“We have people driving from Donegal and Wexford to our shop in Mullingar every day,” says David Quirke, co-owner of Sugar Plum Sweetery.
But what could possibly have people travelling for hours to curb their sweet tooth? Look no further than the internet-breaking “Dubai chocolate bar”, which first gained notoriety last year.
The viral chocolate treat now taking Ireland by storm is the brainchild of Dubai-based entrepreneur Sarah Hamouda, who created the pistachio- and tahini-infused bar in her quest to satisfy pregnancy cravings for a childhood favourite dessert: knafeh.
Knafeh is a Middle-Eastern filo pastry and the key ingredient – alongside pistachio – in the chocolate bar which Hamouda dubbed Can’t Get Knafeh Of It. This catchy confection is one of a range for sale in Hamouda and her husband’s online shop, FIX Dessert Chocolatier, founded in 2022.
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After sampling Hamouda’s chocolate while on holiday in Dubai last October, Irish confectionery couple David Quirke and Denise Buckley found themselves transfixed.
Together the pair own Sugar Plum Sweetery, a Mullingar-based chocolatier and sweetshop which launched its take on the so-called Dubai chocolate bar in late November, bringing the sensation to the Irish market after spending “about a month trialling and testing it”.
Since then the response from Irish customers has been fanatical. According to Quirke, Sugar Plum Sweetery is “currently producing just over 3,000 bars per day” to keep up with demand, with plans to double this output soon.
“It went absolutely nuts,” says Quirke. “We could barely keep up with demand. Before Christmas, we had a team of 10; we’re a small chocolatier. Since then, we are on about 30 staff and we are hiring hopefully another 10 in the next week. It just went absolutely bonkers in the last few months.”
As well as tripling staff numbers, Quirke says their chocolatiers are now working around the clock – “24 hours a day”.
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When Quirke and Buckley realised the chocolate bar’s star potential, they offered customers the option to buy in bulk online in the form of 10- and 20-bar multipacks. This decision hasn’t been without its drawbacks; Quirke says customers have alerted them to Facebook groups where resellers are advertising their product for €20 and €30 a bar.
“We’ve even caught lots of people buying it from us and reselling it at double and triple the price. It’s just absolutely chaotic at the moment,” he says.
“Anytime we’ve got orders coming in that might be 20 or 30 bars, we contact the customers to let them know that they can’t resell it. We are putting a limit to the amount of bars that somebody can buy at any given time.”
Sugar Plum Sweetery, which has Blás na hÉireann and Great Taste awards to its name, entered a contract in November with Irish retailer Avoca, giving it exclusive access to their product “for the first six weeks”. “We did our first drop with them,” says Quirke, who is working with Avoca to restock the now sold-out bars.
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But is the so-called Dubai chocolate bar here to stay, or will its popularity be fleeting? Quirke believes it is here to stay: “It’s literally going to be an entire category; even in 20 years’ time it will still be here, it will be the new caramel.”
Giving credit where it’s due, he sings Hamouda’s praises: “Obviously, we have to give kudos to that brand, they’ve created something that’s absolutely amazing.”
To put the chocolate bar’s popularity into perspective, British delivery app Deliveroo said that the bar was the top item ordered worldwide in 2024. Its cult following, fuelled by an ASMR-style video posted by TikTok influencer Maria Vehera, saw Swiss chocolatier Lindt create a version for a limited release of 300 bars in December.
For any curious chocolate connoisseurs who aren’t willing to make the trek to Mullingar, the bar can be purchased via the Sugar Plum Sweetery website, although you may have to wait to try it. The influx of orders has pushed deliveries back by up to 12 business days.
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