A Conversation with Cassandra Lam the Founder of Mama Lams Malaysian Sauces

Welcome to Season 6, Episode 37! Our guest today is Cassandra Lam, the Founder of Mama Lam's, the first American business to produce, package, and distribute a Malaysian curry paste. Raised in New York City, Cassandra launched the company to create a taste of their homeland in their new home in America. We were inspired to learn about how their self-funded, self-produced venture could take the various sauces and authentic flavors that Mama Lam made at home to create a unique taste that honors their Malaysian heritage for anyone to try. Since launching their Malaysian Traditional Medium Curry Paste in 2016, they've also added a peanut satay paste, a sambar belecan (aka hot sauce), chili oil, and pandan kaya. They even have several vegan variations too! You can order directly from their website or find them through their store locator. They're sold through about 137 locations across the U.S. Once you get some of their high quality sauces, then you can visit their Recipes page to see how others are using them. In our conversation we talk about how they got their start, expansion of products, some of the challenges of scaling to sell consumer packaged goods, difficulties with creating vegan versions, plans for focusing on different cities, and so much more. To learn more about Mama Lam's authentic Malaysian sauces, you can visit their website mamalams.com, follow them on instagram @mamalams, purchase some of their sauces, and even just get inspired by their recipe section. Enjoy the conversation. If you like what we do, please share, follow, and like us in your podcast directory of choice or on Instagram @AAHistory101. For previous episodes and resources, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or our links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at info@aahistory101.com.