Inc.’s annual Female Founders list celebrates the nation’s most innovative women entrepreneurs, who collectively generated approximately $12.3 billion in 2025
Rockland, Maine. March 2026 – Bixby Chocolate is proud to announce that Kate McAleer has been named to Inc.’s 2026 Female Founders 500, an annual list honoring the most dynamic women business leaders in the United States. The honor recognizes founders whose bold ideas, resilience, and execution are shaping the future of their industries.
The 2026 Female Founders honorees collectively generated approximately $12.3 billion in 2025 revenue and $12.2 billion in funding to date, underscoring the economic impact of women-led businesses across sectors.
Each year, Inc. editors evaluate applications through a rigorous, multi-round selection process. Founders are assessed on both quantitative performance metrics, including
revenue growth, funding, sales, and audience size, as well as qualitative factors such as innovation, social impact, and brand momentum. The final list represents entrepreneurs who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and measurable progress over the past year. Previous honorees have included such game-changing leaders as Billie Jean King, Sallie Krawcheck, Serena Williams, and Emma Grede — all of whom have transformed their industries and broken barriers along the way.
"Being named to the Inc. Female Founders 500 is a deeply meaningful recognition — not just for me, but for the entire Bixby team of chocolate makers and chocolatiers who show up every day to make something truly special. We've spent several years proving that a small company in coastal Maine can source ethically, manufacture with integrity, and compete at a national level. This honor reflects their dedication as much as my own." — Kate McAleer, Founder & CEO, Bixby Chocolate
Honoree selection is also honed through the evaluation of the program’s advisory board, which includes Patty Arvielo, co-founder and CEO of New American Funding; Tiffany Dufu, president of the Tory Burch Foundation; Joy Mangano, co-founder and CEO of CleanBoss; Michelle Cordeiro Grant, founder and CEO of GORGIE; Sheila Lirio Marcelo, co-founder and CEO of Ohai.ai and founder of Care.com; and Melissa Mash, co-founder and CEO of Dagne Dover.
Founded in 2011, Bixby Chocolate has grown from a one-woman startup into a nationally recognized craft chocolate brand with a portfolio of winning products, a devoted wholesale and retail following, and partnerships with major retailers including Walmart, LL Bean, Hannaford, Whole Foods Market, and Macy's. Under McAleer's leadership, the company has achieved consistent year-over-year revenue growth — including a 30% increase in 2025 despite significant headwinds from commodity tariffs and supply chain disruptions affecting the broader food industry.
McAleer has built Bixby on a foundation of direct-trade cacao sourcing from Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, and Belize — a supply chain model that prioritizes farmer relationships and ingredient transparency. The company operates out of a 130-year-old waterfront building in Rockland, Maine. Bixby's products have earned widespread critical acclaim, including multiple sofi Awards from the Specialty Food Association and Good Food Award recognition.
"Each year, we are increasingly amazed by the extraordinary leaders on our Inc. Female Founders 500 list,” says Bonny Ghosh, editorial director at Inc. “The honorees on this year’s list include innovators in AI, beauty and wellness trendsetters winning devoted fans, and nonprofit leaders making a real impact in their communities. Together, they’re showing all of us what trailblazing female leadership looks like.”
Several honorees will be featured in Inc. magazine’s Spring print issue, on newsstands March 17, 2026. To see the complete list of honorees, please visit: https://www.inc.com/female-founders/2026.
About Inc.
Inc. is the leading media brand and playbook for the entrepreneurs and business leaders shaping our future. Through its journalism, Inc. aims to inform, educate, and elevate the profile of its community: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters who are creating the future of business. Inc. is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with fellow leading business publication Fast Company. For more information, visit www.inc.com.