Guy Debbas overcomes challenges to build chocolate business
Debbas family owns Debbas Gourmet, A'cappella Chocolates.
Guy Debbas and his son, Max Debbas. Photo from Debbas Gourmel.
After overcoming incredible odds during turbulent times, Guy Debbas and his son, Max Debbas, now oversee a global chocolate-making business that includes A’cappella Chocolates and Debbas Gourmet - Made in Nature in Fresno, California.
Guy’s experience and Max’s leadership have shaped and inspired the quality, aesthetic and entrepreneurial innovation of A’cappella’s chocolate and innovation.
Planting the seeds for a’cappella
Guy (pronounced GHEE) Debbas’ pursuit of chocolate started in the Middle Eastern country of Lebanon before the mid-1970s, when Guy’s Greek Orthodox family owned plenty of land, a country club and a large chocolate factory. The affluent family attained social and political prominence as Guy’s father, George, was nominated to become president of Lebanon in 1976.
Political and religious strife in Lebanon led to Guy being taken hostage and tortured for about a month before he was rescued. However, a short while later, his family’s villa was stormed, and each family member was lined up and shot outside the home — Guy was shot 22 times.
After a miraculous recovery, Guy immigrated to California, meeting his wife, Wendy, and moving to Fresno, where he earned his agriculture degree from Fresno State. Learning that his father part-owned a chocolate factory in Lebanon, Guy built a second fortune exporting coffee and honey while importing chocolate from Lebanon to the United States. However, the newfound wealth wouldn’t last, as his new Madera home was destroyed by a fire and the chocolate factory in Lebanon was leveled by terrorists.
Despite these challenges, Guy never gave up. He started again from scratch, this time in Fresno, turning a 1,000-sq.-ft. retail space into a 15,000-sq.-ft. factory that now produces close to 50,000 pounds of chocolate daily.
Guy Debbas’ experiences influence the gourmet chocolate industry today — from the unique Debbas Gourmet techniques used to produce wine-filled chocolates without sugar shells, to the new and widely available A’cappella line of products, which includes the original hot chocolate bombs (BevBombs) and barks. The Debbas family believes real flavor comes from real ingredients and creates their confections with non-GMO, all-natural and kosher ingredients sourced from local Central Valley farmers.
“We put passion into everything we do,” Max Debbas says. “Life is short, and there is no time for bad chocolate. My father always says, ‘If we can’t make it the best, don’t make it at all.’”
Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!
