How Dubai chocolate went viral and disrupted the global pistachio market

Sometimes, a viral moment on social media can turn an unknown product into an overnight sensation. But what happens when one dessert draws so much global attention that it begins to reshape supply chains and disrupt entire markets?

That’s exactly what happened with a handcrafted chocolate bar from Dubai. Layered with pistachio cream, tahini, and crisp kataifi pastry, this small-batch creation ignited a worldwide obsession after a single TikTok video topped over 120 million views.

In just weeks, retailers struggled to keep up, pistachio prices surged, and major brands raced to launch their own versions. What began as a regional treat became a global case study in how viral food trends can disrupt markets and rewrite retail playbooks.

Compartés takes a closer look at how one chocolate bar changed the economic landscape overnight.

A Chocolate Bar Born of Craving and Culture

The idea began with a craving. In 2021, while pregnant, British-Egyptian entrepreneur Sarah Hamouda found herself longing for knafeh—a traditional Middle Eastern dessert made with shredded pastry, soft cheese, pistachios, and sweet syrup. But instead of reaching for something familiar, she decided to create something entirely new.

Working from her small kitchen in Dubai, Hamouda started blending the flavors she loved. She combined pistachio cream with a hint of tahini, added crisp kataifi pastry for texture, and wrapped it all in smooth milk chocolate.

The result was a rich, layered treat that felt both nostalgic and completely unexpected. It honored the spirit of knafeh while introducing something distinctly modern. It’s what many now describe as a Middle Eastern twist on a classic chocolate bar.

She named it “Can’t Get Knafeh of It,” and launched it through her boutique dessert brand, Fix Dessert Chocolatier. FIX stands for “Freaking Incredible Experience,” and the name reflects her mission to create sweets that are memorable, indulgent, and crafted with care.

The bar is available exclusively through Fix Dessert Chocolatier in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It’s handmade in small batches, with each piece poured into a custom mold and finished with hand-painted details. And because that level of craftsmanship requires time, care, and precision, availability is intentionally limited.

However, that initial exclusivity created curiosity. Orders came slowly at first, then surged by the hundreds. Soon, the bar developed a cult following. It wasn’t just the flavor that captured attention. It was the story behind each piece, the meticulous craftsmanship, and the sense that this chocolate offered something rare and completely original.

TikTok Made Me Buy It: How the Craze Started

By late 2023, the handcrafted chocolate bar from Fix Dessert Chocolatier had already built a loyal following in Dubai. But it wasn’t until content creator Maria Vehera posted a 15-second TikTok video that everything changed.

The video was simple. Vehera slowly unwrapped the bar, held it up to the camera, and cracked it in half. The sound of the snap, the close-up of the glossy pistachio filling, and the slow stretch of creamy green layers caught viewers by surprise. It was part ASMR, part indulgence, and completely captivating.

That single post set off a global reaction. It delivered a sensory moment that was hard to ignore — visual, tactile, and strangely satisfying. More importantly, it offered a rare sense of authenticity. The chocolate didn’t just look luxurious. It looked real.

That mix of beauty and scarcity gave the bar an almost mythical quality. Comments turned into shares. Shares turned into demand. And within days, users across platforms were searching for it, pricing it out, and planning dessert hauls around it.

As interest spread, the hashtag #dubaichocolate began trending across platforms. Creators posted unboxing videos, filmed the satisfying “break” in slow motion, and shared reviews praising the flavor and texture. Others took it a step further, attempting homemade versions using store-bought ingredients.

So what started as a local indulgence had turned into a global fixation. One that was already influencing how retailers, suppliers, and consumers responded to the sudden surge in demand.

As the viral wave of Dubai chocolate surged across social platforms, another ripple began forming, one with real-world consequences. While creators were cracking open chocolate bars on camera, global pistachio markets were starting to buckle.

In just under a year, U.S. pistachio prices jumped from $7.65 to over $10.30 per pound. However, that spike wasn’t driven by a single factor, but rather, it was the result of overlapping pressures.

California, which produces the majority of the world’s pistachios, had just come off a poor harvest. The trees, which naturally alternate between heavy and light crop years, produced less in 2024.

On top of that, prolonged drought conditions further strained output. As a result, most of the high-quality nuts were sold whole and in-shell, leaving fewer shelled kernels available for producers who rely on them for pastries, confections, and dessert spreads.

Then came the viral demand. Because Dubai chocolate is filled with a pistachio-based center, it turned the ingredient into a global obsession. Wholesale buyers began sourcing kernels in larger volumes, creating unexpected competition across industries that typically don’t intersect—from boutique dessert makers to large-scale food manufacturers.

According to commodity analysts, this wasn’t just about weather or farming cycles. It was also about timing. The popularity of the chocolate bar collided with an already stressed supply chain, amplifying shortages that were already beginning to surface.

Exporters in the United Arab Emirates and Turkey are also feeling the squeeze. In the United Arab Emirates, where Dubai chocolate is produced, imports of pistachios from Iran rose by 40 percent between September 2024 and March 2025. Turkish suppliers also reported hitting capacity, struggling to meet a wave of new orders driven by the dessert’s popularity.

This surge in demand hasn’t just affected large suppliers. Small-batch artisans and bakers have been hit especially hard. Pistachio paste, oil, and butter — used in everything from gelato to baklava — have become more expensive and increasingly difficult to source. Some producers have reported weeks-long delays. While others have scaled back their pistachio-based offerings entirely.

Analysts at The Guardian, Financial Times, and other outlets now refer to Dubai chocolate as a market disruptor. Not because it flooded shelves, but because it went viral at the exact moment global supply was tightening. The result was a demand curve that moved faster than the system could adapt.

For growers, exporters, and food manufacturers, this was more than a passing trend. It became a case study in how digital culture can accelerate consumption, strain agricultural systems, and reshape the economics of ingredients once considered stable.

As one industry analyst put it, the pistachio market wasn’t built to handle this kind of fame. Now, every green-hued dessert comes with a higher price tag.

Despite mounting pressure on pistachio supply chains, interest in the viral flavor combination behind Dubai chocolate has only intensified. And brands, from large retailers to independent creators, have responded with their own interpretations.

Lindt was among the first to respond. In December 2024, the Swiss chocolatier released a limited-edition Mediterranean Pistachio bar, blending creamy chocolate with nutty, dessert-inspired notes. It was an early sign that the flavor combination had moved beyond novelty and into broader market appeal.

By spring, more brands joined in. In April 2025, Crumbl Cookies introduced two Dubai-themed offerings: the Dubai Chocolate Brownie, topped with a crackable chocolate shell, and the Dubai Chocolate Cheesecake, layered with pistachio cream. The launch drew widespread attention, especially from fans who had followed Dubai Chocolate’s rise online.

Just weeks later, Trader Joe’s released its own pistachio-studded chocolate bar for $3.99. With a familiar visual design and accessible price point, it sold out quickly, further fueling the trend across social platforms and retail shelves.

Other major names have jumped in as well. Costco has begun stocking hand-dipped frozen Dubai Chocolate ice cream bars, filled with pistachio ice cream and coated in crunchy milk chocolate. While Shake Shack recently launched a Chocolate Pistachio Dubai Shake at select coastal locations, complete with a crackable chocolate topping.

Even Dunkin’ brought back its seasonal Pistachio Swirl flavor this spring, adding another mainstream entry into the growing lineup of pistachio-forward offerings.

Meanwhile, TikTok creators have kept the pistachio flavor trending, with home cooks sharing their own versions using Nutella, shredded kataifi pastry, and imported pistachio paste. These homemade versions focus on texture, vibrant color, and the satisfying snap that made the original trend so addictive.

At the same time, luxury chocolatiers like Compartés, along with small-batch makers across Canada and Europe, have embraced the flavor pairing in their own way. Their handcrafted interpretations show just how far this once-niche combination has spread, influencing everything from high-end candy counters to global dessert menus.

It’s a reminder of what happens when a viral moment doesn’t just resonate, it sets the stage for a new wave of brand storytelling and creative spinoffs.

Following the wave of brand spin-offs and viral recreations, Dubai chocolate has moved beyond novelty. It now stands as a case study in how social media can reshape global food systems, one video at a time.

This isn’t just about a dessert going viral. It’s about how a single piece of content can shift demand, drive up ingredient costs, and push supply chains into unfamiliar territory. Platforms like TikTok are no longer just influencing what people eat. They’re changing how food is made, sourced, and sold across the world.

The spike in pistachio prices is just one example. Normally, ingredient demand is steady, shaped by seasons, contracts, and long-term forecasts. But viral trends don’t follow those rules. When a flavor goes global overnight, it creates sudden pressure that producers aren’t always ready for. That’s exactly what happened here.

At the same time, the chocolate itself reflects a broader shift in consumer taste. It blends traditional Middle Eastern ingredients like pistachio, tahini, and kataifi pastry with modern packaging and presentation. That mix of cultural heritage and visual appeal made it perfect for social media, and it turned it into a global obsession.

For food businesses, this moment is a wake-up call. Success is no longer just about flavor or shelf placement. It’s also about timing, storytelling, and how a product looks and feels on camera. For growers and suppliers, it’s a reminder that social media trends can move faster than any crop cycle.

Dubai chocolate has become a benchmark for how quickly a moment online can ripple through the real world. It shows that attention can spark demand, and demand can reshape entire markets. In today’s landscape, food isn’t just something we consume. It’s something we share, watch, crave, and chase. And the businesses that understand that are the ones shaping what comes next.

The phenomenon of Dubai chocolate is a reminder that in today’s world, influence doesn’t always come from strategy decks or product launches. Sometimes it comes from a craving, a moment, or the sound of a chocolate bar breaking in half. One video. One product. One idea, shared at the right time, can shift entire industries.

This isn’t just a story about chocolate. It’s about the collision of tradition and technology, craftsmanship and content, scarcity and demand. It shows how a personal craving, caught on camera, can grow into a global movement with real economic weight.

In an age where algorithms shape appetites and stories move faster than supply chains, Dubai chocolate stands as proof that even the smallest ideas can reshape how the world eats, thinks, and trades.

This story was produced by Compartés and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.