Dragons’ Den is a Canadian reality TV show that airs on CBC – similar to Shark Tank where aspiring entrepreneurs come to pitch their products and ideas to a panel of investors, in the hopes of gaining a new investment. Watch the clip from CBC Gem.
Dragons’ Den introduced their first celebrity guest, Simu Liu, on Season 19 Episode 3 with a cup of boba right by his side. (Watch the Trailer Here )
The Canadian actor known for his roles in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Barbie, and Kim’s Convenience, was introduced to many businesses, one of which was Bobba. A healthier “Ready-to-Drink” bubble tea from Québec, Canada was presented to the panel in various styles such as bottles, cans, and ready-to-go popping boba pouches. Alongside this, the business owners Sébastien and Jessica who went onto the show seeking one million Canadian dollars in exchange for 18% of their business included that they also have alcoholic versions of their products as well. This resulted in a positive exclamation by Canadian entrepreneur, Manjit Minhas, a Dragon known for her Breweries & Distilleries.
To introduce the Bobba brand, Jessica stated, “That trendy sugary drink, you are queuing up for, and you are never quite sure of its content”. This led to the comment from long-time boba drinker Simu Liu, “I am quite sure about its content but continue.”
As the pitch from Bobba started, Simu Liu found himself having a few questions. To start off the conversation, he made a comment regarding the idea of disturbing the market of bubble tea and how the idea of it is concerning to him. One of the dragons Manjit Minhas replied with her thoughts saying, “Why? There can be new takes on things” and “Not everything has to be traditional.” This opened the floor for Simu Liu to express how boba in general has such strong ties to the Asian identity and that he has an issue with companies trying to, “make something better” without showing tribute to its origins.
As the pitch starts from the company Bobba, Sébastien explains, “It’s not an ethnical product anymore – not with the popping bobas,” and “We took the Asian version and we made it with the fruit, the juice.”
Many of the other dragons on the panel had questions regarding the name, the challenges, their sales, and many other questions as well. A question asked by Wes Hall, (another dragon on the show) was regarding the beliefs of the company and why they chose to enter this specific business. This gained a response from Sébastien who explained that he looked at the data from the boba market and saw that popping boba was rising everywhere in the world and he needed to capitalize off it.
The current challenge for the company is trying to figure out how they can bring their product Bobba to the United States in places such as Albertsons Markets.
Brian Scudamore, another dragon on the panel questioned if it was a good idea to have the same name as the industry they have entered. This question originated from the panelist as the industry is “boba” and the brand’s name is Bobba as well. Simu Liu responded with, “Well, they added a B.”
In response to the question Sébastien explains, “So right now we are rebranding – We are working with lawyers and everything, at the end of the day we’re going to need to add a little word after Bobba.”
Simu Liu, “Clearly you are doing very well, what respect is being paid to this very Asian drink that is blown up around the world? And is it in your tea? Is it in your product development? Who is on your staff, who is on your cap table that is providing this for you?”
The response to the question by Sébastien was, “Our best partner is in Taiwan, actually. So, they make all the recipes, all the boba, – we travel to Taiwan, we speak with them, they are part of our team.” and “that is the cultural part of our product.”
After explaining their “crazy success” with their popping boba pouches Sébastien exclaims, “I’m sure we can sell it to Pepsi for $1 billion in, like, five years – we are convinced to that.”
Simu continues with, “I am studying your can, and I am looking for anything that tells me where boba came from, and where boba came from is Taiwan.” He then gives his explanation of why this would not be the right investment for his company, “I started this venture company for a lot of reasons, but really, primarily to uplift minority entrepreneurs, and not only do I feel like this is not happening here, but that I would be uplifting a business that is profiting off something that feels so dear to my cultural heritage. I want to be part of bringing boba to the masses, but not like this.”
Both Sébastien and Jessica responded with, “Respect that.”
The company Bobba did make a deal with Manjit Minhas and left with what they were hoping for.
Immediately following the release of the episode, many social media users criticized Bobba, siding with Liu’s point about the product being cultural appropriation. Some social media users took it to more extremes. Simu Liu took to Instagram with a story responding to the negative reactions on social media towards that specific episode. Along with a TikTok video shortly after explaining that, it is okay to disagree with others, but it is never okay to threaten or harm others. See his TikTok video here or look on his TikTok page @simuliu
Following this story Dragon Manjit Minhas released a video on her Instagram page @manjit.minhas that she will no longer be investing in the company Bobba. See Video Here
Bobba also released a written statement on their platforms @bobbaofficiel regarding the situation and how they are taking this situation as a learning experience. Click here to read their full statement.