How Fate, Hard Work, And Love, Created A Halifax Dessert Company
HALIFAX–When she and her partner were nominated for Small Business of the Year at this year’s Halifax Business Awards, Melissa Mbeba was asked a question for the Chamber’s video presentation: why did you choose to become a small business owner?
But for Melissa and her husband, Dennis Mbeba, choice rarely seemed to play a role in how Delectable Desserts, or their life, turned out together. Happenstance, circumstance, and perhaps even fate always seemed to present.
“At the time, when we started our business, it wasn’t really a choice,” recalled Melissa. “This is what we had to do to support our family.”
It was 2017, a year after moving to Halifax, when the couple decided it was time to start their own business. Today, Halifax is one of the fastest-growing cities in Canada, with lots of economic opportunities.
But, just a few short years ago, that didn’t seem like the case and good-paying jobs were hard to find.
“Based on the Ivany report [a Nova Scotia economic report released in 2014] and everything we read about Nova Scotia, incentivizing young families returning to Nova Scotia, we thought this would be the place to move,” said Melissa.
“We moved here and work was challenging to find.”
Making the switch to being self-employed came with struggles. For one, the banks were not enthusiastic about giving loans to a startup.
The Mbebas have three children and when they were trying to secure financing they had a newborn baby. The couple recall entering banks carrying a baby and a “trail of toddlers,” asking for a business loan.
“They’re looking at us like ‘you must be crazy,’” said Melissa.
Eventually, they did get the money to start Delectable Desserts. When they launched, Dennis wrote down a prediction before they officially opened their doors in Dartmouth.
“In 2017, when we’re finalizing our business plan, I told Melissa we’re going to win a small business of the year award, and she laughed,” he said.
That prediction came true just five years later and it seems Dennis has a knack for writing down prophecy.
Many years before, the young man with a background in civil engineering wrote down the type of woman he wanted to meet. In 2009, perhaps due to that prediction, he met Melissa while living in Kitchener Ontario.
But Melissa gives more credit to the cute puppy Dennis was walking in a parking lot at the time.
“Dennis had a cute little puppy and I was drawn to the puppy and the puppy was drawn to me…and so was Dennis apparently,” she said as the two laughed.
“We started going on walks with the dog and getting to know each other.”
The Business Plan
Delectable Desserts didn’t start off as your typical Halifax bakery where customers walk in off the street, tempted by the smell of cakes and cookies.
Before opening, the couple did their research and found an unfilled niche in the market. It is common for restaurants and retail outlets to not make desserts in-house because pastry making can take up a lot of time, resources, and physical space.
Melissa and Dennis called 125 Halifax Restaurants and asked them how they made their desserts. Seventy-five percent said they ordered their cakes and pies from a wholesaler.
They decided Delectable Desserts would provide restaurants and retailers a local alternative that would cut down on transportation costs and, more importantly, reduce their carbon footprint.
The bakery has a wide variety of cheesecakes, cupcakes, and anything a cake lover could wish for. Some have names that pay tribute to the region like “Up Home” and “The Dooryard.”
Dennis’s personal favourite is Melissa’s creation the triple chocolate cheesecake.
“It turned me onto cheesecake and made me consider marrying Melissa,” he said.
Delectable Desserts provide their goodies to 20 restaurants, ranging from pubs to fine dining restaurants. The Mbebas expect demand to increase as fuel costs and other forms of inflation skyrocket.
As for the surprise uptick in retail customers, that came in 2020, after the pandemic forced small business owners to rethink how to pay the bills.
“In 2020 the pandemic happened [and] all our restaurant orders were cancelled,” recalled Melissa. “We came home for two weeks thinking this could be the end.
“But we started getting phone calls from people who still wanted to send a cake to a family member that they couldn’t see. Within a week or so, we were getting orders from all over Canada and all over the world.”
Dennis quickly made a new website where people could order online and get their desserts delivered. Two years later, the business is thriving with loyal wholesale and retail customers.
The amount of demand means they will soon have to move to a bigger location. Looking back at how they got here, Dennis is reminded that the hard times were worth it.
“Looking back at it all, it seemed like we were crazy at the times, but a lot was riding on us,” he said.
“You kind of forget about all the struggles, you just look at what’s ahead of you and completing our tasks. There were some sleepless nights, but it was all worth it.”
Derek Montague is a Huddle reporter in Halifax. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].