Manjit Minhas

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Manjit Minhas (May 31, 1980) was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta. Minhas was a Petroleum Engineer student before becoming an entrepreneur in the alcoholic beverages market. Minhas has given talks at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and at the Haskayne School of Business at The University of Calgary where she shared the secrets of her success with aspiring MBA students.^[1]

Manjit started Mountain Crest Liquors Inc. (MCLI) at the age of 19 in Alberta. MCLI produces, develops and markets 90 brands of spirits, wines, beers and cordials in Alberta. These products are manufactured for the company in Kentucky, New Jersey and Wisconsin in USA as well as in Holland and Germany. In late 2002 she entered the beer market in Alberta with her brother and gave the big boys a run for their money with Mountain Crest Classic Lager and became the first successful beer company to enter Canada in decades.

In late 2004 she founded Minhas Creek Brewing Company in Manitoba and now produces and markets 7 different brands in that province including her flagship beer, Minhas Creek Classic Lager. Manjit has single handedly caused a stir in the Manitoba beer industry by gaining huge market share in such a short amount of time with her aggressive marketing and advertising techniques and her pricing strategies. Many beer drinkers have welcomed her style of beer, as a tasty alternative to the higher priced domestic beers that presently dominate the market place.

Manjit Minhas is the 1st brewer in Canada to voluntarily put a Management Warning on all her beer cans. The Management Warning on the cans reads as " MANAGEMENT WARNING: Please do not drink and drive - ever. Expectant mothers should avoid drinking alcoholic products. Enjoy this product responsibly - Respect yourself and others". She recently put this on all her products because she believes as a responsible brewer and citizen of this country it is important she does her part to educate Canadians.

With the success of her first two ventures fueling her continuing expansion, Manjit is now set to bring premium quality beers to Saskatchewan.

Last year Minhas Creek Brewing Company had revenues in excess of $11 million and is growing at a rate of 50% per year.

Manjit has been nominated and has won several business industry awards. More recent ones are listed below:

Top 100 Women Entrepreneurs in Canada (2004)
“Top Growth Entrepreneur” award, PROFIT magazine in Toronto (2004)
Ranked #6 in the “Top 50 Fastest Growing Companies” by Alberta Venture Magazine (2005)
Alberta Chamber of Commerce Marketing Award (2005)
Young Achiever Award from the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (2005)
Compelling Calgarian Award given by the Calgary Herald (2006)
Alberta Centennial Medallion (2006)
“Up and Coming CEO” from The National Post (2006)

Manjit and her story has 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, Des Pardes Times, etc. She has also been featured on TV in programs such as the CBC National News with Peter Mansbridge, CBC Venture, Money Wise, Careers TV, and many other news programs in Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Toronto.