Dubai-style chocolate dates

Source: Forest Feast

The NPD will hit Morrisons on 21 July

Premium dried fruit and nut snacking brand Forest Feast has unveiled its own take on the viral Dubai-style chocolate trend.

It has added Pistachio Crisp Milk Chocolate Dates, which are dates coated with pistachio butter and wafer, enrobed in Belgian milk chocolate.

Forest Feast has also added Salted Caramel Milk Chocolate Dates – dates coated in Belgian milk chocolate with salted caramel flakes.

Both will roll into Morrisons on 21 July, followed by Waitrose, Boots, Ocado and other retailers in September. Each carries an rsp of £4.35 for a 140g pack.

“Forest Feast has achieved a fantastic milestone, doubling sales to over £20m in the UK market over the past 52 weeks,” said Forest Feast marketing director Bronagh Clarke, citing IRI data [52 w/e 14 June 2025].

“This growth underscores our efforts to deepen brand awareness and expand market penetration.

“With our consumers increasingly seeking innovation, we are strategically positioned to grow the category by launching two exciting new flavours, further strengthening our competitive edge.”

The Dubai-style chocolate boom

Forest Feast’s Pistachio Crisp Milk Chocolate Dates are just the latest in a steady stream of NPD inspired by the Dubai-style chocolate trend over recent months.

Lindt was the first major brand to capitalise on the trend in the UK, launching a limited run of Dubai Style Chocolate (rsp: £10/145g) in December, ahead of a nationwide rollout in Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and Ocado in March.

Morrisons listed Flair Pistachio Kunafa Dubai Chocolate Cake Bar (rsp: £4/55g) in January and Home Bargains rolled out Wawi DuBites (rsp: £3.99/100g) in March.

Lidl made headlines by offering 6,000 own-label Dubai Style Chocolate bars on TikTok Shop (£3.99/122g plus £1 delivery) on 20 March. TikTok shoppers leapt at the chance to get their ‘exclusive first taste’, with the bars selling at more than one per second – before they rolled into all Lidl stores a week later at the same price, minus the £1 for delivery by Evri.

Aldi launched an own-label Dubai-style Ice Cream into stores in April (rsp: £3.99/500ml). In the same month, M&S added a Pistachio spin-off (rsp: £8.50/280g) of its chunky, loaded milk chocolate tablet, The Big Daddy.

Also in April, Iceland rolled out two branded iterations of Dubai-style chocolate. Nelino Dubai-Style Chocolate (rsp: £2/62g) and Bolci Dubai Chocolate (rsp: £5/100g) both feature a pistachio cream filling and kadayif pastry.

Last month, Tesco listed Godiva’s Pistachio & Kadayif 122g tablets (£10) on a limited run. Meanwhile, Kenco launched its limited-edition Iced/Hot Dubai Chocolate Style Latte into Asda (rsp: £1.99/8x19.5g).

Dubai chocolate: how it started, and how retailers and brands have fanned the flames