This year’s Forbes list of the top wealthiest self-made women featured four founders, leaders and executives behind some of CPG’s most notable brands. Released this week, the full list includes 100 of the top female entrepreneurs and executives, two-thirds of which either founded or cofounded their company and 26 who have served as CEOs.
At the top of the list for food or beverage companies is Lynda Resnick, owner of The Wonderful Company, a holding company for brands including POM, Fiji Water and Wonderful Pistachios. Resnick ranked at number eight on the list, with a net worth of $4 billion. That figure would make her the only self-made billionaire woman in the food and beverage industry, according to the report.
Also included on the list is entrepreneur and owner of The Clif Bar Company, Kit Crawford, who started the business alongside her husband Gary Erikson over thirty years ago. Clif and its three brands – CLIF, Clif Kid and LUNA – have remained family- and employee-owned despite a reported $120 million acquisition offer in 2000.
Crawford has held the position of co-CEO of Clif alongside Erikson off and on over the course of Clif’s history. Most recently, in 2020, the duo stepped down from the role, passing the torch off to former Group President at Tyson Foods Sally Grimes. However, she and Erikson continue to serve on the company’s board of directors and “insist Clif is not for sale,” according to Forbes.
While many of the leaders on the list have been recognized for their commitment to promoting sustainable practices or better-for-you products, Indra Nooyi, former chair and CEO of PepsiCo, has tried to do both. Nooyi’s reported net worth of $290 million placed her at the 91st wealthiest self made women.
Nooyi spent close to 25 years at the company, over a decade of which she spent as CEO. Under her leadership, PepsiCo incorporated environmentally friendly practices and healthier products into its product portfolio while also simultaneously doubling the company’s annual sales. Nooyi retired from Pepsi in 2019 and now sits on the Board of Directors at Amazon while also serving as an advisor to investment group HumanCo.
“Growing up in India, I never imagined I’d have the opportunity to lead such an extraordinary company,” she previously said in a statement upon her retirement from PepsiCo. “Guided by our philosophy of Performance with Purpose – delivering sustained performance while making more nutritious products, limiting our environmental footprint and lifting up all the communities we serve – we’ve made a more meaningful impact in people’s lives than I ever dreamed possible.”
Finally, coming in at Forbes’ 97th wealthiest self-made woman, was Gail Becker, founder and CEO of frozen food brand Caulipower. While working as a communications strategist for Warner Brothers, Becker became frustrated with the lack of gluten-free options available for her sons, who suffer from Celiac’s disease.
“The thing is when the industry evolved the food didn’t need to be good or good for you it only needed to tick the box of being gluten-free,” Becker previously said on BevNET’s Taste Radio Podcast. “At that point I waited around for someone to do something about it but no one ever did. I think it’s fair to say Caulipower was born of a frustration from waiting.”
Since its launch in 2017, Caulipower has become one of the fastest growing food brands with more than $100 million in annual sales according to Forbes. In March the company added pasta to its portfolio of pizza, toast and chicken nugget alternatives, helping add incremental revenue to the already successful brand.