Last year, Commerce Catalyst awarded $25,000 to three Utah female founders through its Female Founder Pitch Competition.
We talked with the First Prize Winner, Mallory Stevens, about her company, Tuff Pops, which is a protein-packed frozen treat company that believes healthy food should also be delicious.
Mallory said winning provided critical validation and momentum as she continues to scale the brand.
Tuff Pops are for busy moms, growing kids, gardening grannies, and gym-goers alike.
Mallory says, "Rather than taking a low calorie ice cream and trying to add more protein, we took inspiration from my favorite ice cream - Haagen Dazs and tried to see if we could add more protein without losing that indulgence. It took us a couple years to get it right, but the results speak for themselves."
Tuff Pops are launching into Sprouts and Harmons in September and into Whole Foods in
October.
She expalins that when it comes to products at the grocery store, every purchase matters.
Even selling 2-3 boxes of each flavor of pops each week, that would be considered a high-performer.
So, as a consumer, when you shop local, even if it's just one box, that one box really, really matters.
Mallory suggests that everyone should attend the Commerce Catalyst pitch competition.
She says it helped her gain some confidence as a founder who is balancing entrepreneurship and motherhood.
She says, "The whole process was pretty incredible. Felt too good to be true. Like, I just show up, pitch my brand, and I can put my hat in the ring for this money? No strings attached? It's pretty remarkable."
Female founded businesses are notoriously under-funded, but Commerce Catalyst is trying to make a dent in that.
Commerce Catalyst is launching its next Female Founder Pitch Competition on August 25 at the Hilton in Salt Lake City. All of the contestants have already been chosen.
You can check out Mallory's ice cream at Tuffpops.com and on Instagram @tuffprotein.
