Trader Joe’s Now Sells What May Be the Most Affordable Dubai Chocolate Bar Yet
The grocery chain just became the latest retailer to launch a version of the viral treat.
Photo Courtesy of Patislove
Ever since Dubai chocolate made its TikTok debut in 2023, its momentum has grown and grown. The combination of chocolate, pistachio and kataifi (shredded phyllo) is now more accessible to Americans than ever before. That’s great news, since a single bar can go for $20 or more, and it’s a not an easy dessert to recreate at home.
Over the past few months, several major companies launched Dubai chocolate products. In February, Ghirardelli offered a limited Dubai Chocolate Sundae. Shake Shack launched a Dubai chocolate-inspired shake in April. A few weeks ago, Costco started selling an ice cream version of the bars for $18 per box.
This week, Trader Joe’s rolled out its own take on Dubai chocolate — and this bar may be, by far, the most affordable one yet.
“Starting this week, for a limited time, we plan to offer Patislove Dubai Style Pistachio Dark Chocolate for $3.99,” Nakia Rohde, Public Relations Manager for Trader Joe’s, tells Food Network. “The exact date of its arrival in stores may vary.”
Patislove, a Turkish chocolatier, produced the bar exclusively for Trader Joe’s. According to Patislove’s website, it’s “a luxurious fusion of velvety pistachio cream, crisp kataifi pastry, and rich 50% dark chocolate.”
People are already divided on whether dark chocolate is an improvement on the original recipe or a misstep, since the treat is typically made with milk chocolate.
“The original one is made with milk chocolate for a reason,” a Reddit commenter says. “[Dark chocolate] will overpower all the other flavors. The best part of this chocolate is supposed to be the pistachio but now we won’t even be able to taste it.”
Others are eager to try a dark chocolate version, and many who’ve tried it are already giving positive reviews.
“So delicious, it’s not super sweet. I’ve had some Dubai chocolate that’s very sweet. This is nice dark chocolate,” a commenter says on Instagram.
Trader Joe’s fans are known to freak out over new products. Predictably, the Dubai chocolate is selling fast.
“In LA and couldn’t find it in any of my stores. One told me they sold out in minutes. People are apparently buying it by the basket,” someone comments on Reddit.
In response to its popularity, or perhaps anticipating it, many stores are already imposing limits on how many bars each customer can buy, according to the same Reddit thread. This strategy was relatively successful in helping Trader Joe’s keep eggs in stock and affordable earlier this year, so it may work for the chocolate, too. But even if it doesn’t, fear not: Trader Joe’s plans to meet demand.
“We believe that customers ‘vote’ on what they love — and what they want to see more of — with their dollars,” Rohde says. “In other words, if our customers really love this product, we can certainly get more.”
Sounds like they probably will.
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