We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Amethia and India Johnson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Amethia and India , thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by sharing your thoughts about the pros and cons of family businesses.

Amethia: In my opinion, family and friends play a critical role in any growing business, and Marshmallow Cafe is not exempt. From day one we have been blessed to have a great support system from our loved ones. My husband, Derek, has been one of the biggest blessings. He has been a business owner for over 10 years and guided me through many tough situations and helped me avoid making some mistakes. But, he is just an example of the much needed help we have been provided with.

Since there are other entrepreneurs and talented people in my family, I have been able to maximize on those resources when needed. I have received original artwork for our venue’s walls, photo shoots, and labor work to name a few from close family and friends.

Amethia and India , 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?

Amethia: I have always enjoyed cooking. My grandmother groomed me from a young age as I stayed in the kitchen with her while she put together delicious masterpieces. I saw how eating her creations brought smiles to faces, including mine. I knew then I wanted to do that for others.

While I knew I wanted to prepare mouth-watering goodies, I initially took another career route in pharmacy and became a pharmacist. Interestingly, pharmacy also played a role in Marshmallow’s beginnings. I became a pharmacist because I wanted to help improve the health of others. Food is a great way to do that.

One of the things that sets Marshmallow Cafe apart is the use of herbs, spices and foods that have been shown to provide numerous health benefits. For example, we use the marshmallow plant in our from-scratch marshmallows and the hibiscus flower is utilized in our signature Island Dream Cupcakes. We also try to only use organic or at least non-gmo ingredients. We believe these make a significant difference in the quality of our preparations. Our hope is that we are able to show others how choosing quality and nutritious ingredients can improve your dining experiences.

India: My siblings and I were raised with a lot of creative freedom. “A mess can always be cleaned,” was my mother’s motto. She always kept us busy with some type of craft or baking experiment that often went rogue. This was her way of bonding and creating lasting memories with me and my siblings, and now that I am a mom I find myself doing those same projects with my own children.

I started out with my own sweets business called Cavity. I was making cakes, cupcakes and specialty berry boxes for close friends and family. Social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram gave me a place to share my creations with a greater number of people instantly and helped to grow my business. Teaming up with Amethia Johnson was the decision that took everything to the next level. Amethia loves to cook and bake and I love to decorate, so combining our skills gave us a great foundation to merge Cavity and create Marshmallow Dessert Cafe and Catering.

I enjoy making the types of cakes, cupcakes and confections that you wouldn’t see in your hometown sweet shoppe. I’m always trying to think outside the box to bring our customers something unique that will help make their event that much more special and create a lasting memory they can cherish for a long time.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

India: Amethia and I met through our husbands while we were students at MTSU in Murfreesboro,TN. Our husbands are brothers and best friends, so it was just inevitable that we developed a close relationship.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

Amethia: Marshmallow has initially been self funded. While working as a pharmacist, I set money aside monthly and used these funds to start the business. I am very glad I was able to do this, since it allowed Marshmallow to remain debt free.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.hellomarshmallow.co/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hellomarshmallow.co/
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/hellomarshmallow.co/
• Yelp: https://m.yelp.com/biz/marshmallow-dessert-cafe-and-catering-nashville

Image Credits
Tony Shepherd Garrison Smith