Swiss chocolatier serves up Middle Eastern flavors as 'Dubai chocolate' craze hits Europe

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

Swiss chocolate giant Lindt has drawn the 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 the nearly 180-year-old Swiss chocolatier can mix it up with a product first concocted by an Emirati upstart and expand the 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, student from Malaysia, after exiting the 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 the Lindt store, Lai and others were welcomed by staffers in white cooks’ outfits and matching chef hats who held out sample squares of chocolate. They could then move on into the store to buy a single bar per person — each bearing a unique number, to add a flavor of exclusivity.

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

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

ChocoSuisse, an industry association, is hopeful that the fusion of Middle Eastern treats and traditional chocolate will make chocolate more appealing to palates beyond Europe, the 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 the market in places like Asia and the Middle East,” said Roger Wehrli, the director of ChocoSuisse, which counts most of the Swiss industrial chocolate makers as members.

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

“It’s juicy inside but also crunchy -- I think it’s the strands of the angel hair,” said 20-year-old student Esko Rieck, who raved about the 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 the release of a limited edition.”

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