February 26, 2017

Meet Annalisa Mastroianni Johnson of Gotta Have S’more in Baldwin Hills

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Annalisa Mastroianni Johnson.

Annalisa Mastroianni Johnson is an impressive Los Angeles businesswomen in the foodservice industry. Prior to buying Gotta Have S’more, she ran and continues to run Annie’s Edibles, a top gourmet meal delivery and catering service popular with entertainment and technology businesses in Hollywood and Silicon Beach. She also owns and manages her own commercial kitchen where she leases space to other culinary entrepreneurs.

Annalisa found herself doing what she loves quite by accident. A personal trainer, impressed with Annalisa’s culinary skills, recommended that she get into the business of specialty meal preparation and home delivery. Eventually, word of her customized meal service, driven by her mastery of specialty cooking and healthy eating principles, spread to others in need. Through the years, Annalisa has shared her gospel of good food to a growing list of clients that include Robert De Niro, Cher, Forest Whitaker, Alyson Hannigan, Matthew McConaughey, Darren Star, Kristin Davis, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Stevie Nicks, Dana Delany, Andre 3000 and Queen Latifah.

In 2014, a tenant at her kitchen decided to sell Gotta Have S’more and since Annalisa had been a strong supporter of the company all along, purchasing the business made perfect sense. Annalisa felt the s’more itself was a dessert that was so classic, so Americana that she wanted to take the business a step further. In the first two years under Annalisa’s management, Gotta Have S’more, was re-branded in packaging while keeping the popular recipe intact and adding more seasonal flavors and designs. Annalisa believes that this, while consistently offering great customer service, will make Gotta Have S’more a competitive brand in confectionery products.

Annalisa knows the work and dedication required to help a business grow, and Gotta Have S’more was just another avenue for her to flourish as an entrepreneur and have fun at the same time. She believes Gotta Have S’more was created to give people a dessert they can truly enjoy.

Has it been a smooth road?
Business is never a smooth road, and I would say that the biggest struggle is in figuring out how to get your product recognized by the masses. Everyone has a great idea and ideally, they would want everybody else to know about it, but you have to create a good strategy on getting the word out. In the case for Gotta Have S’More, we hired a marketing company to help us plan that strategy and see what the brand essentially needs for it to end up in the right hands and in the right places for people to see.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Gotta Have S’more is a dessert that is literally a modern twist on the campfire classic, the S’more. We start with the traditional graham cracker base topped with a roasted marshmallow, followed by one of our delicious toppings. Each S’more is then hand-dipped in either dark or white chocolate. They come in a wide variety of flavors, and of our most popular flavors are the traditional milk chocolate, the rich dark chocolate, cookies and cream, peanut butter cup and salted caramel. While a S’more is NOT a cupcake nor does it have any “cake” in it, it is mini-muffin like in shape.

We’re most proud of how different Gotta Have S’more is in comparison to other dessert products. There’s nothing like it, and being able to offer a unique product along with excellent customer service is surely a quality we feel allows Gotta Have S’more to stay competitive.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Definitely! I feel like everybody comes to Los Angeles expecting to see the hottest and next big thing. L.A. is a trailblazing city for a number of trends in food, fashion, technology, events, etc. It’s certainly the perfect market to get things started. There’s such a wide variety of people here, that it allows for any brand’s audience to potentially grow into something you wouldn’t initially have expected.

I would certainly recommend anyone start a business in L.A. no matter what it is. A lot of dreams are made in this city and I would advise any entrepreneurial hopefuls that whatever your passion is, go for it. If you’re truly motivated, you’ll work at it and be completely involved in the process long enough to see amazing results.

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