Every morning, Ali Fakhro sells pistachio chocolate bars in his bakery in Berlin, which "disappear" in a matter of hours.
Inspired by the success of the crunchy delicacy known as "Dubai chocolate", 32-year-old Fakhro found a recipe and started making his own version two months ago.
"The first day I made 20 bars, but they ran out quickly. The next day I made 50 - and they were all bought up," he said.
The so-called Dubai chocolate was invented in 2021 by British-Egyptian entrepreneur Sarah Hamouda, who is based in Dubai.
The crunchy treat consists of a hand-decorated chocolate bar with various fanciful fillings - the signature flavour is a rich pistachio cream.
The treat became popular when influential TikTok foodie Maria Vehera posted a video of herself eating chocolate in her car. The video has since been viewed over 100 million times.
Real chocolate is only available to local customers in limited quantities, but people's interest has led to an explosion of imitations around the world.
Queues of customers in the cold
Fakhro, who runs the Abu Khaled pastry shop in Berlin, experimented with different recipes before finally finding the right complementary ingredient - kadaif.
Germans are racing to get their hands on the chocolate, with online prices reaching over €100 a piece.
Last week, a 31-year-old man was caught by customs authorities trying to smuggle 45kg of the sweet treat into Germany from Switzerland.
When Swiss manufacturer Lindt launched its own version of the Dubai chocolate on the German market this month, customers queued for hours in the cold to buy it.
The price of a chocolate bar reaches €20, which is much more expensive than regular chocolate, but that doesn't seem to stop customers.
"I waited for 10 hours. I've been here since midnight just to taste this chocolate," says 18-year-old student Leon Faenle outside a Lindt store in Stuttgart.
Easy money
Lindt has launched the chocolate in Germany in 10 stores and plans to do the same in Austria on 30 November.
The Dubai chocolate is also a hit in France, where chocolatier Jeremy Bockel's version was unveiled earlier this month at the Salon du Chocolat in Paris.
Yannick Burkhardt, 21, queued for three hours in Stuttgart to get his hands on the chocolate, but he doesn't plan to eat it. Instead, he sells it on the internet.
"I would never pay that much for chocolate, but it's quick and easy money," he explained with a smile on his face.
"This bar costs €15, but it can sell for almost €100... There are many offers on eBay, up to €300," stated another customer. | BGNES, AFP
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