The Bittersweet Story of Peace by Chocolate

Tareq Hadhad at the shop photo courtesy of Peace by Chocolate

When the Hadhad family arrived in Canada in 2015, they did not think chocolate would be in their future. Only three years earlier in 2012, Isam Hadhad’s chocolate factory had been destroyed by a bomb in Damascus, Syria and the family had lost everything. After three years in a refugee camp in Lebanon, the entire family ended up in Antigonish, a small town in Nova Scotia, Canada. But thanks to chocolate, connections and community help, they opened their chocolate shop, eventually branded Peace by Chocolate, in 2016.

Since opening the shop, Tareq Hadhad, both CEO of the company and son of Isam, have met Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, attended peace conferences and workshops, given lectures about their stories, and even seen the release of a movie and book featuring their story.

Chocolate in Syria

Peace photo credit Cooked Photography

For Isam Hadhad, chocolate makes people happy. It’s a way of making connections with other people. “You don’t give chocolate to those that you don’t like,” Isam’s son Tareq, also CEO and founder of Peace by Chocolate explains, “You only really give chocolate to those who mean a lot to you.”

Isam Hadhad took this love of chocolate and decided to open his own chocolate factory, Hadhad Chocolate, in Damascus, Syria in 1986 after identifying a hole in the Syrian market. Tareq shares that while Damascus is known for its desserts with entire streets dedicated to sweet things that stay open 24/7, that the chocolate market was not well established; most chocolate was imported from Europe or surrounding countries and often did not include the flavors that Syrians liked to eat, including specific nuts, spices, and fruits. At its height, the company had 30 employees.

That chocolate dream came to an end when their home and chocolate factory was destroyed in 2012 during the Syrian civil war. Leaving behind their lives, the business built, Tareq’s aspiring career in medicine, the family fled to Lebanon until they were offered asylum in Canada.

Bringing a Chocolate Dream to Canada

Tareq Hadhad photo courtesy of Peace by Chocolate

Chocolate was not on their minds when they arrived in Canada. Tareq arrived first in 2015 while his parents and three siblings arrived in early 2016. “We believed we lost everything in the war and it was going to take us a while to regain the capital,” Tareq Hadhad says. It took his father almost 10 years to raise the capital for the first time. Also, they were concerned about the barriers to starting a company in another country, from finding the right talent and equipment, complying with all rules and regulations, as well as how their immigration status would impact their ability to run a business.

But thanks to the Antigonish community, chocolate was back on the menu. Originally, the Hadhads thought they’d end up in a big city but the community of Antigonish raised the money to bring the Hadhad family to their town. It was love at first sight, “with this beautiful community that was really supportive,” Hadhad said, “We were so thankful for a lot of the committee members who have done everything possible to make the journey as smooth as possible to make sure that we feel the warmth and welcomed.”

Two to three weeks after they arrived, the family decided to go to a community potluck. Not wanting to show up empty handed, Isam Hadhad decided to make chocolates. They were a hit, Tareq Hadhad said, as all of the chocolate was gone within 10 minutes. “It was fascinating to see the support and to see how many people really were in love with the product and loved with the idea,” he said.

They soon heard of a Winter Market, held at a local mall where people could book a table and sell their goods. Like the potluck, the Hadhads’ chocolates were a hit. Tareq Hadhad shares that they started selling out of their chocolate within 15 minutes. He shares that when they got to the market to open at 8:30, there were 200 people standing in line just waiting to get the product, in a town of just 5,000 people.

That was the beginning of Peace by Chocolate. They decided to register as a business a few weeks later as The Hadhads Chocolate for Peace (though the current name came later). From their home kitchen, they turned a room in the basement into their workspace, but it was only big enough for two people to work at any given time. The third phase was opening the shed, next to their home, that the Antigonish community helped build with the official ribbon cutting and grand opening of the brand in August 2016.

Word of Peace by Chocolate spread quickly. They met Prime Minister Justin Trudeau only two months later. Thanks to the hard work of the entire family, including his mother Shahzaz, and his sisters, Peace by Chocolate is going strong, now with a shop in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and shipping across Canada. They work with Canadian distributors with their main supply of cocoa beans coming from Columbia, Ecuador, and West Africa. Hadhad wants their chocolates to be known across the world, expanding across Canada and the United States.

Bringing Flavors and People Together

The Hadhads’ faith in chocolate as a connection is evident in their products, bringing elements of Syrian culture together with Canadian cultures. They continue to make flavors popular in Syria, such as rose, hazelnuts, almonds, pistachios, as well as incorporating flavors from Canada such as Nova Scotia sea salt and blueberries. Tareq Hadhad says, “The idea was: ‘let’s take away the best of our culture, let’s take away the best of this culture and let’s just come up with something that is very unique.”

Pursuing Peace with Chocolate

Peace Bar photo credit Cooked Photography

But the company does not stop there. Their chocolate bars are covered with messages for peace and happiness. Their “Peace” bar has the word for peace on it in 22 languages. “ the cultural part of that is because we survived war, and everyone in our home country in Syria was dreaming about peace in every way, in every shape,” Tareq Hadhad said, “every Syrian now considers the pursuit of peace is one of the integral part and the pillars of our new culture.” They’ve created another line called the Forgiveness Collection with bars saying, “Kiss and Make up” and “Turn the Other Cheek” because “ we needed people to forgive,” Tareq Hadhad said.

Their campaigns include interviewing people about their secret for love and peace to make special bars for Valentine’s Day. They’ve made bars for a variety of holidays from Halloween, AIDS remembrance, Ramadan, and more. “Every occasion out there, we had a product for it because we wanted everyone to feel included. I think diversity is not a buzzword,” Hadhad explained, “The beauty of life is really learning from those who have been through different experiences than you are.”

Their top selling chocolates is their main Canada bar collection which includes dark chocolate with a maple cream filling. “We identify proudly as a Canadian company so people really associate our brand with the country’s values,” Hadhad said. He became a Canadian citizen officially in 2020.

The second best seller is the artisanal line that includes dark, white, and milk chocolate bonbons in a variety of flavors including caramel, Chai spice, blueberries, natural honey, and mint.

Welcome to Canada bar photo credit Cooked Photography

The third best seller is their Welcome to Canada bar which is made from milk chocolate with vanilla cookie pieces inside. “We wanted everyone to hear that Canada welcomes newcomers, immigrants, and refugees. Everyone is certainly an asset,” Hadhad said.

Not only does it taste good but people can feel good about the purchase since Peace by Chocolate partnered with the Refugee Hub at University of Ottawa which “works at the intersection of research, policy, and programming to champion and design protection solutions for refugees” (Refugee Hub website).

Tareq Hadhad sums it up saying, “We believe that chocolate is universal. Chocolate is like music. Everyone understands that, although everyone would probably expect different flavors.”

How Peace by Chocolate Gives Back

Given their commitment to peace, Peace by Chocolate provides more than chocolate in the world. Hadhad said that 3-5% of all company returns go to the Peace On Earth Society, a Nova Scotia based organization that funds peace-building projects. The company website reported that the company has donated $552K to the Society as of 9/21/23.

In addition to making direct donations, Peace by Chocolate has partnerships with organizations like Refugee Hub or the Trans Canada Trail where a part of the proceeds goes to the organization. The Hadhad family is also committed to hiring refugees; in October 2023, 25% of their staff were refugees and growing.

Hadhad explained that there are two kinds of businesses in the world. There are the companies that care about profit and their balance sheets. Then there are businesses that make profits to sustain the business but also return benefits to the community. “We believe that if you are successful,” Hadhad explained, “it is your moral responsibility to give back to your community” because you wouldn’t have the employees for your business nor the roads to ship your products.

Peace by Chocolate supports a variety of causes, including mental health initiatives, partnerships with Indigenous communities, climate change, humanitarian crises in the Ukraine, Syria, Turkey, and so much more. The company recently sponsored its first Positive Peace workshop in Colombia with the Institute for Economics and Peace where participants came from both combatants, leaders, and more to build connections.

But Tareq Hadhad points out that while they do all these good works, the company is also committed to making great chocolate. First time buyers may love their story, and thus purchase something, but Hadhad wants them to try it a second and even a 100th time. Almost 75% of their products are still handmade because “we love the human touch in making of the product…” making sure every detail is respected and cared about.”

Their work has not gone unnoticed. Director Jonathan Keijser heard about their story in 2017 and wanted to make a film fictionalizing their story. The film, Peace By Chocolate, released in 2021 and can be seen on a variety of platforms including Amazon Prime. Jon Tattrie brought their story to life in the 2020 book Peace by Chocolate: The Hadhad Family’s Remarkable Journey from Syria to Canada.

Storytelling is an important part of Peace by Chocolate’s work. People really connect with their story about losing everything and starting from scratch. Hadhad says, “We were our own storytellers,” sharing their stories with social media and local newspapers but the story began growing and growing. But it was also a way to “cherish these memories and we wanted to document the culture” Hadhad says, because one of the biggest mistakes that people make is forgetting their humble beginnings. They think their experience is unique and resist change.

With the release of the book and movie, Hadhad wants “To tell the world that we are not victims; we are victors, and we need to set the world on fire with our tools.” Their cheeky slogan says it all “One Peace Won’t Hurt.™”