By Annemarie Quill of 
Viral Dubai chocolate', supplied by House of Chocolate. Photo: Stuff / House of Chocolate
Willy Wonka himself couldn't go as viral as the Dubai chocolate bars that sell a thousand in minutes, and now the frenzy has reached New Zealand, with one seller having to open another kitchen to cope with demand.
If you've been online in the last few months, you've likely been haunted by images and videos of a thick chocolate bar with a gooey filling, that people snap in half and eat while you drool on the keyboard.
Dubbed the 'viral Dubai chocolate bar', the original was manufactured by a Dubai company called Fix, but came to global attention after a TikTok video of a women eating it in her car has been viewed more than 80 million times.
Visitors to Botany Night Markets have been surprised at the length of queues to buy the $14 chocolate bars from Auckland seller WhiskedCreationsbyNiki, which goes by the tagline 'New Zealand's first Dubai chocolate recreator'.
"They start queuing from 3.30pm and the markets don't even open until 5pm. So now I've been asked to get there early as there are so many people," says sweet maker behind Whisked Creations, Nikita Joel.
The woman behind Whisked Creations, Nikita Joel, has had to move to a bigger kitchen to cope with demand. Photo: Supplied / Stuff
She started creating her own version of the Dubai bar for Mother's Day, making them from her own kitchen. When she got requests from all over the country she started to sell online, and sold thousands in minutes.
"I was loading them up at 6pm on a Sunday, making 1000 a week. Because they are all made and molded by hand, so take time. And I could see on my screen, the orders, they were gone in minutes."
"There was a woman who was pregnant from Hamilton, she made an order, but was worried how long it was going to take as she was desperate to get her hands on it. It came in the morning and she gave birth in the afternoon."
Demand was so great, that she had to stop online shipping while she planned how to create more, opening a new kitchen, taking on her mum as manager as well as a whole team of people.
When she announced she will be selling them at Botany night market, buyers as far as Wellington were in a frenzy wondering how they can get their hands on them.
"The last market in Papatoetoe, people came from as far as Whangārei and Hamilton.
"It's been crazy ... I never thought it would take off like this. I think it's because people have never tasted anything so different."
Viral Dubai chocolate', supplied by House of Chocolate. Photo: Stuff / House of Chocolate
New Zealand chocolate lovers were talking so much about the Dubai bar, says Tori Connell, manager of New Zealand company, House of Chocolate, that they too decided to create their own recipe.
Launched as a one-off in July as the 'creation of the month', it was so popular that they have just made it a permanent part of their range.
The 220gram $20 chunky filled bar has now become the company's most popular product in just weeks.
"We're selling thousands of them. People have heard about the Dubai trend and so are keen to try it, then like it so much they buy more."
The combination of pistachio and knafeh paste - a middle eastern combination of shredded filo like pastry and syrup, is something new for many New Zealanders, which is adding to its popularity, she says.
"When the knafeh is cooked, it is crunchy, so the filling has that crunch when you break the bar, as well as a softer, creamy praline filling. We are not used to pastry being used in sweets, so people are loving a new, unique taste."
House of Chocolate use New Zealand ingredients, and call their bar Pistachio Knafeh Milk Chocolate Bar, but most people refer to it as "the viral Dubai chocolate", she says.
Half the buyers are from Auckland, with the rest spread around the country.
Whisked Creations version of the Dubai Viral chocolate Photo: Supplied / Stuff
Byron McLean, owner of Cocoa Wilds in O'Connell Street in Auckland's CBD has already seen how a product can suddenly become popular, with its toasted marshmallow fluff-topped hot chocolates.
"It was viral in a New Zealand sense - on a smaller scale than the Dubai chocolate, but it was amazing to see how quickly news of it spread. I think if you have a product that looks good, tastes good, and is different - like the Dubai chocolate - it really can take off, even in a cost of living crisis, chocolate does well as people's little indulgence."
His store is now offering its own version called the 'Viral Dubai chocolate,' for $24.99.
"It's been so popular we have more wanting to buy than we can make - as it takes two days to make."
In Christchurch, this week, food reviewer Sophie Stevens tried a biscoff version of the Dubai sensation, saying she's a little "late to the party" to try it, but "the Dubai chocolate bars are in New Zealand".
After doing the obligatory snapping in half, she declares it "delicious" and "way crunchier than I thought".
The original Dubai Fix bars now sell 500 in minutes, the chocolate's creator, Sarah Hamouda, told CNN, but although she's received inquiries from around the world, they are not currently exporting them to other countries.
That's left chocolatiers around the world to produce their own version to satisfy the millions who want to try it.
The queues at Auckland markets and online buyers snapping up thousands in minutes show that New Zealanders are keen to chow down this new trend too.
- This story was first published by Stuff
