Pooja BavishiPooja Bavishi

Pooja Bavishi is the Founder and CEO of Malai, an artisanal ice cream company with flavorsinspired bynostalgic,aromatic spices and South Asian ingredients, based in Brooklyn, NewYork. Pooja founded Malai when she discovered that the same spices of her childhood–ginger,rose petals, saffron, and cardamom-could be used to robustly flavor ice creams in a way thatshe had never tasted before.She notes that she “founded Malai because desserts bring peoplejoy, and I wanted to be in the business of delivering happiness.”

Pooja continues to craft all of Malai'sflavorsand distributes through various channels, includinga storefront in Brooklyn, selling pints nationwide in grocery stores, and online. Shehas claimedthe title of “champion” after winning a battle on Food Network’sChopped Sweetsin March of2020.Poojaholds a B.A. from UNC-Chapel Hill, an M.S. from the London School ofEconomics,and an M.B.A. from NYU.She is a 2018 Tory Burch FoundationFellow and was named one ofInc. Magazine Female Founders 100 in October of 2020