Hershey is taking a bite out of the Dubai chocolate craze.
The confectionery giant is introducing a Dubai-inspired chocolate bar on Dec. 4, though the offering comes with a catch. Hershey is producing only 10,000 chocolate bars that will be available to consumers through Gopuff in New York, Philadelphia and Chicago, or in person at Hershey's Chocolate World Times Square.
The limited-edition chocolate bars are filled with pistachio and kadayif, a shredded pastry dough used in Middle Eastern desserts.
“When something takes over social media like this, we knew it deserved a one-of-a-kind release,” Megan Pantalone, senior manager of innovation at Hershey, said in a statement. “Once they're gone, they're gone forever. This is for collectors, trend hunters, and anyone who wants to say they got one.”
Dubai chocolate traces its roots to 2021 when a chocolatier in its namesake city created the confection to satisfy a pregnancy craving. It quickly gained momentum after an influencer promoted it on TikTok.
The trend's popularity has since prompted Lindt and discount grocer Lidl, among others, to roll out their own Dubai-style offerings. The craze has also led to higher prices as manufacturers deal with supply chain and ingredient challenges to meet demand, The Wall Street Journal recently reported.
While the bars can sell for as much as $20, Tiffany Menyhart, Hershey's chief customer officer, said in an interview that the company will offer its Dubai-Inspired Chocolate Bar for a “more reasonable” price of $8.99.
The Dubai bar is part of a “strategic decision” made by Hershey heading into 2025 to launch products that showcase the company’s ability to quickly innovate and respond to trends that are resonating with consumers, Menyhart said. It also provides an opportunity for the Reese’s maker to deepen its presence in the nearly $30 billion chocolate space with a new product offering.
Hershey chose to partner with food delivery company Gopuff to reach Gen Z consumers, an increasingly important demographic for businesses. Roughly 85% of the consumers on Gopuff are Gen Z, Menyhart said.
“This is a specific opportunity for us to test and learn, get some quick results,” she said.
In recent years, Hershey has accelerated innovation in an effort to better align its portfolio with changing consumer trends.
It has incorporated popular ingredients such as peanut butter and wafers into more products, added new flavors to brands like Kit Kat, and tapped into trends including sour and gummy. The Dubai-inspired chocolate provided an opportunity to further test and experiment with filling, which is another “important [part] to Hershey's innovation cycle,” Menyhart said.
“The filled bar platform globally is on the rise, and growth is accelerating across that,” Menyhart noted. “You should anticipate that there certainly are things that Hershey is looking at in order to meet that growing consumer need as well.”
