Pooja Bavishi is the founder and CEO of Malai, an acclaimed New York-based ice cream company and scoop shop specializing in innovative flavors infused with traditional South Asian ingredients. Inspired by the spices of her childhood—ginger, rose petals, fennel, saffron, and cardamom—Pooja opened Malai in 2015 to offer a unique ice cream experience that blends her rich culinary heritage with everyone’s favorite frozen dessert. The success of Malai soon led to other accomplishments. She won the Food Network’s Chopped Sweets competition in March 2020, was recognized as one of Inc. magazine’s Female Founders 100 in October 2020, and was named a Tory Burch Foundation Fellow in 2018. Pooja holds a BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, an MS from the London School of Economics, and an MBA from NYU’s Stern School of Business.

Founded in 2015 by Pooja Bavishi, Malai is a Brooklyn-based company revolutionizing the ice cream experience by using vibrant South Asian spices and ingredients as a nod to Pooja’s first generation Indian-American upbringing. Malai’s ice creams are innovative and celebrated for their robust flavors and creamy textures, offering an indulgence that is both nostalgic and unique. 

Malai’s treats are always eggless, sometimes vegan, and come in a variety of delightful forms: ice cream, kulfi pops, ice cream cakes, and ice cream sandos.

From scoop shops in NYC and DC to nationwide shipping and select grocery store availability across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, Malai is making its mark.