Ordering in: A student entrepreneur is turning ugly fruits into premium gelato

Online gelato brand The Unusual Greens was launched in November this year with four flavours after six months of experimentation and testing. — Photos: THE UNUSUAL GREENS

One year ago, 20-year-old accounting student Hailey Yong joined a global business pitching competition with two other friends. The theme for the competition then was food and sustainability, and Yong confesses that at the time, she had little to no exposure to issues like food waste.

“For the competition, we did a lot of research and it was shocking to know that food waste is a huge issue but we often overlook it. So we were kind of heartbroken because there are so many underprivileged communities in Malaysia and yet we are wasting at least 24% of food every day. So, we thought, ‘How can we be a part of the solution?’,” says Yong.