Swiss Chocolatier Serves Up Middle Eastern Flavours As ‘Dubai Chocolate’ Craze Hits Europe

AACHEN: Hundreds of curious shoppers, some equipped with camping stools and rain gear, lined up for hours on a drizzly Thursday in western German city of Aachen. y weren't waiting for latest phone or luxury handbag release: y were after a taste of a new chocolate bar.

Swiss chocolate giant Lindt has drawn crowds with a new treat — a confection known as “Dubai chocolate” that features a crunchy mixture of chocolate, pistachio cream and knafeh, a crispy filo dough that is better known for its use in baklava.

Lindt executives want to show nearly 180-year-old Swiss chocolatier can mix it up with a product first concocted by an Emirati upstart and expand boundaries of a centuries-old industry largely dominated by European companies.

“It’s a hype, a trend on social media, with people waiting in long lines,” said Zi Cheng Lai, 23, a student from Malaysia, after exiting Lindt store in Aachen on Thursday. “We want to try it out here and be part of it.”

After crossing a rope line to enter Lindt store, Lai and ors were welcomed by staffers in white cooks’ outfits and matching chef hats who held out sample squares of chocolate. y could n move on into store to buy a single bar per person — each bearing a unique number, to d a flavour of exclusivity.

sweet treats were first introduced in 2021 by startup FIX Dessert Chocolatier in United Arab Emirates. y have since grown in popularity, helped by influencers on Instagram and TikTok.

Lindt on Saturday began releasing a limited number of 1,000 of novel chocolate bars in select shops in Germany. A similar campaign is set to start this weekend in Switzerland, after a reported outcry in Alpine country that Swiss were being left out.

ChocoSuisse, an industry association, is hopeful that fusion of Middle Eastern treats and tritional chocolate will make chocolate more appealing to palates beyond Europe, world’s biggest chocolate market for many generations.

“It’s a good thing if more people start to like chocolate and regularly eat chocolate — it expands market in places like Asia and Middle East,” said Roger Wehrli, director of ChocoSuisse, which counts most of Swiss industrial chocolate makers as members.

patrons generally seemed satisfied at Aachen shop, even at a relatively high price of 14.99 euros (about $15.85) per bar. Some said y just wanted to be part of trend.

“It’s juicy inside but also crunchy -- I think it’s strands of angel hair,” said 20-year-old student Esko Rieck, who raved about treat's texture after waiting for more than three hours to get inside. “I’m here because I’ve never been at such a release event, and I wanted to experience release of a limited edition.”

Thai student Thanapon Kunlawatwimon, 26, got hold of bar number 429 out of 1,000. “It’s like, ‘OK, I finally got it.’ So I’m happy now.”