha Ganatra's beautiful vision for this film to life."

Stacy's Pita Chips and Hello Sunshine are joining forces with a team of today's most renowned storytellers to spotlight the inspiring stories of previous winners of the Stacy's Rise Project through Rise. The film is created by award-winning filmmaker Nisha Ganatra, and depicts the daily trials, tribulations and achievements of powerful women entrepreneurs. The film features an original poem by No. 1 New York Times bestselling author and poet Rupi Kaur, which was inspired by Stacy's greater mission to help women rise.

The film spotlights the stories of three previous Stacy's Rise Project winners, including:  

• Sajani Amarasiri, an immigrant entrepreneur and founder of Kola Goodies which makes botanical-rich, delicious, superfoods and tea latte blends to boost well-being with ingredients sourced directly from South Asian farmer collectives. Her mission is to increase cultural representation and wealth in communities where today's trendy wellness rituals originate from and connect cultures to create a more equitable industry.
• Jocelyn Ramirez, who founded Todo Verde, is creating culturally relevant plant-based Mexican food experiences through premium seasoning for home cooks, a published cookbook and catering for the Los Angeles community. Todo Verde also aims to create lifestyle shifts within the Latinx community with healthy eating and self-care through awareness and access to naturally good food.
• Maria Jose Palacio is a fifth-generation coffee farmer who founded Progeny Coffee with a mission to take Colombian farmers out of poverty. Progeny has taken on the challenge to design its own coffee chain by providing undeniable coffee transparency and unprecedented support to coffee growers stuck in a poverty loop.

Each of their unique stories demonstrates how their roots – the stories, voices and fortitude of those who came before – are a rich reserve of resilience that inspires their continued fight for progress. During the Primetime EMMY® Awards, viewers can get an exclusive look at content from the film. The full-length short film will debut early next year, but fans can get a behind the scenes look at the making of Rise today.

"As a filmmaker, I have always been dedicated to representing and amplifying the underrepresented stories of women and immigrants and that is what we're doing with Rise," said Ganatra. "By telling these women's stories both past and present, we are continuing the legacy that will uplift all those who come after. I'm very excited for the world to see the full film in January."

Since 2017, 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. With the help of longtime grant partner Hello Alice, Stacy's invites all women entrepreneurs across the U.S. to apply to the 2022 Stacy's Rise Project now through October 14 by visiting www.stacysrise.com.

Later this year, Stacy's Pita Chips will select and award 10 women entrepreneurs with a $15,000 grant, mentorship from Frito-Lay and PepsiCo leadership and an incomparable built-in community of powerful women.

"It is so important to support women in their pursuit of entrepreneurship, because when one woman rises, we all rise," said Rhasheda Boyd, vice president of marketing at Frito-Lay. "Our goal with the Stacy's Rise Project and Rise is to spotlight the untold stories of women entrepreneurs and recognize their resilience. We're honored to collaborate with like-minded partners, including Hello Sunshine, Reese Witherspoon and Nisha Ganatra to drive awareness for these countless women lifting up their communities."

In addition to the Rise short film and continuation of the Stacy's Rise Project, the brand has also made it easier than ever to discover women-run businesses nationwide via the FoundedByHer business directory, an online platform launched in 2021 that provides consumers with the ability to search for founders by zip code or category.

To stay updated on additional announcements from Stacy's and Hello Sunshine, tune into the brand's social media channels.

Stacy's Snacks is one of the many brands that make up Frito-Lay North America, the $19 billion convenient foods division of PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE: PEP), which is headquartered in Purchase, NY. Learn more about Stacy's Snacks on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Frito-Lay North America is the $19 billion convenient foods division of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ: PEP), which is headquartered in Purchase, NY. Frito-Lay snacks include Lay's and Ruffles potato chips, Doritos tortilla chips, Cheetos snacks, Tostitos tortilla chips and branded dips, SunChips multigrain snacks and Fritos corn chips. The company operates 30+ manufacturing facilities across the U.S. and Canada, more than 200 distribution centers and services 315,000 retail customers per week through its direct-store-delivery model. Learn more about Frito-Lay at the corporate website, www.fritolay.com, on Twitter (@fritolay), on Instagram (@fritolay) and on Facebook (Frito-Lay).

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.

Hello Alice is a free, multichannel platform that helps businesses launch and grow. With a community over one million business owners in all 50 states and across the globe, Hello Alice is building the largest network of owners in the country while tracking data and trends to increase the success rate for entrepreneurs. Our partners include enterprise business services, government agencies, and institutions looking to serve small- and medium-business owners to ensure increased revenues and promote scale. A Latina owned company, founded by Carolyn Rodz and Elizabeth Gore, we believe in business for all by providing access to all owners including women, people of color, veterans, and everyone with an entrepreneurial spirit. To learn more, visit www.helloalice.com, as well as Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook.

Founded by Reese Witherspoon, Hello Sunshine is a media company that puts women at the center of every story it creates, celebrates and discovers. Hello Sunshine tells stories across all platforms – from scripted and unscripted television, feature films, animated series, podcasts, audio storytelling, and digital series – all shining a light on where women are now and helping them chart a new path forward. Hello Sunshine is also home to Reese's Book Club and the newly launched RBC App. Fast growing in reach and influence, this community is propelled by meaningful connections with stories, authors and fellow members. 

Hello Sunshine is part of Candle Media, an independent, creator-friendly home for cutting-edge, high-quality, category-defining brands and franchises. By bringing together elite talent operating at the intersection of content, community, and commerce, it helps to position leading entertainment businesses for accelerated, sustainable growth in the current market and beyond.

Ventureland is an independent creative studio that specializes in developing original entertainment properties that spans traditional and emerging media platforms, including theatrical, streaming, podcasts, and more. Founded by Academy Award-winning producer John Battsek (One Day in September, Searching for Sugar Man) and PRETTYBIRD partners Kerstin Emhoff, Ali Brown and Paul Hunter, Ventureland collaborates with acclaimed filmmakers and the world's top studios to deliver award-winning film and TV.

A breakout literary phenomenon, Rupi wrote, illustrated and self-published her first poetry collection, milk and honey. Next came its artistic sibling, the sun and her flowers. These collections have sold more than 10 million copies and have been translated into over 40 languages. Her latest collection, home body, debuted #1 on bestseller lists across the world. As she has done from the very beginning, Rupi self- produced Rupi Kaur Live, the first poetry special of its kind, which debuted on Amazon Prime Video in 2021. Currently Rupi is on a global world tour, performing her poetry across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the UK, Europe and more. Rupi's work touches on love, loss, trauma, healing, femininity and migration.

Nisha Ganatra is a Golden Globe winner and an Emmy-nominated director and producer seamlessly working in commercials, television, and film. Nisha's previous feature film credits include The High Note for Working Title and Focus Features starring Tracee Ellis Ross, and Late Night, starring Emma Thompson and Mindy Kaling. On the TV side, in addition to her award-winning work as a Director/Producer on Amazon's 'Transparent,' Nisha has sold a comedy pilot to NBC with Amy Poehler producing, was Co-Executive Producer/Director for Better Things with Pamela Adlon, and created 'Code Academy' for the ITVS/PBS series Futurestates. Nisha has also directed episodes of Girls, Dear White People, Future Man, Mr. Robot, Shameless, Married, Brooklyn 9-9, Last Man on Earth, Love, and Black Monday. Nisha's award-winning campaign, 'Womb Stories,' earned her many accolades, including the Cannes Lions Grand Prix for Film Craft: Directing. Nisha was also listed in the Cannes Lions' Creativity Report as the #1 Director of the Festival.

SOURCE Frito-Lay North America