1/20

Michigan’s Best Local Eats: Snacky Brown Bakery

FLINT, MI – Inside the Flint Farmers’ Market, sisters Twana and Regina Hatter have set up their shops just steps from each other.

It’s more than just good fortune.

It’s a story of family love, and their mother, Deza Malone, couldn’t be prouder.

“I’m very thankful for all the times I took them to church, holding their hands,” Malone said. “We’re not perfect parents, but we have to be there for our children, because we don’t know where they’re going to land. You have to make a lot of sacrifices.”

Those sacrifices have blossomed into something sweet—literally.

Regina Hatter is the owner of Snacky Brown, a baked goods business that began with a side hustle and a nickname.

Back in the early 2000s, she was part of a food-loving friend group that called themselves the “Real Meal Mafia.”

Her alias? Snacky Brown.

It stuck.

After moving to Chicago in 2006, she began casually cooking for elderly neighbors who couldn’t do so for themselves, but it wasn’t until 2019 that she turned her hobby into a full-fledged business.

In February 2020, as COVID-19 spread across the globe, she held a launch party.

Then the world stopped.

“I didn’t know what to do,” Regina Hatter said. “I heard God calling me. He said, ‘Do you see that plant in your room? Does it have everything it needs to grow?’ I said yeah. And he said, ‘You have everything you need to grow.’”

That message stayed with her.

A friend who followed her food posts on social media, and happened to be a real estate developer, began paying Hatter to deliver cakes to clients after closings.

Business began to pick up.

She moved back to Flint in 2021 and started selling treats from a tent outside the farmers’ market.

By 2022, Snacky Brown had a permanent home inside.

“I was listening to what my customers wanted,” Regina Hatter said.

Now, her menu features a combination of cheesecake, cupcakes, pudding, and cake slices.

Hatter’s most popular item, strawberry pudding, has sold more than 5,000 servings this year alone.

A close second is the cookie butter pudding, with over 4,000 sold.

“Visually, they are attractive,” Regina Hatter said.

One signature dessert, the Lady Deza Strawberry Cake, is named after her mother.

Red velvet and carrot cake also make regular appearances, along with an ever-growing list of rotating sweets.

The logo of her business features a photo of her grandmother, Isabelle Hatter, who inspired her to bake.

“My grandmother always baked for people at her church,” Regina Hatter said.

Now, the sweets she creates are available not only at the market but also inside the lobby at Hurley Medical Center.

She even offers catering for events.

“I get to say hi to everyone that comes through the door– that’s my favorite part,” Regina Hatter said.

Her sister Twana Hatter, just a few feet away in the market, shares in that joy.

She owns Natural Effecxs Skincare, a skincare business focused on natural ingredients and handmade products.

From body butters to scrubs and soaps, Twana Hatter‘s offerings promote healing and self-care, a perfect complement to her sister’s comfort food.

Their mother, who retired from General Motors in 2005 after 32 years, beams with pride watching her daughters build businesses.

Now, when people stop by for pudding or skincare, it’s more than just a sale.

It’s proof of a family’s strength and a mom’s hope that her daughters would thrive right here at home.

“My family has always had faith and belief in God,” Malone said.

Follow Snacky Brown on Facebook and Natural Effecx Skincare.