These Women are the Industry’s Pickle Power Players

Food preservation throughout the centuries was often assigned to the women of the house as homemakers, whether in the Jewish shtetls in Poland or the Tigris Valley in India. They preserved food to help their families survive long winter months and sometimes even sold it from their home as one of a few opportunities for financial independence.

Today, women in the pickle industry are still making briney waves, challenging the norms of the business sector and creating sustainable, successful businesses.

Here are the key women of the pickle industry:

Leigh Truex, Bubbies Pickles

In 1982, local Bubbie Leigh Truex began selling her homemade, naturally fermented Kosher Dill Pickles at local stores and farmers' markets in San Francisco. Leigh’s pickles were different from other pickles on the market, creating a signature Bubbie taste and a particularly cloudy brine. In 1989, two former bankers purchased the budding Bubbies, and over 33 years, this small local pickle company turned into a household name and the number-one refrigerated condiment brand in natural foods nationwide. None of it would be possible without Bubbie’s signature recipe and business chutzpah.

Yachika Chopra - Circa

In 2020, Yachika Chopra not only lost her job, but also her mom, Poonam Chopra, with whom she was very close. From her mother's diaries, she discovered the recipes of all her mother's homemade pickles. The next year, in April 2021, she launched her pickle brand Circa with 20,000 Indian rupees (equivalent to 212 USD) from her home. The sales increased by 45 percent after she launched the website, and now Circa is a popular staple in sustainable, high-quality pickled products. Her products are infused with flavors from Yachika's home in Goa, a state on the southwestern coast of India, located within the Konkan region. Best of all? Circa's products are crafted entirely by an all-female production team.

Leah Marcus and Yasaman Bakhtiar, Good Girl Snacks

Good Girl Snacks’ Hot Girl Pickles have previously graced the headlines of The Pickle Report for their game-changing viral social media marketing campaign and for their pickles that blend Persian, Egyptian and Tunisian flavors. Leah and Yasaman saw opportunity in the millennial and Gen Z “hot girl” trend. They fused the message of female empowerment, indulgence and self-love into their pickle products, and it absolutely paid off. For the full original article of these two pickle powerhouses, click here.

Lyndsay Summerhill, Sexy Pickles

Sexy Pickles founder Lyndsay Summerhill grew up in Canada and, according to their website, was spoiled by "the kind of gherkins that crunched when you bit into them, perfectly sour and completely sugar-free, thanks to her grandmother Nora’s recipe - the OG Pickle Queen." Now living in the UK, this generational pickle powerhouse saw a gaping hole in the UK market of specialty gherkins (pickles = gherkins in the UK). Lyndsay founded "Sexy Pickles," offering perfect artisanal pickles based on her grandmother's recipe, along with other experimental munches like Spiced Pickled Grapes, Sweet & Spicy Pickled Pineapple and Sweet & Salty Pickled Garlic.

Niharika Bhargava - The Little Farm Co.

Natural, preservative-free Indian pickles are the name of the game at The Little Farm Co. Founded by entrepreneur Niharika Bhargava, this rapidly growing brand is celebrated for using fresh, organic produce sourced directly from her family's 400-acre farm in Madhya Pradesh. Initially, Niharika saw her pickle venture as a hobby, but it has come a long way from there. According to Niharika, "Words can never capture the happiness I get to be able to support female employees and their families because of it."

Raise a jar to the queens of pickles!