TikTok hype over Dubai chocolate sparks pistachio shortage
A viral TikTok video praising a luxury Emirati chocolate bar has sparked a global pistachio shortage and sent prices soaring, reports a Kazinform News Agency correspondent.
The chocolate, made by UAE brand FIX and called “Can’t Get Knafeh of It”, combines milk chocolate, pistachio cream, and shredded kataifi pastry. Although launched in 2021, it only went viral at the end of 2023, with the original video racking up over 120 million views.
The sudden global demand pushed other chocolate brands like Lindt, Läderach, and even supermarkets like Morrison’s to release their own pistachio treats. But the frenzy has had real consequences: pistachio prices jumped from $7.95 to $10.30 per pound in a year.
The nut was already in short supply due to a smaller U.S. harvest in 2023, with most of the higher-quality yield sold in-shell. As a result, the shelled kernels used in confectionery became scarce.
The viral trend put additional pressure on an already stretched supply chain. According to nut trader Giles Hacking, the pistachio world is “basically tapped out,” as major chocolate producers rushed to secure as many kernels as possible to ride the viral wave. Iran, the world’s second-largest pistachio supplier, responded by increasing exports to the UAE by 40% in just six months.
The craze has become a textbook case of TikTok’s growing influence over consumer trends—proving that a viral post can reshape markets almost overnight.
Earlier, it was reported that U.S. President Donald Trump extended the deadline by another 75 days for the Chinese company ByteDance to find a U.S.-based buyer for its social media platform TikTok.
