Dubai chocolate is a chocolate bar with a filling made of knafeh and pistachio. It was first created by Fix Dessert Chocolatier in Dubai in 2021, branded as Can't Get Knafeh of It. This product became popular in 2024 after being promoted by influencers on social media.[1][2]
Dubai chocolate is made from milk chocolate and is filled with a sweet cream made from pistachios mixed with finely chopped knafeh and tahini paste.[3]
Dubai chocolate is produced as a flat chocolate bar weighing around 100 grams (3.5oz).[citation needed][4]
History
Fix Dessert Chocolatier was founded in Dubai in 2021 by Sarah Hamouda, a British-Egyptian entrepreneur.[1][2] She aimed to create chocolate bars that combined unique textures and flavors, focusing on the filling to set her company apart from competitors.[5] She was inspired by her pregnancy cravings to make the Dubai chocolate.[2] The Dubai chocolate was originally sold under the name "Can't Get Knafeh of It" and is still sold by that name by Fix Dessert Chocolatier.[6]
Dubai chocolate first gained widespread popularity when on December 18, 2023, an influencer under the username mariavehera257 posted a video on TikTok showing her eating various types of chocolate from Fix Dessert Chocolatier, including the Dubai chocolate.[7] The video led to a surge in demand, resulting in more than 30,000 orders and briefly crashing the delivery platform Fix Dessert Chocolatier was using at the time.[8] A year later, the video had garnered over 100 million views, and several other influencers also created videos of themselves eating the chocolate.[9]
Complex production methods and increasing demand drove up prices. This led to individuals buying Dubai chocolate in bulk from shops and producers and then reselling it on the secondary market at a much higher margin.[10] There have been reports of burglary to get the chocolate bars.[11]
Cases of chocolate bar smuggling have been reported. In October 2024, smugglers were caught twice within a few days by Austrian customs, smuggling around 2,540 bars of 200 grams each across the border without paying customs duty.[12] In November 2024, a smuggler tried to bring 45 kilograms of Dubai chocolate across the border near Weil am Rhein.[13]
Legal disputes
A Dubai-style chocolate sold in South Korea
Counterfeits and copycats
Quickly after the Fix video went viral, people started to create their own versions. Frequently influencers created Dubai Chocolate in their kitchen and often claimed to be the inventor. The frequency of counterfeit and copycat instances grew so much that the original brand published several statements that they only are available on Deliveroo in the United Arab Emirates.[citation needed]
Legal disputes
In addition to Fix Dessert Chocolatier, large scale manufacturers such as Lindt began to produce and market them as Dubai Chocolate. In Germany, an importer of a copycat Fix Dubai Chocolate issued a cease-and-desist letter to the manufacturer Lindt, Aldi and Lidl because it did not produce in Dubai.[14] While geographical indications are in principle protectable under the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement, the United Arab Emirates has not signed the agreement.[15] The cease-and-desist letter was not successful as many Dubai chocolates are still available in German supermarkets. There have been no court rulings as of December 2024.
According to most legal scholars, the term "Dubai chocolate" is already a generic trademark in the EU market and does not contain any geographical indication.[16]
In January 2025, a German court in Cologne decided that Aldi has to stop selling its product named "Alyan Dubai Handmade Chocolate" on the ground it might mislead consumers that the chocolate has been produced in Dubai while it is actually produced in Turkey.[17]
Studies and allergens
A study by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Consumer Protection found that all eight samples of the products[clarify] were considered "defective", with five samples containing foreign fat rather than authentic chocolate. The study also found that the samples were not fit for human consumption due to contamination in the manufacturing process, with three samples being found to contain traces of undeclared sesame. A screening also revealed high levels of mold toxins (aflatoxins).[18][19]
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