Heather Kelly is an evolutionary sports nutritionist and creator of Heather’s Choice, a line of dehydrated meals and snacks for adventuring. Heather works hard to find the best sustainable sources of protein for all of her meals, including wild Alaskan salmon! Heather’s Choice recently donated a portion of their smoked sockeye salmon chowder sales to AMCC on Wild Salmon Day. We appreciate Heather’s support and encourage you to try one of her meals on your next backcountry trip or busy weeknight evening.
What motivated you to start Heather’s Choice?
As a nutritionist, I wanted to have healthy, delicious food in my pack for all of my backcountry trips. I remember being really frustrated that I couldn’t fit three days worth of whole foods in a bear canister for a packrafting trip in Denali National Park, and decided there had to be a better way. After spending years playing with a small at home food dehydrator, I took a leap and launched my website to start selling some of my favorite meals and snacks. Little did I know, it has grown to be very popular and we now ship nationwide!
What is your business best known for?
We are best known for providing lightweight, shelf-stable, packable meals and snacks for the backcountry. Some of our best sellers include our Smoked Sockeye Salmon Chowder, Gluten-free Blueberry Buckwheat Breakfast, and Orange Vanilla Coconut Packaroons.
What sets your business apart from others in your industry?
We have a strong commitment to sourcing only the best ingredients, including wild caught Alaskan sockeye salmon. Even though our products are twice as expensive as our competitors, our customers love having higher quality food to eat on their adventures. We have supported a handful of organizations that we are proud to work with, including Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, the Wild Sheep Foundation, Alaska Mountain & Wilderness Huts Association, and AMCC.
What would you tell someone who’s considering trying your products for the first time?
We are a born and raised Alaska-based business that puts a ton of emphasis on our customer service. We will go out of our way to get our meals to a customer in time for their trip, even if it is last minute. The constant communication with our customers is what has made this business so fun, because we have such great supporters! They always have awesome stories to tell of their adventures.
What keeps your customers coming back?
Good customer service and delicious food! Our biggest fans are folks who eat healthy at home, and want to continue to enjoy nutritious food on their backcountry trips.
How did you get involved with AMCC?
I was first introduced to AMCC by (board member) Joel Cladouhos, and it seemed like a very natural fit for our business model. We love putting wild caught Alaskan sockeye salmon in people’s packs, and anyway we can support wild fish populations, we are all about it!
What would you say are the strongest connections to your business and AMCC?
AMCC’s efforts to support wild and healthy fish populations directly impact our supply chain. Without access to good seafood, we won’t be able to continue providing sustainably-sourced fish to our customers.
What kind of fishing do you like to do?
I had a blast dipnetting on the Copper River this summer for sockeye! In a matter of four hours we were able to bring in enough salmon to fill our freezer for the winter. No one can complain about eating salmon three days per week!