Kiran & Simran Mann

S8E5: “Once Mini Me, Now Mini You” 

From Mini Me to Mini You traces the evolution of a mother–daughter relationship as it shifts from teaching to learning, guiding to witnessing. In this episode of Root & Seed, host Anika Chabra sits down with Kiran Mann, CEO of Brar’s, one of Canada’s leading South Asian food brands, and founder of M2M Business Solutions, and her daughter, Simran Mann, who works in digital marketing and is a content creator and freelance strategist. What begins as a conversation about upbringing and culture becomes a shared exploration of becoming, at any age. Kiran reflects on reclaiming parts of herself later in life, while Simran speaks candidly about watching her mother transform in real time. Together, they explore how ambition, food, memory, and presence shape identity across generations. This episode challenges the idea that wisdom moves in only one direction. As roles soften and expectations fall away, learning begins to flow both ways. Listening in, we become the audience to a relationship no longer defined by labels. And in that space, something new takes root.

About Our Guests:

Kiran Mann is a Canadian business strategist and global leader in organizational transformation with a 30-year career spanning fashion design, automotive manufacturing, and food production. She is CEO of Brar’s, one of Canada’s leading South Asian food brands, and Founder of M2M Business Solutions, where she is known for driving performance through clarity, culture, and compassion. Kiran is the creator of The Harmonic System, a leadership philosophy grounded in Knowingness, Presence, and Love, which she has applied to large-scale transformations and operational growth, including guiding Brar’s to 22% organic growth in two years. A sought-after speaker and advisor, she holds an Executive MBA from the Ivey Business School and is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Business Administration focused on ethical human–AI collaboration.

Simran Mann is a digital marketing professional and content creator specializing in lifestyle, mindset, and positive storytelling. With experience working both as a content creator and within brand marketing teams, she brings a unique ability to bridge strategy and storytelling. Known for her authenticity and vulnerability, Simran uses her platform to inspire women to build aligned careers and fulfilling lives. She is actively involved in community work focused on women’s empowerment, education, and mental health advocacy, and regularly speaks on panels and podcasts about creator–brand partnerships and building purpose-driven personal brands.

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Episode Transcript

ANIKA

Welcome back to Root & Seed, a podcast about tradition seekers who are sparked to explore, define, and celebrate their family and cultural identity. I’m your host, Anika Chabra.

We left our last episode with Dr. Caron Leid, knowing just how unique everyone’s experience can be, and how important it is to honour that uniqueness day by day with patience, grace, and acceptance.

It’s something that we believe strongly at Root & Seed: that everyone has a story worth documenting. Yes—but perhaps more important is that that unique story cannot be found unless you take the time to ask the questions to get it.

There is something about doing this together—across generations, across cultures, across disciplines—and that’s why we’re not about collecting the perfect memoir. For our community, that simply doesn’t exist.

Instead, what we find special is searching for the stories that define us, that encapsulate us, that balance respect for the past with anticipation and hope for the future.

That sentiment brings us naturally to this week’s episode. If there ever was a quintessential interview between generations, this might just be it.

It’s not only about the past. It’s not only about the future. It’s not only about a traditional parent–child relationship. It’s about it all—turning it all upside down, kind of putting it into a blender, and the result being something truly magical.

Kiran and Simran Mann’s bond as mother and daughter is super evident in this conversation. But to us, it’s the mutual learning they’ve experienced as a result of that bond, and the intentional level of respect and admiration they’ve cultivated by taking time to know and share their life stories.

That is reason enough to listen a little more closely. Hope you enjoy.

SIMRAN
My name’s Simran Mann. I’m 24 years old. I work in digital marketing, and I’m also a content creator. I work as a freelancer in that space as well. So that is pretty much what I do.

KIRAN
One thing that I’ve learned from Simran and Simran’s age group is that when they introduce themselves, they also say, “I’m 24-year-old.” Whereas in generations before, nobody wants to tell their age.

So I think I’m going to pick that up from their generation and say: I’m Kiran Mann, I’m 54 years old. I’m CEO of Brar’s and founder of M2M Business Solutions, and a student of emerging technologies and AI that I’m studying for the next three years.

ANIKA
Oh, I can just feel the growth mindset exude from you, Kiran. I love that you’re doing that at this juncture in your life.

You talked about something you learned from Simran, even in the way that she introduced herself. One thing that I’ve noticed, having adult children myself, is that I tend to be in this relationship where they’ve learned—hopefully—a thing or two from me, but I’m actually learning a tremendous amount from them.

Can you talk, Kiran, a little bit about what you’ve learned from Simran? Traditionally I would go to the younger person, but I’d love to start with you.

KIRAN

If I can recall, when she was a teenager, the first thing that I learned from her was her telling me—if I would comment on anything—she would say, “You know, you are judging somewhat.” Not like I’m judging somebody as a human, but I would see it as a Generation X kind of outlook.

Very quickly, I picked that up from her: okay, have that open mind and allow people to be who they are.

The second thing is that she’s organized in many ways that I’m not, and that’s something I learned from her and also her younger sister, Etam.

And then third is how Simran always shows up for herself. It takes a lot of courage. I thought I was good at that, but when I see her doing it right in front of my eyes, it’s like a double dose reminder.

There are so many other things I’ve learned from this kid, but these are the top three that I love and admire about her.

ANIKA
Simran, how do you first of all react to that?

SIMRAN
That made me emotional, to be honest. I was not expecting all of that.

Sometimes, even as a kid, you know it—but hearing it just hits really different.

If I also had to answer that question, I would say almost everything—who I am as a person—is a reflection of her.

A lot of who I am comes from lessons I’ve watched her learn the hard way. I’ve observed her hardships, and that’s given me perspective to realize: I don’t want to take this route, or I do have to work harder, or this or that.

She’s amazing. She’s this wonderful person. Yes, she works hard—but I also like to look at it from a different angle. Where are the flaws? Because I think there’s beauty in the flaws.

That is really what I feel like I can learn from her.

I know she looks at her kids and says, “I want you guys to be so much better.” And when we hear that as kids, we assume our parents mean career-wise or financially. But I think it also applies to physical health, mental health—they want you to do better in all of those aspects.

KIRAN
If I were to close that, I would say: you are 30 years ahead of me and a better version of me. What I have become now, she’s becoming at that age—but she’s learned the things that took me time to do, and she’s trying to make it easier and not gain things the harder way.

ANIKA
What a great summary, Kiran. And Simran, I love what you said about starting the conversation on this note. We should start all family conversations with gratitude.

ANIKA
Kiran, can you tell us a little bit about your family and background—where your family is from?

KIRAN
I’m from India, from Punjab, from Amritsar. I grew up in that environment. My dad was in the Army, so I moved around a lot—different places, different cultures. Diversity comes very naturally. Travel comes naturally.

Dad being in the Army gave structure and organization and leadership. My mother is a lifelong learner. My grandfather was head of a national bank and also a landlord. My grandmother was all home, grounding everybody.

Between the four of them, it allowed my brother and me to grow up in an environment where there was never a moment when men and women were treated differently. Education was always allowed. The choices you want to make were always allowed.

“Make your choices, live with the outcome of those choices” is what I was taught. I’m so grateful to have that and pass it on to my girls.

ANIKA
Simran, talk to us a little bit about your relationship to your background and culture.

SIMRAN
Mine feels very different from hers. She came as an immigrant and had her daughters here, and I didn’t grow up with a huge family. Most of my family is in California.

So if anything, I grew up with major FOMO. My mom always says it takes a village, and you also need to be a villager and show up for other people.

I’ve applied that concept, but instead of family, I’ve created my own village with my friends.

I grew up in the same environment she carried on—there’s no difference between boys and girls. If you want something, you go chase it.

I’m grateful to have a mom who’s so open-minded, especially as an immigrant. She’s not just my mom—she’s a mom to all my friends. She’s the cool mom.

I always tell her she’s the Kris Jenner of our household—the Brown Kris Jenner.

KIRAN
Brown Kris Jenner.

SIMRAN
Because all her daughters are ambitious go-getters.

ANIKA
What family stories, recipes, or rituals would you love to preserve? Simran, I’ll start with you.

SIMRAN
I was literally telling my boss this—I need my grandma to write down how she makes bhindi.

I know which ones of my mom’s I want too. She makes really good kheer. I need that recipe.

But not just traditional foods. I have vivid memories of my grandma and me making Jell-O together. I loved Jell-O as a kid, and I think it’s because it’s associated with her.

I can’t convince anyone else in the house to eat Jell-O—it’s just me. And when I have kids, I’m not even going to give them the option not to like it. We’re making Jell-O.

Even how I used to eat Fruit Loops—going to my grandma’s house, watching the same Bollywood movie every day, organizing the Fruit Loops by colour.

Those are the things I want to pass on.

ANIKA
I totally agree. I have a funny way of eating Eggo waffles—I eat the outside first, then the inside. I remember the smell of newspaper and breakfast together. Those smells are so nostalgic.

Kiran, same question for you.

KIRAN

When I was under 15, I would go in the summers to our family house to meet my grandparents. My grandpa would make me walk about ten kilometres.

Every few seconds, he’d stop because someone knew him. They’d greet him, then greet me. Eventually, if someone smiled at me, I’d smile back because I assumed they knew me.

He’d take me to town and buy me fresh besan sweets. I’d eat them while walking home.

Anytime I see Besan, I have to have it—it reminds me of those walks and that time with my grandfather.

ANIKA
Kiran, your philosophy of presence and love—how does that show up in your daily life?

KIRAN
The last seven or eight years, I’ve been looking back and asking: what did I get, what can I pass on, what did I miss, and what do I want to relive?

On my 50th birthday, I decided I wanted to relive life from 25 onward. When I moved to Canada, I was a newlywed, a new mother, a new immigrant—everything happened at once, and parts of me got left behind.

So now I read again. I travel. I live. I experience. I want to be happy in every moment.

ANIKA
Simran, our season theme is An audience completes a story. What does that mean to you, listening to your mom today?

SIMRAN
Watching her change changed me. I was 20 when she decided she was going to be 25 again.

It shifted my perspective. I saw her do things I never thought possible.

It made me realize you can do it all. I saw her live that.

Now I live the same way—fun, discipline, work, joy. It’s all possible.

ANIKA
Thank you both so much.

KIRAN
Thank you for giving us this platform. It made us pause and hear each other.

Simran used to say she wanted to be my mini-me. Now I want to be mini-you.

ANIKA
I hope you caught it. Clearly, this was a wonderful conversation between two family members who have deep love and admiration for one another. But it’s the recognition of the power to learn from the people who taught us and influenced us—at any and all stages of our lives—that is truly remarkable.

We know that both Kiran and Simran have recognized that role in their experience with their elders, and that they don’t take that power and privilege lightly as they build experiences and stories of their own.

Now, in turn, we—and you, Root & Seed listeners—become the audience to a mutually beneficial relationship, traditionally bounded by roles, now unshackled. And that is where the greatest learning from this conversation lies.

It is this idea of getting curious and going deeper that we explore in our next episode with Dr. Louisa May Khoo. Dr. Khoo is introspective and challenges preconceived norms in the world of urban planning, seeking to create a world where older adults can thrive.

Her respect and love for storytelling is where she finds and reveals new truths. She shares this journey and her learnings with us next time, leaving us inspired not to take things at the surface level.

We can't wait to dig in next time.

Root & Seed is hosted by me, Anika Chabra, executive produced by Jenn Siripong Mandel, and edited by Emily Groleau.

Bye for now.

Episode Credits

Hosted by: Anika Chabra

Brought to you by: Root & Seed

Executive Producer: Jennifer Siripong Mandel

Editing by: Emily Groleau

Sound Editing by: Camille Blais

Music credit: Something 'bout July (Instrumental) by RYYZN https://soundcloud.com/ryyzn

Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0

Free Download / Stream: http://bit.ly/-_something-bout-july

Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/OFga9pkl6RU