The 4th Annual Black Women in Food Summit closed in Washington, D.C. with a moment that reflected exactly what the weekend had been building toward: the announcement of the 2026 pitch competition winners, presented in partnership with the New Voices Foundation.

By the time the winners were named, the energy inside Capital Turnaround had already been shaped by three days of conversation, connection, and strategy. Chefs, founders, food writers, farmers, and hospitality leaders moved through panels, workshops, marketplace activations, and executive sessions under this year’s theme, “Ascend: Together in Purpose in the Face of Change.”

The theme showed up in different ways across the weekend—sometimes in discussions about scaling food businesses in an uncertain economy, other times in conversations about ownership, access to capital, and what it means to build something sustainable while still staying rooted in culture. This year also marked the expansion of the Summit into a three-day format, including a dedicated Executive Leadership Day designed to bring more industry decision-makers into the room alongside emerging entrepreneurs.

Still, one of the most anticipated moments remained the pitch competition.

When the winners were announced, two founders stood out for how differently they are approaching the same question: what does innovation in food actually look like right now?

Adfia Bristol, founder of YES MA! Backyard Farm, was recognized for building a business that is as much about preservation as it is about product. Based in Pierce County, Washington, Bristol runs a regenerative farm that grows more than 50 culturally significant crops, many tied to Caribbean food traditions. Those ingredients are thensrc="https://media.essence.com/vxcjywbwpa/uploads/2026/05/158A0484-scaled.jpg" alt="Meet The Winners Of The Black Women In Food Summit’s 2026 Pitch Competition" width="400" height="391" />Taylor Davis, founder of Troodie, was recognized for building an AI-powered platform connecting restaurant discovery with real-time sales data.

The second winner, Taylor Davis, founder of Troodie, is approaching the industry from a different angle, but with a similarly pointed focus on ownership and access.

Troodie is an AI-powered social commerce platform designed to bridge a long-standing gap in the restaurant industry: the disconnect between marketing spend and actual revenue impact. Restaurants invest heavily in influencer campaigns and social media visibility, but often lack clear data on whether those efforts translate into diners walking through the door.

Davis’ platform attempts to close that gap by connecting social discovery directly to sales through first-party data tracking. Instead of measuring success through likes or impressions, Troodie tracks what drives real consumer behavior—turning content into measurable business outcomes for restaurants.

The startup has already shown early momentum, reporting more than 1,000 app downloads, a 30% increase in restaurant attendance during its pilot phase, and over $45,000 in pipeline annual recurring revenue. It has also gained recognition in the startup ecosystem, including being named a Top 10 Startup to Watch in North Carolina and a Top 5 National AI Finalist by HubSpot.

What stood out about both winning pitches was not just the business models themselves, but the clarity of the problems they are solving. Bristol is building at the intersection of land, memory, and food access. Davis is building at the intersection of data, visibility, and restaurant survival in a digital-first economy.

Together, their work reflects the larger ecosystem the Black Women in Food Summit continues to build—one where food is not treated as a siloed industry, but as a space where culture, technology, and community constantly overlap.

And as the Summit continues to grow, so too does its role as a pipeline—not just for exposure, but for investment, infrastructure, and long-term support for the founders shaping what comes next.

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