Noona’s founder Hannah Bae is a native of Queens, New York where she grew up among creative Asian-American culinary delights, and developed a particular affinity for American ice cream. Bae started Noona’s Ice Cream in 2016 with her love for being a noona and pastry chef. To Bae, Noona’s flavors are a way of connecting and being a part of the never-ending work in uplifting Asian-American voices.

What inspired you all to create this company?
Noona means “big sister” in Korean. Being a noona has always provided joy to my life. As a noona and pastry chef, I’m passionate about sharing Asian flavors and a love for good ice cream. I wanted to be the one to give Asian-American representation in our supermarket ice cream aisles. I saw a need for it and Noona’s was born. The day I launched Noona’s was National Ice Cream Day of 2016. Every year, there’s an annual ice cream contest at Hester St Fair on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, and that year I debuted my special toasted rice ice cream. Sure enough, my Toasted Rice ice cream won best flavor and fueled me to base all of Noona’s recipes on flavors that celebrate Asian-American identity and empower women of color entrepreneurs.

What distinguishes your company and product in the market?
Our goal is to create Asian-inspired ice cream flavors in truly delicious ways and for all to enjoy. We hope our flavors make your tastebuds happy and bring us toward a better and full representation of the diverse and colorful world we live in. All our ice creams are made in NYC with a carefully selected combination of local, organic and non-GMO ingredients. We are committed to humanizing and reforming our food culture. Join us in our journey!