Podcast Summary: Making It with Jon Davids

Episode 235: "This Is How I Run a $100M+ Family Business"

Guest: Manjit Minhas, Entrepreneur & Investor
Date: December 12, 2025

Overview

This episode features Manjit Minhas, co-owner of Minhas Breweries and Distillery, as she shares the journey of taking a family-run liquor brand from its humble start in her parents’ liquor store to becoming a leading $100M+ manufacturing conglomerate. Host Jon Davids dives deep into Manjit's business strategies, operational insights, funding approaches, and the challenges and opportunities of growing a family business in the competitive world of beverages.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Company Scale & Global Reach

(00:10 – 01:47)

• Employees & Facilities: The group now employs about 1,000 people and operates seven facilities.
• Automation & Efficiency: Operations run nearly 24/7, only pausing briefly for preventative maintenance, reflecting the importance of uptime in manufacturing.
• Global Distribution & Partnerships: They sell in Canada, the U.S., and 16 other countries. Notable collaborations include creating private and white-label products for major retailers like Costco (Kirkland Light), Trader Joe’s (seven beer brands and rum), Sam’s Club, Walmart, 7-Eleven, Safeway, and others.
• Business Mix: The business is a hybrid of proprietary brands and private/white-label production, giving flexibility and reach.

Notable Quote

"If my machines aren't running and they're not packaging and not brewing, I'm not making money either."
— Manjit Minhas, 00:31

2. Brand Proliferation: Why So Many Brands?

(01:47 – 04:10)

• Customizing for Markets: Many brands were developed to serve different customer segments and regional tastes, often at the request of major retail partners.
• Local Approach: Minhas aimed to be "the local brand in each province before that was fashionable," allowing for agility and customer responsiveness.
• Brand Lifespan: Some products are enduring staples (e.g., Mountain Crest Classic Lager, Alamo Tequilas, Blondie's Irish Cream), while many are high-margin, short-run “quick hits” tailored to specific opportunities or retailer needs.
• Benefits: This approach ensures production volume to keep manufacturing lines running efficiently.

Notable Quote

"Not every brand that we make actually lasts five years or a lifetime. Some are just quick hits. Those are the high margin products, but often they have other purposes behind them."
— Manjit Minhas, 03:50

3. Origin Story: From Private Label to Industry Player

(04:46 – 06:51)

• Founding: Began in 1999 as a sales, marketing, and branding company, creating a private label for their parents’ liquor stores after their father was laid off as an engineer.
• Co-packing Beginnings: Early products were made under contract (co-packed) in North America and Mexico.
• Expansion via Acquisition: In the early 2000s, Minhas and her brother invested in a Wisconsin brewery, at first just as major customers, then negotiated its purchase ("forced them to sell it") and transformed into full manufacturers in 2006.

Notable Quote

"I think that is one of the great cornerstones to my success—I'm a good negotiator."
— Manjit Minhas, 06:02

4. Vertical Integration & End-to-End Control

(07:06 – 09:06)

• Growth Strategy: After acquiring the brewery, they expanded capacity and began constructing new breweries and distilleries in regions like Calgary, Regina, and Mexico.
• Vertical Integration: They built or acquired businesses across their supply chain—graphic design, print shop, glass factory, trucking company, and even a film production company—to gain control, lower costs, and increase flexibility.
• Manufacturing vs Sales: Minhas stresses these are distinct businesses requiring different strategies and teams.

Notable Quote

"We wanted to have control over more and more of our end-to-end processes and where we were spending the most money... So we set up shops and they were their own businesses in themselves."
— Manjit Minhas, 08:20

5. Funding the Business: Financial Discipline & Creative Deals

(09:21 – 11:04)

• Bootstrapped Philosophy: The company avoided heavy debt, operating on the classic “buy with what you have” method instilled by her immigrant parents.
• Cash Flow Focus: Funding growth meant managing and maneuvering cash flow carefully—ensuring suppliers got paid on time, negotiating terms (e.g., 1% discounts for paying within 10 days), and never overextending.
• Open Money Conversations: Minhas stresses the importance of open conversations with suppliers and partners about pain points and priorities, fostering mutually beneficial relationships.

Notable Quote

"You buy with what you have in the bank and you don't overextend yourself... For me, it's always the first thing I talk about."
— Manjit Minhas, 10:09

Memorable Moments & Additional Insights

• Family Roots & Work Ethic: Minhas’ story is woven with immigrant grit and the desire to build lasting opportunity, starting with her father’s layoff and the family’s pivot into liquor retail.
• Agility as a Competitive Edge: The emphasis on flexibility, both in branding and operations, is cited as vital for surviving and thriving against giant, older competitors.
• Reflections on Complexity: Manjit jokes that, in hindsight, she might have streamlined branding but values the agility and learnings from their many products and approaches.
• Vertical Integration as a Key Strategy: Owning logistics, production, and marketing assets allowed for faster execution and cost savings, a necessity when competing with industry behemoths.

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Company Scale & Global Operations: 00:10 – 01:47
• Brand Diversity Strategy: 01:57 – 04:10
• Founding Story & Early Expansion: 04:46 – 06:51
• Scaling & Vertical Integration: 07:06 – 09:06
• Funding & Financial Management: 09:21 – 11:04

Tone and Style

Manjit Minhas is candid, practical, and proudly self-reliant in her storytelling—reflecting the hands-on, no-nonsense ethos behind her company’s rise. The conversation is accessible yet filled with operational wisdom and entrepreneurial insight.

Final Takeaway

This episode offers a transparent and instructive look at the growth of a major family-run business, spotlighting how discipline, adaptability, and bold negotiation can propel a startup into a $100M+ industry powerhouse. Manjit Minhas serves as a blueprint for scaling with purpose, strategic integration, and an unshakeable commitment to financial prudence.