Kate McAleer is an owner and founder of Bixby & Co., an artisan confectionary producer in Rockland, Maine. Bixby & Co. was founded in 2011 to produce and sell unique natural and organic chocolate products. Kate earned her honors BA from New York University and holds diplomas in pastry arts and culinary management from the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City. The first Bixby products were developed after experimentation and trial and error in the family kitchen and are currently sold across the country in over 3000 specialty and natural food sores. Kate is the 2014 Gorham Savings Bank LaunchPad Winner, MaineBiz 2014 "Nexter" of the top 10 people impacting Maine's economy, the 2015 Small Business Administration's Young Entrepreneur of the Year for Maine and the 2016 Tory Burch Foundation Fellow and Tory Burch Foundation Grand pitch prize winner of $100,000.

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In 2017, Kate and Bixby & Co. launched the first Bean to Bar chocolate production in the State of Maine, sourcing cacao directly from farmers and processing a complete chocolate product from the bean through to the end chocolate.