Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Manal Hussein. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Manal thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

In order to be successful, I believe it is extremely important to be open to the idea of failure. And comfortable with it, to some point. Many people think success is a straight path, but really it is full of ups and downs, trials and errors. I know I have had my fair share, especially in trying to develop my recipes through out the years. I wanted to make goods that were made from scratch that you couldn’t get anywhere else. With that though comes lots of waste and items in the garbage. However, I would tell myself that if I could learn a lesson from each of these failed recipes, then it became a lesson and opportunity to learn and create something better! Some of my best recipes were created from mistakes.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I have always loved eating desserts, but it wasn’t until I met my now husband that my passion for making them really grew. We would spend time together watching Food Network shows like Cake Boss and Cupcakes Wars and I wanted to create what they were creating. And you know what they say, “the way to a mans’s heart is through his stomach!” So, I would try to make him goodies and my passion for baking grew. Being Middle Eastern, it is part of our being to show our love through food and baking was my outlet.

I would post items and more and more people would ask me to make something for them. I had graduated with a Marketing degree, but had a hard time finding a job. I continued to do the baking, but eventually landed a full time job at a pharmaceutical company.
Over several years though, baking and creating edible art pieces grew into a business and took over my life. Not without fear, I quit my job and decided to pursue baking full time (more like over time.)

Eventually, I decided to open my bakery in the heart of Detroit so that I could share my goodies with more people. I wanted to create not only great desserts, but a place of comfort. I wanted my clients to come in after a long day and have a place to unwind and feel at home. I wanted my clients to come to to celebrate an occasion, whatever it was. Everything is baked from scratch including french macarons, cookies, brownies, cakes by the slice, and cinnamon rolls. We offer a variety of coffee drinks as well and it was important to me that the syrups were made from scratch as well. You can get custom birthday cakes, wedding cakes, and other special occasion cakes as well! We make gluten free and vegan items, so that everyone can have their cake and eat it too!

For the Love of Sugar has become a place of comfort for many people, especially during an extremely difficult time during COVID. We have such a diverse and beautiful clientele. It makes me extremely proud to be a part of the city and a part of peoples’ lives.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

We had been open for a bit over 2 years when COVID hit. At that point I had finally reached a point where I felt like I was getting the hang of things. It was a bit before that though that I decided it was time to start my family after being married for 8 years and having my “career” figured out. Unfortunately, that same year, I suffered 2 miscarriages,COVID hit and I was facing extremely difficult times. I had to force myself to slow down, something I had no idea how to do. Even after thinking I had things mostly figured out in the business, I had to get back in and pivot the entire thing. Everything changed to carry out, I had to limit people in the shop, and at the same time, make sure myself and my staff were safe and healthy. I had no idea what was going to happen, but I made the most difficult decision to stay open because I knew I wanted to continue to create items of comfort for people in those extremely difficult times.

Do you have any stories of times when you almost missed payroll or any other near death experiences for your business?

On top of having to deal with COVID, we’ve had to deal with inflation and staffing shortages. Inflation really hurt us and for awhile it was survival mode. Between goods increasing and labor increasing, I had no idea how we were going to survive. I knew some places were raising their prices and I knew I had to in order to make ends meet, but it was not something I felt comfortable with. Eventually and later than I should have, I increased our pricing. Better late than never I guess! I had to understand that even though I do this job and created this place from a place of love, it is still a business and my livelihood. Fortunately, most people were understanding and I continue to have that source of loyal clientele.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.Fortheloveofsugar.com
• Instagram: @fortheloveofsugardetroit
• Facebook: @fortheloveofsugardetroit
• Yelp: For the Love of Sugar

Image Credits
@hayden__Scott