My name is: Melanie Masarin.
My stomping ground is: The Hollywood Hills.
You can find me at: Maru Coffee for my daily fix.
I’m known for being: The friend in the group that hosts the dinner parties.
I'm talking about: Ghia! How to bring more meaningful connections and conversations to the dinner table.
You can find it at: Ghia is sold at over 100 different stockists across the U.S., and you can find a shop near you on our website. We’re also coming to some of your favorite hotel minibars this year!
What brought me to LA was: The weather, my friends and the beach.
Before I launched this, I was: The creative director and head of marketing for Dig Inn and, most recently, was the head of retail and offline experiences at Glossier.
What inspired me to create it was: There is such a social stigma around sobriety, and I wanted to change this perception as well as the way we eat, drink, gather and think. In today's society, it’s very normal to push a drink onto someone, and I want to help change that.
The idea behind it is: Ghia is complex enough to still feel like a crave-able, adult, celebratory drink—minus the alcohol.
What makes it different is: It’s not your typical sugary “mocktail.” Ghia was designed for flavor, not function (we're not here to buzz you!). We only use ingredients in their purest form, so there is some plant power: lemon balm for stress relief, rosemary for immunity. But nothing that will keep you up or make you snooze. And it’s really delicious.
One thing you can’t miss is: Sharing a Ghia Spritz with a loved one on a sunny day.
My favorite secret detail is: The stickers we use on our cans make our product 100% recyclable! Most cans are wrapped in a thick plastic film and don't get sorted for recycling properly as a result. Because our can has some of the aluminum exposed, it gets sorted properly and recycled 100% of the time!
Today’s LA is all about: Tomatoes that taste good in January, and a culture that truly prioritizes health and wellness, no matter how crazy work might be.
What helps me live my process and stay well in LA is: My mornings spent surfing in Malibu with my man.