Dennis Mbeba – Delectable Desserts

A conversation with Delectable Desserts owner Dennis Mbeba. DELECTABLE DESSERTS

By Feleshia Chandler Photography by Adams Photography

Dennis Mbeba owns and helps operate Delectable Desserts, a bakery and wholesale provider. Since opening in 2017 he has seen his baked goods reach far and wide throughout the Halifax Regional Municipality. Over the past several years Mbeba has been able to sell fresh baked goods such as cheesecakes and layer cakes wholesale to numerous restaurants and bars.

But before owning his own business and even before coming to Canada, Mbeba grew up in Tanzania, Africa.

He always knew he had the ability to be great because growing up in a primarily Black location showed him that he too could not only drive nice cars and have a big house but also become a recognized and valued staple in the community. Before turning to baking he worked in engineering firms and even studied geology but none of these things spoke to him. Slowly he noticed as he began to move through the ranks of these fields that the work environments did not foster or encourage growth so in 2017 he became his own boss by opening Delectable Desserts. Now, he has plans to expand his reach across the Maritimes however he says getting to the point where he is now wasn’t easy. I chatted with Mbeba by phone about his entrepreneurial journey.

What inspired you to start this company?

I was broke. I couldn’t get anywhere. I’ve worked in engineering firms. I studied as a geologist. My background is in geology and I worked for four geotechnical companies in the civil department [like] road building. That’s where I worked for eight years doing this kind of stuff. It was not empowering me, or giving me any sort of indication that I’m going on the right path. I found like oftentimes I was just hitting roadblocks. I was struggling with finding something that would fulfill me as a person, but also, bring in some income for my family. I got basically laid off. And at that point, I was like, ‘Okay what am I going to do?’ I always wanted to do business because I have a passion for business. When I was six or seven years old I set up a popcorn stand. That’s how it all began.

What do you do at the bakery?

We make everything in house. I do some baking. I have other bakers. I mostly do all the other stuff so inventory, payroll, front of house sometimes. If anything breaks down, that’s what I do. If we’re looking for a new market, setting the menu product, if we’re doing a product, and then we’re doing the product shoot… I would say my wife works in the business, I work on the business, kind of like separating the two.

Why Halifax?

My wife and I had decided that we wanted to move to Halifax because she went to St. Mary’s here and she has a community base here. Every time we visited Halifax, I was always happy to be here. I always found it very attractive. Not only just the hospitality and the people, it was also the Black community that is here. As someone from Africa—from Tanzania, I always gravitate towards Black people, because that’s all I ever knew.

What was the most difficult part of your journey?

Being accepted. Like anything new, it’s hard to be accepted. It was very hard to get financing at the beginning because we didn’t have any sales. It’s hard to break into the new relationship and to showcase your product and your services. And for you to be like taken seriously especially when you have a skin like mine. Honestly I try to put that into conversation as much as possible because I feel like it’s the time to talk about it for sure. If we don’t talk about it, then then nobody will ever know. I experienced racism and it’s real. I’ve learned that there are a lot of little clubs controlling little things and it’s very hard to break into them and for you to be accepted. Although I do feel like that is changing, I do feel like the quality of our products speaks for itself and that’s what we came to do. I often say we didn’t come to sell ourselves, we came to sell our products.

What’s the best part about owning and running your own business?

It’s being a part of the community and being an example to anybody really in the community and saying that we [Black people] can do it. It’s all about building the confidence within the work team so that there is no toxic environment and you will see that when you come in…the way we operate with one another, the way we treat one another, it’s like a family. We try to keep that door open with our employees, where we feel like they can tell us what it is that they’re missing from our work environment, and we try to integrate that. I think a huge part of it is just like, the philosophy of running an organization and it’s very, very hard to create, which I’ve come to realize, but it’s what brings passion into me…knowing that I’m gonna walk in that door and I’m gonna feel good.

Any advice to other young entrepreneurs especially those who are Black, hoping to start their own business?

Stand your ground. Don’t let people tell you what to do with [your product]. I think the thing that made us stay steady is because we turned down so many requests like, ‘Oh, can you just add this? Can you do that?’ It changes your model, and all of a sudden, you’re doing something that other people want you to do, as opposed to following your plan. So I’d say stand your ground and follow your plan. Don’t let anybody tell you no.

Dennis Mbeba | Delectable Desserts (902) 468-2700 www.delectabledesserts.ca

Saint Mary’s University Entrepreneurship Centre

Saint Mary’s University Entrepreneurship Centre (SMUEC) wishes to extend a heartfelt

congratulations to the Black Business Initiative

on the celebration of 25 years of excellence!

The programming BBI offers through training,

financial advice, and overall support of Black

Canadian communities and entrepreneurs has

truly transformed the Nova Scotia ecosystem.

We are extremely proud to be one of the many partners BBI has and are

honored to be a part of their journey to inclusion and success.

Michael Sanderson, Director