Welcome! I’m Simi Shah, and in this newsletter, I dive deep into the journeys of South Asian trailblazers. Find our podcast on Apple & Spotify and episodes/events on our Instagram & LinkedIn.
🗓️ 4/4 Podcast Event with Anjula Acharia in NYC
Next Tuesday, I’ll be hosting a LIVE in-person podcast event with Anjula Acharia — legendary investor, entrepreneur, and manager to Priyanka Chopra Jonas. Reserve your seat now.
Latest Episode🍦Pooja Bavishi, Founder & CEO of Malai Icecream
This week, I caught up with Pooja Bavishi, Founder and CEO of Malai, a trailblazer sure to satisfy your sweet tooth. Malai is an artisanal ice cream company, with flavors inspired by the nostalgic, aromatic spices and ingredients of South Asian culture.
Pooja had always wanted to be in the business of delivering happiness, AKA desserts. In 2015, she founded Malai following her graduation from the NYU Stern School of Business. Since it’s founding, she has been incredibly hands-on in the everyday of Malai's operations, from the creation of ice cream flavors like Kheer and Lemon Cardamom to launching their 2nd scoop shop at Market 57 in Manhattan (opening April 1!) to expanding their presence through nationwide shipping in grocery stores like Whole Foods.
Pooja previously claimed the title of champion after winning a battle on the Food Network's Chopped Sweets and was named one of Inc. Magazine's Female Founders 100 in October 2020. And prior to her full force foray into food, Pooja spent time in the world of urban planning, civil rights, and the broader universe of nonprofit and social impact work. She holds a B.A. from UNC Chapel Hill, an M.S. from the London School of Economics, and an MBA from NYU. Tune in as Simi digs into Pooja's experience building at the intersection of food and culture. Episode excerpts below:
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Simi: Something that struck me about your story is that this powerful relationship you have with food has been a through line in your life. Tell me about those early experiences in your Indian immigrant household in North Carolina that shaped your relationship with our culture through food.
Pooja: For a lot of first generations who are curious about their culture, food is a really easy entry point. You have access to it on a daily basis. And for me, I love food anyway. It wasn't just that I wanted this South Asian cultural experience. I love sweets. I really enjoy food. I love flavor, all of that. But really, I grew up with this longing for my parents childhood. I felt this nostalgia for my parents growing up and almost felt like I missed out in that I didn't get to grow up the way that they did. They would talk so romantically about the way they grew up drying mangoes on the rooftops and making pickles and taking rickshaws places and these film houses and standing up for the national anthem. All of these stories are so ingrained in my memory. I wanted to experience that and the easiest entry point for me was food. And so, I loved being in the kitchen with my mom. My dad is also a hobbyist when it comes to cooking, so he also would be in the kitchen. And I would learn so much — not just about that dish. Because it's also this moment of coming together when you're in the kitchen with someone. It's such a prime time for storytelling. I always felt like it was this sacred moment where I would learn more and more about our culture. Whether I heard a story for the first time or 100th time, it made me feel closer to the culture.
Simi: You always knew you were going to start a dessert business and in 2015, you made the leap. Let’s dig into the minutiae. How do you actually start an ice cream business?
Pooja: I was a business school student, so keep that in mind. In my last semester of business school, I would hold these focus groups in my apartment and have my classmates come over and give their feedback. Each focus group would focus on something different: price point, flavor, texture, what stores they shop at. Also because I was still in school, I would go to all of these conferences and sample the product there.
At that time, it truly felt like it was a little bit of a leap. Was this New York crowd really ready for a rose-flavored ice cream or a chai-flavored ice cream? Is this too big of a shift? All of 2015 was a year of trying to gather as much data as possible, and trying to make sure that there's a market for this. Eventually, I applied for Hester Street, which is this weekend food fair on the Lower East Side. It gives many small businesses a chance, and I went through the whole application process and got all the permits. I would also join these Facebook groups of women in food and women in hospitality and ask them questions.
I sold my first scoop three weeks after I graduated, and just had a weekend business. I had no one else. It was just me making the ice cream in my Manhattan apartment. Basically, Monday through Friday, I would just make ice cream and store it in chest freezers across my apartment. I invited all of my friends within a 4-hour driving distance to help me sell on the weekends. And that’s how the first Summer of Malai went.
Full episode on Apple, Spotify, or our website!