About Haylee
Haylee Houkom is the owner and co-founder of Power Plate Meals, a local, healthy, ready to eat meal prep company that was started in Fargo, ND.
Haylee serves as the Chief Marketing Officer for Power Plate Meals as well as assisting in retail and customer service teams. In addition to marketing Power Plates, she loves creating motivational and healthy lifestyle videos, as well as sharing her life on social media.
” When I am not working you can find me spending time with our dogs, working out, volunteering, spending time with family and friends, and creating content.”
About Power Plate Meals
Power Plate Meals was founded in 2015 and has expanded to 9 Power Plate Meal retail stores, nationwide shipping, and has stretched to 100+ grocery and micro market sites in the upper Midwest. Power Plate Meals is all about providing healthy, ready to eat meals to customers. Their meals are made fresh, prepared with nutritious ingredients, and are portioned to help you feel good and energized throughout your days. Power Plate meals provides their customers a healthy meal that is fully prepared, only takes two minutes to heat up, and makes the experience convenient.
Tell us about Power Plate Meals and your mission.
“Power Plate Meals is all about providing healthy, ready to eat meals to our customers. From the busy parents, to business professionals, older couples, or kids in sports, there is something for everyone. Our mission is to inspire change by making healthy eating accessible for everyone, one meal at a time. At Power Plate Meals, each meal is a reflection of our dedicated team, who sources the highest quality ingredients, and packs every meal with unmatched flavor. Combine those ingredients and you get the best tasting, healthy meals on the market.”
“When we started Power Plates we knew there was a need for healthy food options that were not only delicious, but convenient too. We fill that gap in our community. Whether you shop in store, order online for pre-order pick up, choose local delivery with Door Dash, find a meal at your local grocery store, or order online directly to your house, there is a convenient way to get our meals.”
What are your entrepreneurial highs and lows?
“I’d say two of my top favorite moments were 1. being awarded the 2019 FMWF Chamber of Commerce Large Business of the year, we were so shocked as we were up against some very big companies in our community, so it was a really special moment. My second favorite was walking into Hornbachers and seeing our meals in the freezers of all of their locations. We have worked on wholesaling our meals for years, so the day we were able to see them physically in another store was a really exciting moment for us in 2022.”
“The lowest points we have experienced really have helped us grow in a positive way. When we first started Power Plates in 2015, we were out of Square One Rental Kitchen in downtown Fargo and in February of 2016, they had a fire that destroyed the building. In that moment we had to decide if we would wait for it to be rebuilt or take the chance and find our own space. That moment pushed us to open our first kitchen and retail store in West Fargo in April of 2016, which really was the start of everything. I’d say the next one would be our up and down struggles and learning curves during COVID and after, whether that was to find ways to be innovative to get our meals in our customers hands, get our customers back in our stores like they used to shop, price increases, and hiring struggles, we have worked as a team to keep pushing through and finding solutions to our issues.”
What is the most important lesson you’ve learned throughout your entrepreneurial journey?
“I’ve learned a lot of amazing things throughout my journey, but a couple things that stand out are:
- You can’t do it all. Having a team that stands by you and has the same passion for what you are doing makes a world of difference.
- Find someone that does it better. You have to let your ego go and know you can’t be the best at all the things, so whatever you aren’t the best at, find someone to do it better
- Don’t listen to anyone else’s opinion of what you are doing. There will always be people who say you can’t do it, don’t let them deter you from where you are headed.
- BELIEVE IN YOURSELF: if you believe you can do it, that is all that matters. There are people and resources out there to help you, you are capable. Don’t give up on your dreams.“
Power Plate Meals is officially a part of the Fargo-Moorhead founder family. How can our community support you in your next stage of growth?
“Whether you follow us on social media, share our content with your friends and family, leave a review, or purchase a meal from us, it all helps so much!”
Check out Power Plate Meals!
Readers can learn more about Power Plate Meals by visiting their Instagram page, Facebook page, and Website!
