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It’s International Women’s Day, so we’re celebrating in the way we know best! It is a time to celebrate the incredibly successful and innovative women-founded businesses. This year’s theme is #EmbraceEquity to foster a world of gender equity - a world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. A world that's diverse, equitable, and inclusive.
We’re excited to share with you eight of our favourite women-owned and women-led businesses and entrepreneurs and why we love them. We encourage you to celebrate and support these businesses not only this month, but all year long.
Unlock family stories with a game that brings generations together.
Co-Founders Anika Chabra and Jennifer Siripong Mandel launched Root & Seed to inspire others to claim, honour and celebrate their culture. Root & Seed is an online culture and tradition preservation platform (including an app, website, podcast and much more) that is harnessing the age-old power of storytelling with intuitive technology to help individuals claim, honour and document their unique cultural heritage. Root & Seed’s mission is to end the loss of tradition for once and for all. They have been featured on the CBC, The Toronto Star and cultural media platform RepresentASIAN. Along with their app and website, Root & Seed has also released 4 seasons of their podcast totalling over 20 episodes of exploring family traditions, talking about cultural influencers, discovering our own heritage and much more. We love Root & Seed because it was inspired by real-life experiences lived by the founders. Support Root & Seed's Kickstarter today!
Not your average cup of tea.
Green Owl Vodka was founded in 2021 by Founder and CEO, Carmen Sandor. Green Owl Vodka is a unique product, featuring infused green tea extract from Japan and lightly sweetened for a long and smooth flavor. The vodka is made in small batches and triple distilled and is Canada’s first and only green tea flavoured vodka. Find Green Owl Vodka in LCBOs across Ontario and check out their website for refreshing recipes. We love Green Owl Vodka as it continues to be women owned and operated.
Feel comfortable in the skin you’re in.
Lisa is the proud founder and owner of Take One Take All Fitness. Lisa started her company with the purpose to fulfill two personal needs and wants in the athletic wear space. The first was from not wanting to pay the inflated prices of most athletic wear, and the second was a gap in clothing options in the plus size category. Take One Take All Fitness (TOTA) is an apparel and activewear company that believes in high-quality clothing. TOTA believes the sky isn’t the limit, but rather the limit is wherever we set it. TOTA takes pride in everyone feeling comfortable in the skin they’re in, especially when wearing their clothes. We love how Lisa took a personal desire into her own hands to offer an accessible and inclusive clothing line for all.
A line of beauty products that make you feel beautiful inside and out.
Graydon took her delectable culinary skills in the kitchen and translated them to superfood skincare in the lab. Graydon is on a personal mission to create products that give people good skin days, every day. Personal health concerns motivated Graydon to launch her sustainable skincare line for everyone – no matter their gender, skin type or tone. We love this Toronto-based female entrepreneur because of her dedication to sustainability and creating simple, effective products for everyone.
Eco-conscious jewelry to build your wardrobe around.
Founded by Heather Sheppard in Toronto’s Junction, Knots and Pipes designs and constructs streamlined accessories while adhering to a slow fashion ethos. Sheppard aims to create pieces that aren’t replaced every season, and that are beautiful, elegant and timeless. Knots and Pipes’ studio is now located in downtown Hamilton, Ontario, known as “Steeltown.” We love Knots and Pipes and Heather for their commitment to paying their staff proper living wages, and their packaging fulfillment and marketing are completed in-house or locally sourced, making a meaningful impact on the Hamilton community.
Black-owned small batch handmade candles.
BLK ROSE was founded in 2021 by Kejina Robinson. The company was created almost by accident as Kejina was looking for a Black-woman owned candle brand. She couldn‘t find what she was looking for, so her life partner encouraged her to start her own. BLK ROSE is more than candles, which is why we love them and Kejina! Their vision extends well beyond just creating beautiful, well-made candles, but also to be inspired to discover the richness and histories of people and voices who aren’t always widely celebrated.
Merging a passion for coffee and food and a desire to serve the community.
Elektra opened Morning Parade in May 2019 with a vision to merge her passion for coffee and food and her desire to serve the community. Neighbours gather around to enjoy their delicious coffee and food at their two locations in both the East and West ends of Toronto. Elektra and her co-owner, Paul, strive to create an environment that makes patrons feel at home and among friends. We love Elektra for her entrepreneurial, go-get-'em spirit. She quit her day job in 2018 to make this coffee bar dream a reality and never looked back.
Celebrate with us and let us know of a women-founded businesses you want to highlight! As a women-founded and led consultancy, we strive to support more women businesses, and are always keen to profile more inspiring leaders making an impact.