MANJIT MINHAS
BUSINESS
ICON
Manjit Minhas has pioneered the current market of the brewery industry. She has created the most innovative, and very successful brewery and distillery businesses in the US and Canada.
In 2006, Manjit and her brother Ravinder Minhas purchased Joseph Huber Brewery, the 2nd oldest brewery in the United States in Monroe, Wisconsin (established 1845) and renamed it “Minhas Craft Brewery”. Being in their mid 20s, the purchase of this Brewery officially made them the Youngest Brewery Owners in The World. Minhas Craft Brewery is now ranked in Top 10 Breweries in the USA.
Today, with Ravinder Minhas owning 100% of the Monroe, state-of-the-art facility, Manjit Minhas opened a brand new brewery in Calgary Alberta, June 2012 – the Minhas Micro Brewery.
Manjit quickly added a distillery and kitchen + tap room to her Calgary facility. This facility makes unique and specialty beers, spirits and wines such as Dragon's Tears, White Wolf, Boxer Lager and Pilsner, Blarney's Irish Cream, Blackstone Vodka, Copper Club Vodka, KISS co-founder Gene Simmons' Moneybag Vodka, and ShoreBreak rum + soda line of RTDs.
MINHAS SIBLINGS RAVINDER AND MANJIT AT
MINHAS CRAFT BREWERY & DISTILLERY | MONROE, WISONSIN
How it started
How its going
MINHAS SIBLINGS MANJIT AND RAVINDER 1987
Manjit Minhas | Her Business Perspective As a Beer Baroness in a male dominated Industry:
"I was more than willing to put in the work to create my own reputation for being a hardworking, honorable businessperson in my own right."
MANJIT AT MINHAS MICRO BREWERY & DISTILLERY | CALGARY, ALBERTA
"You need to own your accomplishments. The communal, consensus-building qualities encouraged in young girls can leave women unintentionally downplaying their own worth."
Manjit expresses the issue of "I" vs. "we" statements in an interview with Beau Monde magazine,
"Using the first person to discuss successes felt to me as if I’m bragging but I have changed that perspective and now live by the motto – Be willing NOT to be humble."
Manjit and her story have been featured in many publications such as Macleans Magazine, Canadian Business Magazine, Alberta Venture Magazine, The National Post, The Globe & Mail, The Calgary Herald, The Edmonton Journal, The Toronto Star, The Toronto Sun, The Winnipeg Free Press, Bar & Beverage Magazine, etc. She has also been featured on TV in programs such as the CBC National News, CBC Venture, Money Wise, Careers TV, and many other news programs across the country.
Outside of Canada, her story has also received lot of attention internationally by the USA and India. This has made her one of the most successful and influential female entrepreneurs of the last 2 decades.
Manjit also co-owns Spotlight TV and Film Production that writes, directs and produces numerous documentaries, feature films, lifestyle programs, tv and digital commercials and corporate videos based in Calgary, Vancouver and Los Angeles. Spotlight TV has produced documentaries for Amazon, Blue Ant Distribution, CBC TV, Rogers TV, Telus and other major media corporations.
In Early 2015, CBC approached Manjit to star on Dragons’ Den; Manjit has experienced the highs and lows of entrepreneurship and is keen on helping others who work hard to create successful businesses and peruse their passions and dreams. Being a venture capitalist Dragon allows her to share her knowledge, experience and expertise about being an entrepreneur, with millions of Canadians each week. Manjit has invested in 31 businesses in the last 6 seasons/years alone. As the TV show continues to air, she has many more opportunities to invest in the attainable dreams of other Canadian entrepreneurs.
life as a...
In Early 2015, CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's national TV network) approached Manjit to star on Dragons’ Den; Manjit has experienced the highs and lows of entrepreneurship and is keen on helping others who work hard to create successful businesses and pursue their passions and dreams. Being a venture capitalist. Dragon's Den allows her to share her knowledge, experience and expertise about being an entrepreneur with millions of Canadians each week. This TV show is the most successful reality TV shows in the history of Canada and has been on air for 20+ years, and is also streamlined on various electronic platforms including CBC GEM and TikTok. As a Dragon, Manjit has invested in 31 businesses in the last 10 seasons/years alone. As the TV show continues to air, she has many more opportunities to invest in the attainable dreams of other Canadian entrepreneurs.
"Sometimes the commentary on Dragons' Den might seem harsh, but I happily hear from people later who say, 'Wow, that was tough. But nobody else around me was telling me that.'"
"I’ve always been an optimistic person, but I think becoming a “Dragon” has made me even more optimistic. It’s amazing seeing new inventors and entrepreneurs every year coming out of some pretty remarkable hardships. They are still so passionate about business, achieving success, and helping others."
In November 2020 Manjit launched a podcast called The Manjit Minhas Podcast and it hit the Top 10 Podcast charts on its debut day! In each episode of this business podcast Manjit interviews her friends who are successful entrepreneurs and CEO’s, about their journey and path to success. Manjit explores their challenges and how they overcame them and their advice on how listeners can learn from their successes and failures.
A few of the notable leaders Manjit talks to in Season 1 include Jim Pattison, Lisa Lisson (President of FedEx), Ed Sims (CEO of Westjet), Christiane Germain (Co-founder and President of Germain Hotels/ALT Hotels), Vincenzo Guzzo (CEO of Guzzo Cinemas) amongst numerous others.
The Manjit Minhas Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts as well as
Spotify.
Manjit has an extensive background and experience in government relations, shareholder relations, governance and executive performance and compensation.
Manjit is born and raised Calgarian and still calls it home with her husband and their two daughters.
Calgary, Alberta, CANADA