From Germany to Switzerland: Everyone is Crazy About Dubai Chocolate
Thousands of people stood in line in the freezing for a single bar of Dubai-Schoggi chocolate from the Swiss company Lindt, produced exclusively for the United Arab Emirates market and later re-exported to Germany and Switzerland in very limited quantities
After causing a sensation in Germany, the so-called Dubai Chocolate, or Dubai-Schoggi, has arrived in the “Mecca” of chocolate, Switzerland. Dubai chocolate has gone viral in Germany after recommendations from influencers. Dubai-Schoggi is produced at the Lindt factory in Kilchberg, near Zurich. All the products are exported to the United Arab Emirates before being returned to Europe in very limited quantities: on Saturday, November 16, 500 bars, one per person, were sold in Switzerland at a price of 14.95 Swiss francs (about $15), all numbered and with a certificate of authenticity.
Since Friday evening, thousands of people have queued for hours outside the Lindt factory to buy the coveted bars, many of which were immediately re-sold on eBay at astronomical prices, up to 350-400 euros per piece. The supplies ran out around 11am. Those who arrived too late could console themselves with hot chocolate and pralines and a discount coupon for the next sale.
Dubai Chocolate, characterized by a pistachio kadaif filling, strings of crispy dough used in oriental desserts, and even microscopic flakes of pure gold, is based on a creation first developed in 2021 by entrepreneur Sara Hamouda (pictured) of the FIX brand. The handmade and hand-packaged product has gone viral, thanks in part to publicity from influencers, and in the Emirates, it sells for 73.5 dirhams ($20) per piece, with production in this case also limited.
According to the European press, this is a strange social phenomenon: the same thing already happened a few days ago when Lindt’s Dubai-Schoggi was presented in Germany. In Hamburg, many people spent the night in the cold to be among the first to enter the store when it opens in the morning. On online marketplaces, the product was selling for 350-400 euros at the time.
