Dubai chocolate sees off Turkish copycat in German court

Battle to cash-in on confectionery craze in Europe as German judges say it must come from Dubai

Retailers and confectioners are eager to cash-in on the Dubai chocolate craze in Germany - but a legal battle has broken out over the name. AFP

A battle for control of the “Dubai chocolate” market has broken out in Germany as retailers look to cash-in on demand for the pistachio and pastry sweets.

One German businessman selling €30 ($30.80) bars of chocolate “handmade in Dubai” scored a legal win this week as a court banned supermarket chain Aldi from selling a version made in Turkey.

Andreas Wilmers also has Swiss confectioner Lindt in his sights over its “premium quality” imitation.

Customers have queued for hours to buy limited-edition versions of the chocolate bars make famous on TikTok. German retailers insist the name Dubai chocolate is merely a recipe for the pistachio and shredded filo pastry filling, but a court was told using the name could mislead customers.

Siding with Mr Wilmers in the Aldi case, judges ruled that consumers would take a product called Alyan Dubai Handmade Chocolate “to mean that the chocolate was manufactured in Dubai”. The supermarket snack packaging had an image of Dubai's skyline but was not made in the UAE.

A small label on the back saying “Origin: Turkey” was not sufficient to “clear up this misunderstanding”, the court in Cologne ruled. Aldi was ordered to pay costs and the “Dubai chocolate” offer has been removed from its website.

Mr Wilmers claims to have exclusive rights to distribute a brand called Fex in Germany, which he says he encountered in a mall in Dubai. The bars that sparked the craze are made by a company called Fix Dessert Chocolatier, founded by British-Egyptian entrepreneur Sarah Hamouda. They are only sold in the UAE and have inspired imitators.

Promotional material for Mr Wilmers's “100 per cent original” Fex Dubai chocolate says it is imported weekly from the UAE. “Don't let yourself be fooled,” it says. “The so-called 'Dubai-style' chocolates from other countries? They have nothing to do with this masterpiece!”

It says the product is “made by hand in Dubai with a lot of love” – using Belgian chocolate and imported pistachios because supplies are too short in the UAE.

“The whole world is talking about Dubai chocolate, and we are proud to offer Fex Dubai Chocolate to the European market as a licensed importer,” it says.

Lindt launched a limited-edition Dubai Chocolate line in Germany last November, offering a bar for €15 ($15.40). The company says its master chocolate makers give the recipe “premium quality” and “invite you on a journey into the luxurious world of Dubai chocolate”.

Queues for Dubai chocolate bars in Germany – in pictures

Lindt's bars are made in Germany and Mr Wilmers has filed separate complaints against the Swiss company as well as discount supermarket Lidl. An association representing the German sweets and confectionery industry argued last month that Dubai chocolate was a generic term and that the product could be made anywhere.

“Dubai chocolate is not an indicator of the chocolate's origin, but has become an umbrella term for a certain recipe of filling,” it said.

German customs last week confiscated 90kg of Dubai chocolate from a woman at Hamburg airport that was subject to hundreds of euros in import duties. The 33-year-old passenger had failed to declare her 460 bars of chocolate in three suitcases, and there was no information about ingredients or allergens.