The viral popularity of pistachio cream chocolate from Dubai, driven by TikTok, has led to a global crisis in the pistachio market.
The chocolate bars with pistachio cream, kadaifi, and milk chocolate, launched by the Emirati brand FIX in 2021, became incredibly popular after a video uploaded to TikTok in December 2023 garnered over 120 million views. This video sparked a global boom in pistachio chocolate, causing a sharp rise in demand for pistachios.
The surge in chocolate demand led to a dramatic increase in pistachio prices: the price per pound rose from $7.65 to $10.30. According to Giles Hacking of CG Hacking, a nut trading company, the global pistachio market has exhausted its supplies.
Chocolate prices have also risen. For instance, a Lindt chocolate bar in the UK costs £10 for 145 grams, which is twice as expensive as other products from the brand. Due to the high demand, some stores have limited the number of bars customers can purchase, and both Lindt and the Wm Morrison supermarket have released special Easter eggs with pistachio cream.
The reduction in pistachio supplies is also a result of a poor harvest last year in the United States, the world’s largest pistachio supplier, as well as a high-quality harvest that left few inexpensive shelled nuts typically used for chocolate production.
