Is a mango-flavoured bar set to be the next viral Dubai chocolate?

Crowds gather at Mall of the Emirates for launch of Fix Dessert Chocolatier's new popping candy-filled treat

We are in the middle of mango season here in the UAE, and that seems to have inspired Fix Dessert Chocolatier.

The confectionery company behind the ubiquitous Dubai Chocolate launched a new flavour on Friday. Time to Mango is a white chocolate bar filled with mango, passion fruit and popping candy.

Crowds gathered at Mall of the Emirates in Dubai to be among the first to try the new flavour of chocolate from the viral brand.

The new sweet treat will be available on Deliveroo from June 16, costing Dh72.25.

One Mall of the Emirates shopper, among the first to try it out, told The National that it was “extremely sweet” but that the fruit filling manages to “cut through”.

They added: “The popping candy is a fun retro touch – it reminds me of some of my favourite childhood sweets.”

Crowds gather at Mall of the Emirates in Dubai for the launch of Fix Dessert Chocolatier's new mango flavoured bar. Antonie Robertson / The National

Fix Dessert Chocolatier co-founder Sarah Hamouda believes every bite of the bar “is different”.

She said: “When we’re developing a new recipe, we think of each bar as having its own unique sensory experience. How does it look? How does it taste? How does it feel? More importantly, how does this progress with each bite?”

Viral mango desserts

Time will tell whether Time to Mango will be as much of a phenomenon as the brand's original pistachio offering, but based on crowds gathered at the launch, it already seems to be popular.

Mango-flavoured products also have a strong track record of going viral, specifically the Chinese Propitious Mango ice cream. The creamy treat in the shape of the fruit made by Hong Qi was a viral sensation in 2024. Like the Fix bar, it is coated in white chocolate, but contains a sorbet-like filling. In the UAE, the ice cream is available at Carrefour for Dh14.79.

Fix began with its famed Can't Get Knafeh Of It bar, a milk chocolate bar filled with pistachio and kunafa. Since then, it has inspired a string of similarly flavoured bars, including Galaxy Pistachio Kunafa and a Lindt bar filled with pistachio butter and kadayif. Before the new Time to Mango bar, shoppers could buy chocolate-dipped dried mango at both Marks & Spencer and Patchi.

The Fix-prompted Dubai chocolate trend has become something off a global craze. Away from chocolate bars, Krispy Kreme has a Dubai chocolate flavour doughnut, which it is now keeping as a permanent fixture on the UAE menu. Baskin‑Robbins has a range of Dubai Chocolate Royale menu items that includes a cake, sundae and takeaway pint of ice cream.