Dubai chocolate is the latest TikTok snack sensation, after a Dubai influencer named Maria Vehera shared it on the platform and racked up tens of millions of views. The bar contains exotic ingredients like knafeh and rave reviews online.
But what's actually in Dubai Chocolate? Why is so hard to find out? Is it healthy or unhealthy compared to other TikTok famous chocolate brands like Feastables? And how are real people reviewing it online?
In this article we'll answer all of these questions and more, as we share our concerns about the ingredients in Dubai Chocolate, and give our take on whether or not it's healthy compared to other popular chocolate brands.
We'll also feature real user reviews.
Key takeaways:
- Official manufacturer fails to publish full ingredient list
- Many "knock-off" brands of questionable quality
- We do not currently consider Dubai chocolate to be healthy
Ingredient Disclosure Issues
The official distributor of Dubai chocolate, according to this Food & Wine article on the trend, is a Dubai-based business called Fix.
However, at the time of publishing this article, Fix's product page fails to publish a full ingredient list, instead describing the ingredients in Dubai chocolate as follows:
"Indulge in the irresistible fusion of rich, velvety chocolate and the sweet allure of traditional knafeh. Each bite is a symphony of flavors, where the creamy decadence of smooth chocolate meets the subtle crunch of golden seminola, all crowned with a hint of fragrant syrup and a sprinkle of roasted pistachios."
From this list, it seems like the ingredients may be: chocolate, knafeh (which contains multiple ingredients), seminola flour, syrup, pistachios.
As we discussed in our is Life Cereal healthy article, it's a consumer safety issue to fail to publish a full ingredient list, because consumers may be allergic to one or more ingredients.
We hope that the brand publishes an ingredient list soon.
Questionable "Knock-Off Manufacturers"
We've already established that the official distributor of this chocolate appears to be based in Dubai.
However, there are currently a large number of other manufacturers selling products called "Dubai Chocolate" on Amazon and other platforms:
None of these listings are from the official distributor Fix, and we recommend avoiding all products being sold under a different company's trade name, as it's a sign of a low-quality manufacturer in our view.
Also, many of these "knock-offs" fail to list their ingredients as well.
For consumers planning to purchase Dubai chocolate, we recommend purchasing from the official manufacturer (linked above).
Dubai Chocolate vs. the Competition
Here's how the healthiness of Dubai chocolate compares to other popular chocolate brands in our opinion:
Feastables
Contains mostly organic ingredients, and clearly lists all ingredients. As we documented in our Feastables review article, the milk used by the brand is sourced from grass-fed animals which is nutritionally optimal.
Winner: Feastables
Hershey's
Arguably the original chocolate bar, it contains significant a quantity of added sugar and also has natural flavor.
Our intuition is that Dubai Chocolate is healthier, but without an ingredient list, we have to side with Hershey's.
Winner: Hershey's
Hu Chocolate
All organic ingredients, sugar is in in the form of coconut sugar which is less refined and more nutritious than refined cane sugar.
Winner: Hu Chocolate
Real People Try Dubai Chocolate
A YouTube creator named Jake Webber tried Dubai Chocolate in a video with over 250,000 views:
Good Morning Britain had a segment with a taste test of Dubai Chocolate:
