Who is Manjit Minhas, who’s involved in the bubble tea drama with Simu Liu? The Dragon’s Den judge disagreed with the Marvel star over claims of cultural appropriation, but later pulled her investment

Oct 23 , 2024

Fiery exchange: Dragon’s Den investors Simu Liu and Manjit Minhas butted heads over boba tea in a recent episode of the Canadian show. Photos: @manjit.minhas, @simuliu/Instagram

When two business partners pitched a ‘healthier’ version of boba, the Barbie actor raised the issue of cultural appropriation, but Minhas disagreed, saying that ‘not everything has to be traditional’

There’s discord in Dragons’ Den – and the internet is invested.

To bring you up to speed, Dragons’ Den Canada is a popular Shark Tank style reality show where entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to secure investment from a panel.

In a recent episode of the show featuring celebrity guest Simu Liu, Canadian bubble tea company Bobba, founded by Quebec City entrepreneurs Sebastien Fiset and Jess Frenette, introduced their product as a “convenient and healthier” version of the Taiwanese drink, claiming to “disturb” the market. The duo also asserted that their drink was “not ethnical”.

The Barbie star, who is Chinese-Canadian, took issue to the brand’s claims, pointing out that “taking something that’s very distinctly Asian in its identity and, quote unquote, making it better” is essentially cultural appropriation.

However, fellow Dragon Manjit Minhas had a different point of view as she dismissed Liu’s concerns about cultural appropriation as “a little heavy”, saying, “there can be new takes on things … not everything has to be traditional”. Minhas, who is the co-founder and co-owner of Minhas Brewery, Distillery and Winery, went on to invest US$1 million for 20 per cent of the company.

Liu, on the other hand, doubled down: “I started this venture company for a lot of reasons but really primarily to uplift minority entrepreneurs. Not only do I feel like this is not happening here, but that I would be uplifting a business that is profiting off of something that feels so dear to my cultural heritage. I want to be a part of bringing boba to the masses, but not like this.”

The pitch immediately sparked online debate after clips of it went viral, leading to the Bobba founders facing heated backlash. It got so bad that Liu came out with a video statement denouncing the cyberbullying, Minhas withdrew her investment, and Bobba apologised. Still, Minhas continued to face the ire of netizens, who claimed her apology video was scripted and lacked a core ingredient … the apology.

So, just who is Manjit Minhas?

Who is Manjit Minhas, who’s involved in the bubble tea drama with Simu Liu? The Dragon’s Den judge disagreed with the Marvel star over claims of cultural appropriation, but later pulled her investment

When two business partners pitched a ‘healthier’ version of boba, the Barbie actor raised the issue of cultural appropriation, but Minhas disagreed, saying that ‘not everything has to be traditional’

What’s Manjit Minhas’ background?