Kate McAleer Named to Inc.'s 2026 Female Founders 500
Rockland, Maine — We have some exciting news to share from the Bixby team: our founder and CEO, 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.
We couldn't be more proud.
A Recognition That Belongs to All of Us
When Kate received the news, she put it perfectly:
"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."
That's Kate. Always pointing the spotlight back at the people behind the chocolate.
From One Woman to a National Brand
When Kate founded Bixby Chocolate in 2011, she had a clear vision: reinvent the candy bar with real ingredients, direct-trade sourcing, and zero shortcuts. Starting out of Rockland, Maine — in a 130-year-old building on the working waterfront — she built the company from the ground up, one bar at a time.
More than a decade later, Bixby has grown into a nationally recognized craft chocolate brand with products on shelves at Walmart, Whole Foods Market, LL Bean, Hannaford, Macy's, and more. In 2025 alone, the company achieved 30% revenue growth — no small feat given the commodity tariffs and supply chain disruptions that challenged the broader food industry.
Chocolate with a Conscience
What has always set Bixby apart is how we make our chocolate. Kate built our supply chain around direct-trade relationships with cacao farmers in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, and Belize — a model rooted in transparency, fairness, and respect for the people who grow our ingredients.
That commitment to doing things right — not just doing things — is what drove Kate to become Maine's first bean-to-bar chocolate maker, and what continues to guide every decision we make in our Rockland production center.
A Track Record of Breaking Through
This recognition from Inc. is meaningful, but it's part of a longer story of hard-earned milestones. Along the way, Kate has won the Gorham Savings Bank LaunchPad competition, a Tory Burch Foundation fellowship and $100,000 pitch competition win, the $25,000 Greenlight Maine Grand Prize, and multiple Good Food Awards and Specialty Food Association sofi Awards.
Each one has helped fuel the next chapter of Bixby's growth.
Thank You
To our customers, our retail partners, our cacao farmers, and our incredible Bixby team: this honor is yours too. Thank you for believing in what we're building here on the coast of Maine.
And to Kate — congratulations. You've earned every bit of it.
