Melissa Varo
By taking cooking classes at UCLA and William Sonoma she added professional knowledge to what has always been an inborn talent and a self-realized passion.
Melissa’s career as a producer/on-air reporter began at MTV in 1994, first as an intern, then Production Assistant. Within three years she worked her way up to Associate Producer, then Producer for ESPN’s music series, Music X. After exhibiting her talents preparing the on-air talent for the first two episodes, the Executive Producers invited her to be the host of that show and numerous others. In her new incarnation as a freelance reporter for TV entertainment and lifestyle segments, she hosted and produced celebrity red carpet and celebrity home interviews as well as design stories and makeovers for shows like Uncovered, Extra and the Tyra Show.
In 2000, Melissa became a Senior Marketing Executive at MTV and spent the next three years as Vice-President, Integrations and Product Placement. With the advent and popularity of Reality TV, Producers from MTV and VH1 were highly sought after by major networks to create original series for network TV triggering more work for her. At that point, after deploying her various talents for other people’s companies, Melissa started her own marketing company taking coordinators and assistants with her and making them partners in Bungalow Girls Productions, a television marketing, product placement and event coordination company.
Her company was quickly hired by a wide variety of Network, Cable TV, Film and Fashion industry companies in need of promotional prizes and products. Melissa’s company is a conduit through which film and television companies receive items like clothing, cell phones, travel promotions (air/ground transportation and hotel), furniture, appliances, home accessories and other products in exchange for exposure and that helps offset production expenses and saves money for production companies. Bungalow Girls spends a lot of their time building brand integrations for Reality TV series. Their clients include ABC’S - The Bachelor, The Bachelorette and Here Come The Newlyweds, VH1’s - Celebrity Fit Club, The Surreal Life and The Shot, The CW’S - Next Pussy Cat Doll and Pussy Cat Doll 2, BRAVO’S - Step It Up, NBC’s America’s Busiest Family, WB’s – EXTRA, The Starlet, High School Reunion and The Tyra Banks Show, FOX’S - The Next Great Champ, MTV’s Surf Girls, Spring Break, and Making The Band with P Diddy and The STYLE Network’s How Do I Look? In addition to product placement, her company assists with fashion styling, Reality TV set design, filming on location, product integrations and studio wardrobe services. Events that she has coordinated include film/TV production events, weddings, photo shoots and fashion shows.
When Melissa’s daughter, Gabriella, was born in 2006 she wanted to give her the freshest food available. After meeting with nutritionist Cynthia Epps, she began creating a new kind of easy-to-make baby food using the best organic fruits, vegetables and diary products available. In addition to overseeing her company, she has recently decided to work from home three days a week and apply her talents to the creation of baby foods, a baby clothing.line and a series of instructional videos that give parents tips and tricks for easy-to-make foods for babies and toddlers.