Dubai Chocolate sells more than Supreme in its heyday

The videos showcasing Dubai Chocolate make anyone’s mouth water, even those who have no idea what kadayif is—a type of very fine phyllo dough that forms the filling of the chocolate bar along with pistachio cream. The crunchiness of the noodle-like dough and the enveloping taste of chocolate blend into an incredibly sweet flavor, balanced by the intense aroma of dried fruit and tahini. It has been copied and imitated online by curious users, pastry enthusiasts, and professionals from all over the world, but the original Dubai Chocolate finds its roots in the Arab city, specifically in the workshop of Fix Chocolates. Here, for the price of 17 euros, the chocolate bar has won over the hearts of dessert lovers, also thanks to its refined packaging design. Dubai Chocolate's fame has reached Europe as well: after hundreds of content creators and amateur chefs tried to replicate it in their own kitchens, it landed on Lidl’s shelves in a limited edition under the German brand J.D. Gross. Like all viral internet trends and exclusive drops, the chocolate bar was sold out within a day and ended up on major resale sites at an inflated price. Meanwhile, the German company has also started selling the main ingredients of the dessert, from chocolate to kadayif dough.

On Vinted, searching for Dubai Chocolate yields more than 500 results. In addition to pastry molds and chocolate-scented perfumes, some users have put the once-available Lidl chocolate bar up for sale with significant markups. While consumers can buy the treat for 3.99 euros at the supermarket chain, it is being resold on the platform for as much as 20 euros. It is possible that, just two days after its market launch, Lidl’s Dubai Chocolate stock has already been depleted, as it was produced in a limited edition. Besides the chocolate bar and its ingredients, the brand has also created other desserts with the same recipe, including Dubai-Style Krapfen and Dubai-Style Cake. Given such success (content about Dubai Chocolate only started circulating online last summer), one must acknowledge the talent of the Arab city in turning even what was once considered an ordinary good into a luxury—just as they did with coffee, which has a long-standing tradition in Dubai and can even be enjoyed covered in 24-karat gold leaves for the modest price of 50 euros. In all of this, both high-quality chocolate and coffee are becoming precious commodities due to climate change, ongoing geopolitical tensions in key production regions, and, of course, high consumer demand.