Now, it appears that 2025 is ushering in the era of the pistachio.
Hungary was an early adopter of the Dubai chocolate concept, even if only very few of us have tasted the rarer than hen’s teeth original product. The international food media may be writing about Dubai chocolate now, but I’ve been seeing concoctions inspired by it advertised outside the cafés and ice-cream parlors of Szeged since at least the summer of 2024.
A couple of months ago, in another step in the “pistachification” of this country, local chocolate maker Pöttyös introduced a frankly disappointing Dubai chocolate version of its Hungarikum refrigerator staple, the Túró Rudi bar.
In the interests of world-class investigative journalism, I’ve been investigating why Hungarians can’t get “knafeh of” the Dubai chocolate flavor and pondering the deeper meaning of this country’s pistachio craze.
British-Egyptian Sarah Hamouda created the world-conquering Dubai chocolate flavor to satisfy her pregnancy cravings before co-founding FIX Dessert Chocolatier in 2022 to promote the product. FIX stands for “freakin’ incredible ‘xperience,” apparently. The Dubai chocolate bar’s original mouthful of a name nodded to the pieces of crunchy Middle Eastern knafeh pastry in the filling.
In December 2023, influencer Maria Vehera posted a video of herself on TikTok in raptures as a piece of Dubai chocolate melted in her mouth. After the video went viral with over 25 million views, “Can’t Get Knafeh Of It” became the most desired chocolate in the world
Flavor experts unsurprisingly believe that the experience of eating the chocolate was the initial secret to its appeal. Nabil Chehab, business development director at London chocolatier Maison Samadi, told Soumya Gayatri of the BBC that it also allows chocolate lovers to taste Middle Eastern knafeh, making it a “dessert in a chocolate bar.”
Turkish food writer Aylin Öney Tan explained to the BBC that “The real success of Dubai chocolate stems from its texture. The velvety gooeyness of the pistachio cream doesn’t just feel good on your palate; it is also visually attractive. Additionally, the crunchy texture of the kadayif pastry from the knafeh makes the dessert even more irresistible.”
Then there’s the allure of Dubai itself. A byword for indulgence for Hungarians, along with much of the rest of the world, Dubai conjures up images of eight-star hotels, Shangri-la shopping malls with en-suite ski slopes and gold with everything.
The problem is that the UAE is still the only place you can get your sticky hands on genuine Dubai chocolate, and the 500 bars FIX produces every day sell out at high speed, making the idea of exporting it out of the question. Hence, chocolate knockoffs by brands such as Lindt and now Pöttyös, the arrival of green tiramisu at my favorite Szeged café, Rudi es Fickó, Starbucks’ pistachio latte, and McDonald’s Pistachio McFlurry. This latter could be the name of a 1970s blaxploitation movie heroine.
I wondered if Hungary’s early fascination with Dubai chocolate and all things pistachio was related to the desirability of Dubai as a destination for well-heeled Hungarians. Or perhaps the speed at which Dubai chocolate flavor and pistachio penetration affected Hungary could have something to do with the number of TikTok users in this country.
According to the Statista website, the average number of real Hungarian TikTokkers reached 2.07 million in March of this year. Given that the population of Hungary is around 9.6 million, that seems like a lot of users per capita. Mind you, The Global Statistics website puts the number of U.K. TikTok users at 24.9 million out of a population of roughly 68 million, so Hungary isn’t especially fond of TikTok.
Realizing that I wasn’t going to be able to prove if or why Hungary was an early adopter of Dubai chocolate, I turned my attention to the humble pistachio itself. Does it possess qualities that make it the zeitgeist nut for 2025?
The Vegnews website recently announced that we’re living through the pistachio era with the humble, highly nutritious, drought-resistant nut (actually a seed) “reshaping modern food trends.”
Most of the world’s pistachios are grown in Iran, Turkey and the United States. They generated nearly USD 3 billion for the Californian economy in 2024. They’re easy to grow in dry regions because they don’t need as much in the way of resources as other nuts, such as water-intensive almonds. Pistachios are packed with protein, healthy fats, fiber, vitamin B6, thiamine and copper, as well as other minerals and antioxidants. They’re also that cute green color.
In ancient Persia, pistachios were thought to bring good luck and were used in rituals. The color was used for dying fabrics. Today, pistachio continues to be lucky for social media influencers who plaster their posts with the color. It’s visually soothing and bursts with associations of freshness and health, much as did avocado.
This might explain why pistachio is also this year’s fashion “gastronomic hue,” as Bazaar magazine calls it. At recent fashion shows, “Models at Saint Laurent walked the catwalk in vivid green ’80s-inspired silhouettes, while designers at Valentino broke up a monochromatic look with a pair of punchy pistachio lace tights. And Gucci made the biggest case for the color, showing a range of creamy pastel to bold green dresses, skirts, bags, and knitwear.”
But, as with the backlash against avocados caused by the environmental impact of growing and shipping, there are mounting warnings that our passion for pistachios comes with an ecological cost. There is apparently now a global shortage.
This article was first published in the Budapest Business Journal print issue of June 27, 2025.
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