Ms. Manjit Minhas was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta. Her parents, Mr. Manmohan Singh Minhas (family of Daroli Khurd, Distt. Jalandhar) and Mrs. Rani Kaur Minhas (born in Parhar family of Karnana, Distt. Nawan Shahr) came to Canada, a long time ago. Manjit, a Petroleum Engineer student turned beer baroness recently spoke 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.  

Manjit started Mountain Crest Liquors Inc. (MCLI) at the ripe 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. She recently sold her Alberta companies to her brother and is concentrating on expansion in the remainder of Canada. 

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 fuelling her continuing expansion, Manjit is now set to bring premium quality beers to Saskatchewan and Ontario.  

Last year Minhas Creek Brewing Company had revenues in excess of $22 million.   
 

Manjit and her story has been featured in many publications such as MacLean’s 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. 

Mr. Ravinder Minhas was born and raised in Calgary and still calls Calgary home. His parents, Mr. Manmohan Singh Minhas (born in Minhas family of Daroli Khurd, Distt. Jalandhar) and Mrs. Rani Kaur Minhas (born in Parhar family of Karnana, Distt. Nawan Shahr) came to Canada, a long time ago. Ravinder is a 2005 graduate of The University of Calgary in Petroleum Engineering.

At the ripe age of 18 years old (right out of High School), Ravinder and his older sister Manjit (age 19 at the time), decided to start a company called Mountain Crest Liquors Inc (MCLI).  Mountain Crest Liquors mandate was to bring design, create recipes and market high quality premium liquor and sell them at a discounted price.  The siblings started with rum, rye, gin, blended scotch and vodka. Things went well for the pair but there big break came when Tequila prices in Canada sky-rocketed due to a ‘so-called’ blue agave shortage in Mexico (the main ingredient in making tequila). Ravinder and Manjit however had a secure supply of tequila at an amazing price; they took over a large amount of the Tequila business in Alberta. In 2005 Ravinder decided to purchase MCLI from Manjit (so she could concentrate on expansion territories in Canada.) He now solely owns MCLI which now has over 90 products in it portfolio ranging from hard liquor to cream liquors and wines.

The Liquor business was great but Ravinder’s dream and the engineer in him wanted to be in the beer business.   So in 2003 he incorporated a company called Mountain Crest Brewing Company (MCBC) to create and sell premium beer at discounted prices.  Upon entering the Alberta market, Mountain Crest Classic Lager (his flagship brand) had instant success and quickly became a household brand.  The consumers loved the beer so much that the suggested slogan became ‘Damn Good Beer’ which can be found on all 9 beer brands that have been created and marketed by Ravinder’s Company. The line extension includes a classic pilsner, a light beer, an American lager and variety of other beers. MCBC is the only brewer to have successfully launched and sustained new beer brand in Alberta in the last 10 years.  In 2^1/2 years MCBC has sold over 150 million cans of beer in the province of Alberta. His companies have over $55 million in annual revenues and are still growing at over 40% per year.

Ravinder has a simple philosophy when it comes to running his companies; he likes to be hands on in many aspects and works on a zero debt mandate. He has no loans, partners, and lines of credits or financing, he has been able to grow and sustain his business by re-investing profits and keeping lower overheads.
 
Ravinder has been the recipient of many nominations and awards for accomplishments at such a young age.  Some of them being Calgary Inc’s top 40 under 40, JCI’s (Junior Chamber International) Outstanding Young Calgarian: Accomplishment Award,  Alberta Centennial Medallion (2006), FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders) Recognition Award (2006) and CIBC Student Entrepreneur of the Year (2005).