Sweet Dreams of a Southern Girl
Pralines (Pray-leens, or Prah-leens): A pecan candy.
Keisha Johnson is exactly what you imagine someone that makes a sweet treat to be like, she is humble, caring, and amazingly positive. Keisha Johnson is Southern Girl Pralines.
Johnson sat in her car in her driveway during our interview, a perfect place for her to pause before preparing another order of sweets for a new customer. These days, Johnson fondly reflects on how far she has come and how much her business has grown. Though she grew up having pralines in Donaldsville, Louisana it was her spin on her mother-in-law's praline recipe that launched a business.
When one door closes, another opens; at least that is what we have heard. Recently, the company Johnson worked as Associate Director of Student Services, made the difficult decision to downsize, unfortunately she was impacted. However, the door to hone in on her innate gift of creating delicious treats swung wide open. The phone rang with a new request for an order of Southern Girl Pralines thus solidifying for her this is what she was meant to do.
Staying the course. Interestingly, Johnson shares that to make pralines correctly, the pot cannot be left unmanned. “You have to stir it constantly.” It is how she handles her business- she is constantly working on it. “I wanted to have something different, so I offered different flavors. We have pound cake and pumpkin spice; you won’t find those anywhere else.” The flavors and customized designs set her apart from the rest. Each flavor of praline is created in a different pot, each stirred constantly to ensure the candies are smooth, never gritty, and not unbearingly sweet. Her pralines are- exceptional. Even the packaging is done with love, her husband serves as the “praline package inspector”, he is essential in ensuring customers don’t have broken pieces in their orders.
People and companies are also noticing the Southern Girl difference. All it takes is a taste of her product and you understand why her business is booming. The folks at Everythang Nola Cafe on Sylvan Road, have been clients for the past two years. In fact, Just Loafin’ New Orleans Po Boys restaurant, agreed to sell the goods at locations in the city. Not surprisingly, more orders are starting to pour in from return customers and new customers who want to try the candies themselves.
Johnson pauses then admits she dreams of the day her company rivals MARS, the parent company of popular candies like M&Ms and Snickers. “I want to be global; I want my candies to fly off the shelves”. Then Johnson lets out an audible sigh, “I just wonder how I can effectively mass produce ...” She is keenly aware that scaling her business could mean her personal attention to detail would change.
It’s time for the community of SoFu to fall in love with Southern Girl, fall in love with pralines, fall in love with opportunities to help a dream come to fruition. Do you own a coffee shop, a New Orlean’s themed restaurant, have clientele that you would like to gift something different, maybe you have the gift of marketing, or you are a social media influencer- this is the time community comes together to promote our own. Fall in love with a Southern Girl IG: southern_girl_pralines url:southerngirlpralines.com