Where's all this Dubai chocolate come from in supermarkets?

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cyclingisthecure@reddit

Tesco is selling it for £10 a bar i couldn't believe my eyes. I can understand seeing little corner shops trying to fleece people a little bit over it but not the likes of Tesco the greedy bastards

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It’s called TikTok. Some influencer likely told their cult that the chocolate was lifechanging and now there’s a lot of supply and demand. Isn’t it just pistachio chocolate? Which is hardly revolutionary. And apparently it isn’t even that nice

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Flamingpieinthesky@reddit

Sheep will be sheep!

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knightsbridge-@reddit

There was a tiktok craze for a certain brand of pistachio cream chocolate from Dubai. It's basically a chocolate bar filled with pistachio butter and shards of crunchy knafeh. The ones we're seeing here are mostly hurriedly made knockoffs. It tastes nice enough, not enough for the prices.

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velos85@reddit

As someone who has been ridiculed as a lover of Pistachio for years, this trend of everyone going made for it has pissed me right off. Can probably blame stupid influencers for it. Welcome to Biscoff v2.0.

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WingiestOfMirrors@reddit

Who's taking the piss out of you for liking pistachios?! I mean I'm more of a cashew man myself but pistachio is top 3 at least

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Great_Lunch_Dude@reddit

Bless you

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SomeHSomeE@reddit

To be fair biscoff is amazingly tasty and their launch of the spread and subsequent "biscoff everything" trend has been a huge business success. Lotus Bakeries (already a succesful and stable company before this) stock has increased massively over the past 5 years, and their UK arm keeps breaking new records for sales every year.

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nathderbyshire@reddit

Love a bit of biscoff, I knew about the Dubai chocolate hype, but never saw a biscoff one

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SomeHSomeE@reddit

Biscoff isn't so much a tik tok trend like dubai chocolate. But since the launch of the spread it's exploded in popularity and is now seen everywhere (biscoff lattes, biscoff doughnuts, biscoff ice cream etc etc). I like it because I like the flavour but contractions love to moan and whinge when anything becomes a new popular thing (even though it has zero effect on them).

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Automatic_Spend2235@reddit

I begrudge the popularity of biscoff simply because many many years ago in the days of when the Safeway's became a Sainsbury's they were my nans favourite biscuits and she could only get them when one of the grandkids were shopping with her because they were either really high on the shelves or bottom and she couldn't get to either. Now she's passed its everywhere. She has missed out on all the wonderful treats because she decided to die on us. She would have loved a biscoff cheesecake!

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nathderbyshire@reddit

Ah yeah I know what you mean now it is everywhere

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just-browsing-reddit@reddit

Pistachio wanker /s

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imokaytho@reddit

Same, I was the only one in my family who loved pistachios but now because Dubai chocolate is in 'trend' suddenly everyone loves pistachio flavoured everything. I even saw strawberries covered in 'dubai chocolate' in the market recently and it's literally just chocolate and pistachio sauce

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PepsiMaxSumo@reddit

- Pistachios were going to be thrown in the bin due to oversupply - Someone in Dubai had an idea to put these waste pistachios into chocolate - They charged a premium price and marketed them extremely well - ‘Dubai Chocolate’ went viral now pistachios are undersupplied - Original creators didn’t copyright the product so now aren’t profiting off it

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ozzzymanduous@reddit

It it even possible to copyright putting pistachios in chocolate

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PepsiMaxSumo@reddit

I mean patent, and if it’s completely new yeah you can but I imagine someone must’ve done it before

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EarnestHolly@reddit

Recipes aren’t protected by IP. Not copyright or patents. That’s why the Coca Cola formula is locked away and not just patented.

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Capheinated@reddit

This isnt quite right. It's complicated but you can patent a recipe as long as its innovative, and i think there are other options in terms of copyright and trade secret laws depending on jurisdiction. The reason Coca Cola et al dont do this is because submitting a patent or similar means telling the authorities (and sometimes having a public record) of said secret, but most importantly once you patent something a clock starts on your patent expiring. If Coca Cola had patented their recipe in the 19th century, anyone would be able to legally duplicate and selll their exact recipe. For companies like Coca Cola keeping their own secrets actually secret is far more lucrative than the legal protections available.

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ozzzymanduous@reddit

I'm pretty sure you can't patent food

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PMMeYourHousePlants@reddit

My tin hat theory is when you googled Dubai chocolate before, the video and rumours of influencers going their to be shate on was everywhere. Dubai didn’t like this so Now you just get the shitty chocolate.

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santoryu33@reddit

People probably don’t even know how pistachios are grown either..

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Hyperion2023@reddit

Pistachio ice cream (kulfi) is the really good stuff, miles better than this bandwagon rubbish… it’s Indian / Pakistani, and easy to find in grocers and supermarkets and dammit I need some now.

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gingersnaps874@reddit

My mum asked me if we could pick some up for her next time we go visit my wife’s family. I was like “uhhh… why? Do they even sell it over there?” and we eventually figured out that she had confused my wife’s hometown of Mumbai for *Du*bai.

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D0wnb0at@reddit

My corner shop has this little square of Dubai chocolate with pistachio filling for £6.99. Guessing around 50-60gram. Who the fuck is buying that? My corner shop is also likely a front for something, so I thought it might have something to do with that. But didn’t realise until I saw this post that other places sell it too.

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Key-Interaction-6281@reddit

Look at the back of the packet, made in Turkey. Heck of a good marketing gimmick

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AdmirablePlatypus759@reddit

Turkish sweet production is massive, they own some of the biggest companies in the UK as well and they come up with something every few years. Around 5 years ago, it was cold baklava, which is milky and chocolatey. I was surprised it worked well in some countries and still quite popular in Turkey. Chocolate with pistachios was always a thing and I love it but it was full pieces of pistachios in chocolate bars and often the most expensive due to cost. I think they jumped on when someone in Dubai found a way to reduce the cost by putting much less pistachios in but mixing with kunefe, which is basically bread and sugar, which I think tastes good but a bit too sweet for my liking.

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ozzzymanduous@reddit

Turkey also makes Turkish delights

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AdmirablePlatypus759@reddit

I bet Turkish Delights sold in the UK are not made by Turks, that stuff could be sold in Turkey as “Haribo Shit” and no-one would thought it is turkish delight lol. Baklava was also awful all around London but over the past 2-3 years I came across really good baklava in Turkish restaurants and shops, I think some very experienced masters moved to London.

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ozzzymanduous@reddit

I've never had bad baklava anywhere, but then again I've only ever bought it from Mediterranean restaurants. I want some now.

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Key-Interaction-6281@reddit

Best I had was a shop in Wadi Musa where Petra is, in Jordan. Superb stuff.

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ozzzymanduous@reddit

I've always wanted to go to Jordan, it's definitely on the list, never been to Africa or the middle east

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Key-Interaction-6281@reddit

Loved it. The people, landscapes, history, food. Crispiest falafels I've ever had.

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AdmirablePlatypus759@reddit

If you’re in London, try Hafiz Mustafa, Deliveroo. That’s the real thing.

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ozzzymanduous@reddit

Norwich, but next time I'm in London I will

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ToriaLyons@reddit

Turkey is doing well on clothes production too. They probably aren't perfect on human rights, but I'd feel better about buying from there than the far east sweatshops.

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AdmirablePlatypus759@reddit

I heard they reduced their clothing production significantly over the last few years and outsourced a lot to Egypt. They probably still do some high end brands but the cheaper stuff is mostly gone, which to me is surprising.

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Key-Interaction-6281@reddit

Wow, very informative post, thanks.

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GoodTato@reddit

Shitass influencers. Which is like normal advertising but worse because now it's valid to overcharge for this bollocks

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specky-h@reddit

The answer to “where did this food/haircut/music/idiotic behaviour suddenly appear from?” is usually TikTok.

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BiggestGobbo@reddit

Yeah I was confused when I went into a Swatch shop and the Moonwatches caught my eye. Salesperson wondered over and said "Oh I'll bet you've seen these all over online". I don't have Tik Tok but it did put me off them pretty quickly, which is a shame because some of them are pretty nice.

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1Marmalade@reddit

I don’t have Tic Toc. The MoonSwatch was a massive release in the watch world. Nothing like it has been done before; a cheap -yet official - cross- branded Omega/Swatch product.

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CaptainLilacBeard@reddit

£300 for the build quality of a happy meal toy. My mate's one broke when he had a watchmaker change the strap

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BiggestGobbo@reddit

Nice little bullet dodged there then eh?

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Ok_Net4562@reddit (OP)

So this is what im missing out on, not ever having tiktok

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ZombieRhino@reddit

I wouldn't say missing out on, it's more having a great benefit from not having tiktok.

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Ok_Net4562@reddit (OP)

Yea sorry i forgor my /s

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EquivalentFull7849@reddit

mmmmmmmmmm Yummy! Does it taste of slave labour, woman right being shat on and the screams of gay peope as they are terrorised? can't wait to try it and be like all those airbrushed tik tok arses lol

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DXBflyer@reddit

I'm sure this question gets asked here every other day.

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durkheim98@reddit

Basically it was trending and promoted by influencers on TikTok. Kind of like Prime energy drink but for basic bitches. Companies smelled money and that was that.

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Ok_Net4562@reddit (OP)

So. Like prime, itll be 20p for 10 in a few months when no one cares anynore?

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TheNotSpecialOne@reddit

Yup bargain bin at Heron Foods

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LiorahLights@reddit

hey, don't knock it! The Heron bargains are pretty good.

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TheNotSpecialOne@reddit

I'm not! I'm a regular at my local heron foods. Great bargains

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chromaaadon@reddit

Prime for basic bitches.. So Prime?

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durkheim98@reddit

No Prime was aimed at daft teenage boys.

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chromaaadon@reddit

Yes. Basic bitches.

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durkheim98@reddit

That's not what 'basic bitch' means.

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Responsible_Club_638@reddit

Probably from dubai

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Radiant_Fondant_4097@reddit

Maybe I'm out of the loop but I don't see what the big deal is and why reddit is so bent out of shape with it. The local middle eastern shop has a few of those types of bars in and I've bought some, delicious stuff would buy again (they also do their own baklava).

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BobBobBobBobBobDave@reddit

There is a buying cycle and process for supermarkets to get stock in and update their offering. Basically, a while back, "Dubai chocolate" started to be a trend in social media and all the people who are chocolates category managers at supermarkets perked their ears up. And when they realised that it is ridiculously overpriced and there are loads of people who will pay for it they had a good reason to go out and source some and get it on shelves ASAP. And if they are now putting it on shelves, they need to make sure it sells and so they are promoting it in store and in marketing. So everyone is making a big fuss about it right now. It is basically a self-justifying hype machine.

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RaspberryTurtle987@reddit

8.99 for a small bar around my area!! Who’s buying this?!

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averageinformant@reddit

It doesn't need ads, no one watches ads these days. It has something better which is the social media hype. That's more effective theses days

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Ok_Net4562@reddit (OP)

Ads are literally everything now. Advertisers literally have a monopoly on our entire lives unless you pay premium to make them go away

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averageinformant@reddit

Good point but this has something better IMO. It has the social media hype and word of mouth.

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ThePolymath1993@reddit

These days if you see an inexplicable bullshit fad happening in real life you've got better than even odds it's some social media influencer idiocy transpiring.

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SuboptimalOutcome@reddit

These things happen all the time, psy-ops by marketing departments. Thirty odd years ago every supermarket you'd walk into would have a couple of prominently displayed fridges full of Sunny Delight, "the great stuff kids go for (even though we only just invented it last week)" In the late 80s suddenly the sweet aisles were filled with Haribo, pretending to have always existed and to be the sweets you'd loved as a child. Not in the UK they weren't.

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smileystarfish@reddit

Wtf are these answers 😂 A chocolatier in Dubai created a chocolate bar with pistachio and knafeh filling for his pregnant wife, and started selling it at the shop. A tiktok Influencer made it go viral, now all the other chocolate brands want to get in on the trend so they made their own version. https://www.bbc.co.uk/travel/article/20250502-how-dubai-chocolate-conquered-the-world

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Successful-Deer3465@reddit

It honestly looks stomach churning.

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Ok_Net4562@reddit (OP)

The green tint looks like snot

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sunheadeddeity@reddit

It's pretty vile.

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Immorals1@reddit

Tik tok food trends, it's just being mass produced now. And like pretty much every Tik tok food trend, it's all looks and actually tastes crap, and I fucking love pistachio.

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Varvara-Sidorovna@reddit

The one I tried was baffling unpleasant, and I ADORE pistachios. If you are going to spend extremely stupid amounts of money on chocolate, buy a small tasting pouch from Laderach. I don't know what they do in the roasting/caramelising process of the nuts in their chocolate, but my God. It tastes phenomenal.

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dbltax@reddit

As someone who used to work in the chocolate industry and saw ruby chocolate be touted as the next big thing only to see it fizzle out even more quickly, what the heck is dubai chocolate?

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Independent_Pace_579@reddit

What ive picked up is that a chocalatier/desert maker in dubai came up with a bar filled with knafeh? (filo strands used in Arabic and other middle eastern deserts) mixed with sweet pistachio paste - pretty nice combination, but it's had a prime esque viral fame that means shops are quite happy overcharging brainwashed chronically online folks who are happy to overspend to 'experience' what is honestly a pretty standard new chocolate bar (there's always a new biscuit or wafer combo, peanut butter or cookies and cream flavour etc., same as prime was just another soft drink option, pleasant but not like worth like £10+ to try it imo ). (I genuinely feel a little bad for the first chocolatier, it could have been a good signature item for them, but it's been too widespread and copied for them to be reaping the benefits of coming up with it)

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itsYaBoiga@reddit

Going to take a stab in the dark, and say... Dubai maybe?

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Fun_Gas_7777@reddit

No. They're not made in Dubai. It's a recipe that is popular in dubai and it became a tiktok trend with people making "dubai chocolate" so the western chocolate companies cashed in on it

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itsYaBoiga@reddit

Might have been wrong, but wasn't the most farfetched guess!

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Fun_Gas_7777@reddit

Tik tok. All the western chocolate companies are following the trend

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rosesmellikepoopoo@reddit

It’s a TikTok trend, of course it would have come from nowhere if you’re not a TikTok user.

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dinkidoo7693@reddit

Some pregnant woman was ranting on TikTok that she was craving the chocolate she had tried on a holiday in Dubai and she couldn’t get it over here and for some bizarre reason it’s become a trend. My mate bought some to try. It’s ok but it’s not great.

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Intrepid-Joel@reddit

Its what happens when marketing front-runs the creation of the product

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Willing-Confusion-56@reddit

Dubai is tik tok wankers name for pistachio

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sqggl@reddit

Dubai

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lxgrf@reddit

No adds on TV, but plenty on instagram. It's a social media thing. It's... fine. It's fine.

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VastDesk1716@reddit

Dubai

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