We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lauren Parrett a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Lauren, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

Starting a business is risky for anyone. Not only financially, but emotionally, mentally, and physically. You never know how it’s going to turn out, and you put your time and reputation on the line. I started my first company in 2020, in the midst of the pandemic.

I started a brick and mortar meal prep company with my husband, and 2 other business partners. I had no background in business, I was 6 months pregnant, and I just quit my teaching job to do this full time.

Over the next 2 years, I experienced the highest of highs, and the lowest of lows. Our meal prep company quickly grew to six figures, and we had to learn how to scale on the spot while working 18 hour days. I had my baby, and had to navigate being a new mom, along with being an employer and running a company.

It seemed like the sky was the limit, until inflation hit. Our margins were completely squashed, with prices raising over 57%. Within a few months, we went from a thriving business to having to close our doors.

I know what you’re thinking – you took the risk, and you failed. Your business closed down.

No friend, I took the risk. I failed. I learned. And I pivoted.

I didn’t have a physical storefront anymore, nor the ability to meal prep for people. However, I had my knowledge. I had my experience. I had my connections. I had my determination, and I wasn’t going to let this be the end of my story.

I pivoted and took another risk starting another business called Meal Prep Mamas.

I learned so much from running a commercial meal prep company in terms of how to prepare food that was absolutely delectable, while also cooking it super efficiently. It had to meet high standards, and be able to keep in the fridge for up to 6 days.

I wanted to teach people how to meal prep for themselves, and now I had the knowledge to do it. I had the experience to show them the benefits of meal prepping, and empower them to do it in a way that can fit into their lifestyle.

This new business was born from my “failure,” but I feel like it’s what I was destined to do all along. You have to take the risks to learn the lessons, and to find where your heart truly belongs.

Lauren, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Lauren, and I am a co-owner of Meal Prep Mamas. We are an online recipe and education platform that empowers you to meal prep with healthy recipes, easy instructions, and a process that makes it possible to cook 3 meals (18 servings) in only about 2 hours.

When I was 20 years old, I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that left me completely bedridden and dependent on my husband for survival. Over the course of several years, I worked on healing and found that nutrition played a big part in my overall health.

My husband and I wanted to be healthy, but kept eating out as we had no time to cook every day. We started meal prepping, and that took about 12 hours every Sunday to complete. We couldn’t find a sustainable option.

We were tired of not having fast healthy options in our town, which led us to start a brick and mortar meal prep company. Cooking over 1200 meals a week, serving hundreds of customers, and over a dozen employees, I quickly learned the impact that meal prep has, and how to make it excellent and efficient.

Due to inflation regarding the pandemic, we had to close our physical location, but I knew that I wasn’t done.
My partner Bri and I started Meal Prep Mamas to empower individuals to be able to easily cook healthy recipes at home – to be able to put their health and families first.

We are not just a recipe blog. Yes, we have easy, healthy recipes, but it’s so much more than that. We created a process in our commercial kitchen that we are now sharing – we call it our step by step meal prep. This is where you can cook several recipes at the same time, in order to maximize your ingredients, kitchen space, time, and energy to get all your meal prep done in about 2 hours. YES. 2 HOURS. Sounds too good to be true, right? You’ll have to try it to believe it.

I’m most proud of the fact that I’m still able to serve people, just in a different way. Before, I served them actual healthy food. Now, I am teaching them how to do it so they can pass on the knowledge to their children, and feel in control in the kitchen. It is so rewarding to see moms be able to enjoy mealtime again. To lessen the stress that is on their shoulders, and to see families making our recipes their own.

Meal Prep Mamas is about more than food. It’s about people. I believe that every person has infinite worth, and I want them to love themselves. When you have healthy meals on hand, you are more likely to reach your goals. You feel in control of your time, and your nutrition. You are able to spend more time doing what matters most. Meal Prep Mamas is about bringing family together in and out of the kitchen, and it’s so humbling to be able to make that a reality.

How’d you meet your business partner?

My business partner is Bri Clark. She was initially my husband’s personal trainer. In 2020, the pandemic hit, and all of the gyms shut down.

Most people struggle with nutrition when they try to lose weight, and my husband was no different. He approached Bri with the idea of opening up a meal prep company, because there were no easy healthy options in our area.

Bri absolutely loves nutrition, and so she decided to give it a shot.

I first met her when she started testing recipes in my kitchen, and I was 2 months pregnant and very sick. I really didn’t like her, because the smells from the food made me even more sick. However, we quickly became friends as we realized we were very similar and had the common goal to make our community a healthier and happier place.

As we ran our meal prep company, we became an incredible team. Bri is all about the recipes and nutrition, and I do all the marketing and communications. I knew that I needed her as a core piece of Meal Prep Mamas, and she is the perfect partner. I’m so lucky to have her on this journey with me.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Social media is all about connection. You need to be real, connect with others, and genuinely care about them. You need to have a clear understanding of your brand, your messaging, and what you want your people to do. What is the value for them?

Consistency is also important. You need to make sure your posts are on brand, that you are consistent, and that your posts bring value to your audience. No one wants to be sold to all the time, but it is important that you are clear with your offer and show how it will bring value to their life.

I hired a marketing coach and took classes to help me understand how to better connect with others through organic marketing, and it was the best investment I’ve ever made.

Also, understand that very rarely does someone have overnight success. It takes work, consistency, and pivoting. You learn as you go, so just start!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mealprepmamas.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/mealprep.mamas
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/mealprepmamasllc
• TikTok: mealprep.mamas
• Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/mealprepmamas/

Image Credits
Rylea Farrens Hilary Briscoe