The Journey of ‘Peace by Chocolate’ CEO from a Refugee to an Entrepreneur

When Tareq Hadhad first arrived at Antigonish, Nova Scotia, four years ago as a Syrian refugee, he might not have envisioned his future this way. Now he has become a Canadian citizen, and he considers it “a great honor.” Hadhad, a successful entrepreneur, was conferred the citizenship in a ceremony that was held in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on 15th January. It was a two-hour drive from the place where the Hadhad family established their chocolate company, Peace by Chocolate. While the company began its journey as a home-kitchen operation, it has now attained a lot of success. It is associated with 64 specialty vendors all over Canada. Moreover, you will find their products in popular grocery stores such as Sobeys, Safeway, and Foodland.

His story can be traced all the way back to Damascus, which is the capital of Syria. When the war broke out in 2011, his family’s chocolate business was ruined, and they were forced to escape from Lebanon. Hadhad delivered a TEDx Talk at Dalhousie University, where he mentioned that he once told a worker at the refugee camp that he was not just a number when the worker referred to him just as a number on the list. Hadhad has been on his way to becoming a physician when the war-shattered his dreams. His father had been the owner of the second-largest chocolate company in all of the Middle East before it was destroyed.

Tareq Hadhad is now the CEO of Peace by Chocolate, the company he created afresh with the help of his family. In addition to that, he is a member of the board of directors for Invest Nova Scotia.

Hadhad is a professional speaker, and he has traveled all around the globe. He has been to almost all Canadian provinces, and it seems like a natural progression that he is receiving Canadian citizenship. He reports that he has felt like Canadian from the second he landed in the country. Hadhad is proud to be a part of the large Canadian community that has helped him to achieve so much success.