TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Canadian actor Simu Liu sparked a debate about cultural appropriation after entrepreneurs attempted to re-create and sell the popular Taiwanese drink bubble tea.
Two entrepreneurs from Quebec founded a beverage company called Bobba, based on Taiwan’s bubble tea, or boba. They pitched their product on the show Dragons’ Den, seeking money from a panel of investors.
The founders, Sebastien Fiset and Jess Frenette, sought US$1 million (NT$30 million) in exchange for 18% of the company. However, Liu, one of the investors on the show, disagreed with their pitch and brought up issues of cultural appropriation.
Frenette described boba as a “trendy, sugary drink.” Fiset said their product had transformed the Taiwanese beverage into a more healthy, clean, ready-to-drink experience with three simple ingredients: tea, fruit juice, and bubbles.
After tasting the drink, Liu said, “I’m concerned about this idea of disrupting or disturbing bubble tea.” He added, “There’s an issue of taking something that’s very distinctly Asian in its identity and quote-unquote making it better.”
Liu’s fans on social media said he was referencing the racist stereotype of Asian foods being “dirty” and the ways non-Asian people have attempted to make the foods “clean.”
Liu also pointed to problems with the product’s packaging and the entrepreneurs’ lack of acknowledgment that boba originated in Taiwan. “I am studying your can and I am looking for anything that tells me where boba came from,” Liu said. “Where boba came from is Taiwan.”
Liu added, “I started this venture company for a lot of reasons, but really primarily to uplift minority entrepreneurs … 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.”
He concluded, “I want to be a part of bringing boba to the masses, but not like this. So for that reason, I’m out.”
The episode sparked a large debate on social media about cultural appropriation. People found issues with the brand's presentation, which they said commercialized and overlooked the traditional food’s cultural significance.
Liu responded on social media after the episode aired that he appreciated the support he had received. However, he condemned harassment and threats that have been directed at Bobba's founders.
“Let’s critique each other. Let’s critique this idea of cultural appropriation. Let’s talk about it,” Liu said. “But what we’re not going to do is threaten people’s physical safety and make people feel unsafe and cause them trauma that, quite honestly, they don’t deserve as entrepreneurs who, in good faith, attempted to pitch a business.”
The founders of Bobba said on Tiktok that they “deeply apologize for the harm we have caused by our words and actions on the show.”
“It is clear to us that we should have called upon the expertise of our Taiwanese partners to share the ways in which we give credit to the cultural roots of bubble tea to ensure cultural integrity by property acknowledging its origins in Taiwanese culture,” the statement read.
“We will re-evaluate our branding, packaging, and marketing strategies to ensure that they reflect a respectful and accurate representation of our Taiwanese partnership and bubble tea’s cultural roots,” it added.
Manjit Minhas, one of the other investors on the show, originally agreed to invest in the product, arguing that “not everything has to be traditional.”
However, she later announced, “After more reflection, due diligence, and listening to many of your opinions, I will not be investing in Bobba Tea.”
