How does such a little girl operate such a big machine?
"I get asked that all the time, usually by middle-aged men," says Zarina Randhawa with a laugh.
"I don't take it personally. I just let my work speak for itself."
The work of which she speaks is owning and operating Penticton-based Betza Bottling, a mobile wine bottling line.
She's the only woman in Canada to own such a business.
To bust more stereotypes she's doing so as a young entrepreneur (Zarina is 25 and started the business when she was 20) and a minority (she's Punjabi Indian).
"Absolutely, many wineries are surprised I'm female and young," she says.
"It's definitely a male-dominated field."
Zarina also has to deal with such assumptions when potential clients call in for information.
"When I first talk to them on the phone, they assume I'm the secretary," she says.
"I just take it with a grain of salt."
Zarina's job is towing her equipment in a 46-foot-long trailer behind a Dodge 5500 heavy-duty truck to wineries up and down the Okanagan to set up the mobile line and bottle up to 1,000 bottles of wine every 20 minutes.
"The primary operator is me and I also have a secondary operator," she says.
Would you like to work with Zarina?
She's getting so busy that she's hiring another operator.
Submit your resume to [email protected].
"My business plan showed there was a need for a mobile wine bottling line in the Okanagan because there are so many smaller wineries here that need bottling but don't want to make a big investment in their own line," says Zarina.
Zarina did her business plan after studying business management in Toronto.
“My parents were instrumental in helping me launch my business,” says Zarina.
“Everything I know about machinery, and bottling specifically, I learned from my dad (he worked in mobile bottling for a decade). He is a wealth of knowledge with a versatile skill set. Although I studied business management, my mom is who I turn to for business and finance advice. She knows the tips and tricks of the trade and acts as a sounding board for new ideas. I guess you can call her my business guru.”
The mobile line Zarina owns and operates was manufactured by GAI in Italy and she bought it from a US distributor.
Her clients, to name a few, include wineries Volcanic Hills in West Kelowna, Ex Nihilo in Lake Country, Covert Farms and Vin Amite in Oliver and Lang and De Silva on the Naramata Bench.
Zarina likes the seasonality of mobile bottling with busy stretches March-April and June-September.
She generally used the down time in December, January and February to travel, a perk that disappeared this year with COVID restrictions.
Zarina is also co-owner of Green Light Cannabis, which has stores in Penticton and Okanagan Falls, with her sister Esha, a pharmacist and young entrepreneur herself at age 32, and brother, Ajay, 21.
By the way, Betza Bottling incorporates the initials of everyone in the family, mom Bira, sister Esha, dad Ted, Zarina and brother Ajay.
