It’s not often that an innovation comes along in the world of chocolate that turns into a genuine phenomenon, but Dubai chocolate has reached that elevated level of cultural awareness in just a few years.
The chocolate bar concoction burst onto the scene in 2021, exploding beyond its origins in, well, Dubai to capture the imagination of candy lovers and brands across the world.
Brands like Lindt and Ghirardelli have created their own versions. Shake Shack introduced a Dubai Chocolate Pistachio Shake earlier this year, modifying the combination of chocolate, kadayif and pistachio into a drink that folks could pair with their go-to order. (Mine would be the simple and delicious ShackBurger.)
When it comes to chocolate in America, there isn’t a more iconic brand than Hershey’s, so it was only a matter of time before we got a take on the Dubai chocolate bar from them. And, boy, did Hershey’s do it big.
Instead of releasing a line of Dubai chocolate bars available nationwide, the company instead produced just 10,000 Hershey’s Dubai-Inspired Chocolate Bars. For a comparison, Hershey’s says they make approximately 373 million Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bars every year.
In addition to producing only 10,000 of its Dubai-Inspired Chocolate Bars, Hershey’s released them in limited drops on Dec. 4 in New York, Philadelphia and Chicago.
“Not every trend gets the Hershey’s treatment,” Megan Pantalone, senior manager, innovation at The Hershey Company, said in a statement. “When something takes over social media like this, we knew it deserved a one-of-a-kind release. That's why we kept it exclusive — only 10,000 bars total. Once they’re gone, they’re gone forever. This is for collectors, trend hunters, and anyone who wants to say they got one.”
Luckily for Snackology readers who want to know all about this limited release, I got my hands on two of the Hershey’s Dubai-Inspired Chocolate Bars …
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During the brief window when the Hershey’s Dubai-Inspired Chocolate Bar was available, a bar cost $8.99.
My thoughts
Despite Dubai chocolate being everywhere in 2025, I’ve actually only had it once. I don’t often hesitate to toss a new candy or snack into my grocery cart, but the price tag on the Lindt Dubai Style Chocolate Bar that I found on a prominently placed display at Harris Teeter a few months ago gave me enough pause where I actually passed on the candy bar only to snag it at the last moment before heading into a checkout line.
I’m not sure if that Dubai-style chocolate was worth what I paid for it — which, I think was like $16? — but it was definitely a very good candy bar. I could see why the trend had taken off.
After unfolding the cardboard package surrounding Hershey’s Dubai-Inspired Chocolate Bar, I was greeted by a golden wrapper. This definitely felt like I was venturing into Willy Wonka territory, but as long as no one showed up in my kitchen singing songs about my misgivings or telling me to lick the wallpaper to see if the snozzberries tasted like snozzberries, I figured I was safe.
A single Hershey’s Dubai-Inspired Chocolate Bar is divided into six pretty chunky bits, making it easy to break this elusive bit of candy into smaller pieces. (And unlike those Tony’s Chocolonely bars, these pieces are all the exact same size and shape.)
Breaking this bar revealed the filling blend that’s made Dubai-style chocolate not only in high demand but also difficult to mass produce: Pistachio creme and kadayif filling.
“The interesting thing with Dubai chocolate is the food science part,” Alon Chen, chief executive of food trend analysts Tastewise, told The Guardian in April. “Dubai chocolate cannot be made at large scale. Why? Because the knafeh is very crispy and fragile, and it takes a lot of technology on a large production line to be able to cover the knafeh and add the cream, and still keep the crunchiness. Without the crunchiness, it’s just another pistachio-flavoured chocolate bar.”
With only 10,000 Dubai-Inspired Chocolate Bars available, Hershey got to work its magic on a much smaller scale than the company usually produces on. That work paid off, with this candy bar being the perfect marriage between the Hershey’s bars that many of us have grown up and probably still snack on either as we’re making s’mores or borrowing some candy from our kids’ Halloween haul and that pistachio-and-kadayif filling that have made Dubai-style chocolate so popular.
The chocolate is creamy and the kadayif in the filling is delightfully crunchy. If I didn’t have such a limited stock of the Hershey’s Dubai-Inspired Chocolate Bar, I’d easily devour the entire thing without pause.
Snack score
🍪🍪🍪🍪 (4 out of 5 cookies)
The Hershey’s Dubai-Inspired Chocolate Bar is probably the most intricate and sophisticated chocolate I’ve had from the classic American candy company. They really elevated the humble Hershey’s chocolate bar for this project.
Hopefully the runaway success of the very limited release of the Dubai-Inspired Chocolate Bar will convince Hershey’s to find a way to scale up production on this flavor. Now, please excuse me while I research how much it’ll cost to insure the second bar that I didn’t open.
Hershey’s Dubai-Inspired Chocolate Bars were provided to Snackology for this independent review.
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Snackology is written and produced by Bill Kuchman. Copyediting by Tim Kuchman.
The Omnicosm founder. Popculturology, Deep SNL Thoughts and Snackology writer. A Rochester, N.Y., native now living in the Washington, D.C., area. Won’t pass up a Genny Cream Ale.
