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You’d never guess that a fancy chocolate bar from Dubai could shake up the global nut market, but that’s exactly what’s happened.
In a Financial Times article that’s as jaw-dropping as it is hilarious, it turns out a TikTok-famous chocolate bar has sparked such a massive craze that it’s helped cause a global pistachio shortage. Yes, you read that right. A chocolate bar.
The sweet culprit? A pistachio-packed treat called “Can’t Get Knafeh of It” made by boutique Emirati chocolatier FIX. It’s a dreamy combo of pistachio cream, shredded pastry (think baklava vibes), and milk chocolate. The bar was already doing well since launching in 2021, but things went absolutely nuts after a TikTok video featuring it racked up more than 120 million views late last year.
Next thing you know, pistachio prices shoot up. The green nut jumped from around $7.65 to over $10 a pound, and suddenly, everyone from small-time dessert shops to big brands like Lindt were rushing to get their hands on as many pistachios as they could. Some stores even started limiting how many bars each customer could buy.
But the real kicker? FIX only sells the original bar in Dubai, and only for two hours a day. Meanwhile, the rest of the world is scrambling for pistachio cream-filled anything, as knock-offs pop up everywhere. Swiss chocolatier Läderach said they’re “overwhelmed with demand.” Another chocolatier said they couldn’t even find enough of the shredded pastry used in the bar because it's become that popular.
And pistachio growers weren’t ready for this. Last year’s harvest in the US (the world’s top producer) was underwhelming, and most of the good quality stuff went to higher-end products. Iran, the second-biggest exporter, sent 40% more pistachios to the UAE in just six months.
Long story short: a viral chocolate bar from Dubai has made pistachios the hottest nut on the market, left chocolate makers scrambling, and somehow turned dessert into a full-blown global supply chain headache.
Now that’s one powerful piece of chocolate.
*Source: Financial Times
