The Dubai chocolate trend has conquered the West as well. On social media, internet users film themselves greedily devouring bars of chocolate with pistachio cream. However, with demand skyrocketing, the small green exotic nuts are scarce, and prices are soaring.
The rapid rise of Dubai chocolate has triggered a global pistachio supply crisis, exacerbating the worldwide shortage of green nuts and causing their prices to soar, writes the Financial Times, which points out that sometimes it doesn’t take much to shake up global supply chains.
The bars, a combination of pistachio cream, finely ground pastry, and milk chocolate, had modest success after their launch in 2021 by the FIX chocolatier in the United Arab Emirates - until a TikTok video turned them into a global sensation.
The clip, posted in December 2023, gathered over 120 million views and fueled a worldwide craze for pistachio chocolate, generating a series of imitations.
Due to this craze, the price of pistachio kernels has risen from $7.65 per kilogram a year ago to $10.30 per kilogram currently, said Giles Hacking from the nut trader CG Hacking. "The pistachio world is practically exhausted at this moment," he says.
Chocolate is not cheap. In the United Kingdom, Lindt's "Dubai" chocolate costs £10 for 145 grams, more than double the price of other bars. But consumers are so enthusiastic that some stores limit the number of bars each customer can buy, while Lindt and the British supermarket Wm Morrison have launched Easter eggs with pistachio cream, according to the Financial Times.
Who are the largest pistachio producers
Pistachio stocks were already declining after a disappointing harvest last year in the USA, the main exporter of these nuts. But on the other hand, the US crop was of better quality than usual, leaving fewer cheap, shell-less kernels, which are generally sold as ingredients for chocolate and other foods, explained Hacking. "There wasn't much supply, so when Dubai chocolate appeared and (chocolatiers) grabbed all the kernels they could, the rest of the world was left without," said Hacking.
Iran, the second-largest global producer, exported 40% more pistachios to the United Arab Emirates in the six months up to March 2025 than in the previous 12 months, according to Iran's customs office.
The shortage marks a sharp reversal from 2023 when the global pistachio supply exceeded demand, causing prices to drop, said Behrooz Agah, a board member of the Iranian Pistachio Association.
Due to this oversupply, "a variety of by-products have become available, such as butter, oil, and pistachio paste, which could be used in a wide range of pistachio-based foods," he said. "This was around the same time Dubai chocolate was launched and gradually went viral worldwide," Agah pointed out.
In California, some farmers have started switching from almonds to pistachios in recent years, mainly due to low almond prices, but these trees won't start producing until the next harvest season in September.
Meanwhile, chocolatiers say they can't produce enough cream-filled bars.
The first producer sells only two hours a day, only in the Emirates
"It's like it appeared out of nowhere, and suddenly you see it in every corner store," said Charles Jandreau, CEO of the Prestat Group, which owns luxury chocolate brands in the UK.
"No one is prepared for this," he added, describing his difficulties in sourcing kataif, the Middle Eastern fine pastry used in the cream.
Chocolate lovers had already suffered from a cocoa supply shortage, leading to almost tripling prices in 2024, as extreme weather and diseases affected crops. Manufacturers sold smaller chocolate bars with new recipes that save cocoa.
The FIX producer, who named their original viral bar "Can't Get Knafeh of It" after a traditional Arab dessert (a pun whose sound in English means "I can't get enough" - ed.), said that while it's "incredible" to see how the company has inspired "a movement in the chocolate field," they are concerned that others may exploit their brand to mislead customers.
The company does not sell its bars outside the Emirates and only offers them for sale for two hours a day.
Their rivals are not discouraged. "We are simply overwhelmed by the demand for Dubai chocolate," said Johannes Läderach, CEO of the Swiss chocolatier Läderach. "We launched them a few months ago, and the demand doesn't stop, it's soaring," emphasized the company.