The viral popularity of chocolate bars from Dubai has caused a global shortage of pistachios and a sharp jump in prices. The culprit was FIX brand chocolate, a dessert that combines pistachio cream, crunchy kataifi dough and milk chocolate. It was he who became a real sensation in TikTok, despite the fact that he appeared back in 2021.
As informs Financial Times, the hype around this sweet started in 2024. In a short time, it turned into a global trend: social networks fueled interest in the dessert so much that its fakes began to appear all over the world, and chocolate manufacturers rushed to buy pistachios en masse.
This came amid an already weakened supply: due to a crop failure in the US, the leading exporter of pistachios, supplies of the nut were already limited. As a result, the purchase price of pistachios increased sharply — from UAH 316 to UAH 451 for 0.45 kg. As industry expert Giles Hacking of CG Hacking emphasized, “the world of pistachios is practically exhausted.”
Iran, which is the second largest producer of pistachios after the United States, has increased its exports to the United Arab Emirates by 40% over the past six months. However, this was not enough: the shortage affected not only pistachios, but also kataifi, a traditional oriental dough that is also part of the popular tile recipe.
The hype brand FIX sells its product in Dubai for just two hours a day. Despite its limited availability, this dessert has become an international cult: social networks are filled with reviews, tastings and imitation recipes. The company confirmed that it was proud of the strong demand, but expressed concern about the numerous attempts at unfair copying and fraud using its brand.
