Influential Woman · FoodHealthNutrition

Mary Aipoalani

Founder/CEO, PWR-UP

Kapolei, Hawaii, HI

Certifications · Degrees · Memberships

Degree Michigan State University - Science and Business Degree

Her Story

About Mary

I've been in the food, health, and nutrition field for three decades now. What I do is make food taste better - I develop food products in the industry for retail. My clients include major retailers like Target, Walmart, and Whole Foods. I've been over about 40,000 retailers and have developed thousands of products that you see in stores. One of my most notable achievements has been helping build Kroger Deli out to a $9 billion business. I graduated from Michigan State University with a science and business degree. I've been based in Hawaii for 6 years now, though I also maintain a presence on the mainland.

Her Interview

Ten minutes with Mary

01What do you attribute your success to?

I attribute my success to grit, hard work, and perseverance. It's about waking up with missions - having goals and missions in your life. You need to have drive and perseverance. You have to get up and fight through every day, the good, the bad, and the ugly.

02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?

The best career advice I ever received was to just follow your passion and dreams. You never lose your God-given talent, you just perfect it.

03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?

My advice to young women starting out in the field is to really find the things that you truly love, and then figure out how to own that. Study it, learn it, grow it. If it requires going to school, go to college. Just pursue the things that you're passionate about. You have to start somewhere, and then evolve into it - grow and pivot. Pivoting and reinventing yourself is something that women have to do a lot of in their careers.

04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?

The biggest challenge is always to stay relevant, no matter what field you're in. Being adaptable and flexible are things that you have to do as the world changes around you. As for opportunities, they come and go. It just depends on how you approach each opportunity and what you do with it.

05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?

In my personal life, it's just to have faith in God, hopefully - that's number one. Family is very important, obviously. And moral values go a long ways.

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