Simu Liu, bubble tea, and ‘Dragons’ Den’: Why TikTok is in an uproar

Clips from Canada’s Dragons’ Den have gone viral after guest Simu Liu called out bubble tea business Bobba for cultural appropriation. Now investing Dragon Manjit Minhas has withdrawn her $1 million investment offer, Bobba is scrambling to do damage control, and Liu is calling for calm as they receive a significant amount of criticism online.

If you’ve missed the firestorm that’s completely taken over Asian TikTok during the past few days, here’s the rundown.

What happened during Simu Liu’s viral appearance on Dragon’s Den?

In the latest episode of Dragon’s Den, Québec City entrepreneurs Sébastien Fiset and Jess Frenette sought a $1 million investment from the Dragons in exchange for 18 percent of their ready-to-drink bubble tea business Bobba. Describing their business as “unique,” the duo expressed a desire to sell their pre-prepared boba company to Pepsi for $1 billion within the next five years.

Unfortunately for them, Shang-Chi actor Simu Liu is a guest Dragon this season. And as the show’s first Chinese-Canadian Dragon, he actually knew enough about bubble tea to have reservations about what they’re doing to this very Asian drink.

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First, Liu pushed back on Fiset and Frenette’s description of bubble tea as “that trendy, sugary drink that you queue up for and you’re never quite sure about its content,” and their bold declaration that “those days are over with Bobba.”

“Hang on, hang on, I’m quite sure about its content, but continue,” Liu interjected. 

Though it varies depending on the specific flavour, standard bubble tea is quite famously made from tea, milk, brown sugar, tapioca starch, and water.

Fiset and Frenette then stated that Bobba has “transformed this beloved beverage into a convenient and healthier ready-to-drink experience,” claiming that they were “disturbing” the boba market with “high quality tea, fruit juice, and our famous popping boba.” Setting aside judgements regarding the quality of the tea, none of these ingredients are new to boba, and can easily be found at any standard bubble tea shop.

“I’m concerned about this idea of disrupting or disturbing bubble tea, because it’s something that’s very near—” started Liu.

“Why?” Minhas interrupted, cutting Liu off while he was in the middle of explaining exactly why. “There can be new takes on things.”

“Sure,” said Liu. “But I’m looking at —”

“Not everything has to be traditional,” said Minhas.

“Then there’s also the issue of cultural appropriation,” Liu continued. “There’s an issue of taking something that’s very distinctly Asian in its identity and quote unquote ‘making it better,’ which I have an issue with.” 

Liu did state that he was open to hearing Bobba’s pitch before forming a solid opinion, with Dragons Wes Hall and Minhas making light of his “heavy” approach. However, the entrepreneurs’ presentation ultimately failed to satisfy Liu.

“[I]t’s not an ethnical [sic] product anymore,” said Fiset. “Not with the popping bobas. So we took the version, the Asian version, and we made it with fruit, with juice.”

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Fiset and Frenette did note that they have a partner in Taiwan after Liu asked what respect was being paid to bubble tea’s Asian origins. Even so, this wasn’t enough to address his apprehension about the venture.

“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,” said Liu, explaining why he would not be investing in Bobba. “I started this venture company [Markham Valley Ventures] 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 of something that feels so dear to my cultural heritage. I want to be a part of bringing boba to the masses, but not like this.”

Despite Liu’s concerns, Bobba received investment offers from Dragons Arlene Dickinson, Michele Romanow, and Minhas. Fiset and Frenette ultimately accepted Minhas’ agreement to their originally proposed terms, seemingly securing $1 million in exchange for 18 percent of the company.

“The popping boba is new,” Minhas commented, displaying a complete lack of knowledge about bubble tea. “I can’t say I’ve had that.”

Popping boba is in fact not new, which will be immediately apparent to anyone who does a quick Google search of the phrase. Fiset even stated that he initially got into the bubble tea business after seeing data indicating that popping boba was rising in popularity. 

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Despite Liu’s misgivings, the entrepreneurs happily left the stage with encouraging words and the promise of a $1 million deal from Minhas. However, the discussion still wasn’t over. Liu and Minhas then continued to talk about Bobba, with the former stating that its success actually saddened him.

“It makes me sad that people are — you know, they’re drinking boba with the raccoon with the [sunglasses],” said Liu, referring to Bobba’s promotional imagery.

Minhas then responded that Bobba had the opportunity to change, with Liu countering that he refused to invest without knowing they were willing to do so.

“They didn’t say no,” said Minhas, despite the fact that they didn’t say yes either. “The collaboration that they’ve had to this point is with their supplier in Taiwan. And if nobody else has told them that before, you can’t put that all on them.”

One would think the onus would be on the entrepreneur to research their chosen industry, rather than wait for others to come along and educate them. Then again, I’m not a venture capitalist, so maybe that’s the accepted standard of due diligence when making million-dollar deals.

Dragons’ Den and Simu Liu responds to Bobba fury

The Dragons’ Den episode aired last Thursday, and TikTok has been in an uproar ever since. Users have blasted Bobba and its founders, accusing them of racism and cultural appropriation. 

“That is literally the same container of popping bobas at the Asian grocery store with a different marketing sticker,” commented TikTok user golf Catty.

The Dragons haven’t gotten away unscathed either, with viewers criticising them for dismissing Liu’s legitimate concerns. Unsurprisingly, the majority of the blowback has been aimed at Minhas.

“I find it really disappointing to see someone who is literally Asian — Manjit — to see her investing in a company that’s very obviously profiting off of a minority culture, and to see her be so dismissive of Simu every time he makes a very reasonable point, in my opinion,” said heyimhershy. “People will ditch their communities for a cheque very quickly.”

Dragons’ Den responded to the furore over the weekend, posting a message from Liu to the show’s social media accounts. In it, Liu reminded viewers that while they’re free to express their anger, it isn’t acceptable to harass or threaten people.

“I stand by my thoughts, but I do not believe [the entrepreneurs] deserve any negative ill will,” Liu wrote in the Instagram post. “It is a learning moment and a lesson that they have surely already understood.”

Liu later elaborated on his statement in a video on his personal TikTok, attempting to direct the conversation back to education and asserting that the other Dragons had been more receptive to his perspective after the cameras had stopped rolling.

“I think we’re starting to lose the plot of what ultimately the positive energy of this is, which is let’s educate people, let’s make the world a better place, let’s make people aware that, you know, certain things aren’t okay from a cultural perspective,” said Liu.

Of course, few people were satisfied by the statement from Dragons’ Den. Many were incredulous that the production chose to issue a message from Liu, the only person deemed to have behaved appropriately, rather than any of the other individuals involved in this fiasco. While the comments on the Dragons’ Den Instagram post have been turned off, other posts on the account have quickly filled with users venting their frustrations.

“The way the Dragon’s Den has reposted a defence by Simu Liu rather than posting an apology is absolutely tone deaf,” wrote orchidblvd in a highly liked post. “DO NOT victimise yourself after actively participating in the erasure of Asian culture. It’s very disappointing.”

Several further criticised Dragons’ Den for characterising Liu as being the one out of line on the show, labelling a video showing part of the segment as “Simu Liu interrupts entrepreneur’s pitch.”

“The way you captioned this video implies that Simu was being disrespectful to the entrepreneurs when clearly he was being disrespected by everyone else in the room who dismissed, ignored and attempted to invalidate his feelings,” commented lilhoneycinnabunny.

 Manjit Minhas withdraws from $1 million Bobba investment

Minhas has issued a statement via her own personal Instagram as well, echoing Liu in condemning hate messages. She also revealed that, while she believes that “sharing cultures increases understanding and brings peace on Earth,” she wouldn’t be investing in Bobba after all.

“Last week’s episode had a pitch from entrepreneurs about Bobba Tea that has sparked a big conversation,” said Minhas. “After more reflection, due diligence and listening to many of your opinions I will not be investing in Bobba Tea.”

Attempting to align herself more closely with Liu in the eyes of Dragons’ Den‘s audience, Minhas said that both of them “always try to use these platforms to educate and enjoy and explore all cultures,” making specific reference to naan (“not naan bread”) and chai (“not chai tea”). 

Unfortunately, her response has led many to believe that Minhas doesn’t actually understand what the issue was in the first place. 

“The problem isn’t that people of other cultures can’t enjoy boba,” commented hand.xowns. “The issue is that you were blatantly gaslighting Simu about valid concerns over cultural appropriation. Your attitude and aggression towards his concerns rather than trying to listen and understand what he was trying to say. How can this boba company say that they take something that is culturally Asian and say they ‘can make it better’? And you defending them that they may not know better is BS cause how do you not do thorough research on a product before you start a business? This ‘apology’ feels like you missed the whole point.”

Further, some have sceptically speculated that Minhas is only pulling out of her investment because the current backlash is likely to impact Bobba’s profitability.

“Translation: ‘The business appears to no longer be lucrative so I will not be investing anymore,’” wrote jennay_win. “‘I don’t see the cultural appropriation everyone is mentioning — but here is a script. Please leave me alone.’”

Bobba’s apology fails to quell criticism regarding cultural appropriation

The last to publicly address the controversy, Bobba finally released a lengthy statement on Sunday via social media, slaying that they had needed time to do “due diligence and fully understand the gravity of this situation.” 

“First and foremost, we want to deeply apologize for the harm we have caused by our words and actions on the show,” they wrote. “While it was never our intention to cause harm or disrespect the community that created and popularized this beloved drink, we take full responsibility for the impact of our actions.”

Noting that English is their second language, Fiset and Frenette acknowledged that Liu had made some “very valid points,” and attempted to explain the objectionable assertions they made during their Dragons’ Den appearance.

“When we said ‘you’re never quite sure about its contents,’ we were not referring to the traditional bubble tea formula found in specialized shops, nor were we criticizing it,” they wrote. “What we were comparing it to is the other ready-to-drink products like ours found in big box stores.”

Unfortunately, this defence doesn’t actually do as much for Bobba as they seem to think it does. Like the vast majority of pre-packaged food products, currently available ready-to-drink bubble tea tends to come with a list of ingredients printed on said packaging, letting consumers know exactly what’s in it.

Then there’s also the fact that on Dragons’ Den Frenette was clearly referring to bubble tea “that you queue up for and you’re never quite sure about its content.” Lining up for bubble tea is synonymous with specialised shops, rather than ready-to-drink alternatives grabbed from supermarket shelves. As such, Bobba’s statement has rung as disingenuous to many.

“[N]o one is ‘queueing up for’ bubble tea drinks at a big box store,” commented layssaleite on Instagram. “You knew what you meant with that comment which was directed at traditional bubble tea shops. Attempting to backtrack that comment by saying you were referring to other ready to drink products in big box stores comes across as insincere and diminishes your apology.” 

“For people who are claiming that words were lost in translation, this apology was well written and skillfully composed to divert blame,” said shutupandeatmtl.

Fiset and Frenette also tried to clarify that, rather than their current product, they had presented the Dragons their newest, unlaunched formula which is absent “all artificial colouring, flavouring, and preservatives, while maintaining a lower sugar content.” They further addressed concerns about cultural appropriation, apologising for their “choice of words.”

“This is what we were referring to when we mentioned a ‘healthier’ option on the show,” they stated. “We never claimed that boba is new; what we explained during the show is that we have produced a different way to package it with a ready-to-drink glass bottle that minimises the environmental impact.”

No glass bottles or new formulas were mentioned during the Dragons’ Den episode, though we could give Bobba the benefit of the doubt and assume that these portions of their presentation were left on the cutting room floor.

“Our Taiwanese partners were heavily involved in the research and development of this product, which we believe helped us achieve such early success,” wrote Bobba. “At no point did we mean to insinuate that our Bobba bubble tea is better than traditional bubble tea in any way.”

Bobba concluded its apology by stating that they would re-evaluate their branding, packaging, and marketing to “ensure that they reflect a respectful and accurate representation of our Taiwanese partnership and bubble tea’s cultural roots.”

“We will also commit to further learning about the impacts of cultural appropriation to ensure we are equipped with the skills to effectively work cross-culturally,” they wrote. “We understand that actions speak louder than words, and as such, are committed to taking these necessary steps to ensure our future decisions reflect our values and the deep level of respect we have for Taiwanese culture.”

Even so, critics remain skeptical.

“This apology statement seems more of worrying about the sale than a true learning experience,” commented chloe_js.

During the Dragons’ Den episode, Fiset and Frenette indicated that they were considering adding a word to their brand name Bobba in order to make it more distinctive. It wouldn’t be surprising if they’re now hoping that a rebrand will help to distance them from this debacle.