It sounds like the dream job. Working in a chocolate factory and taste testing new products all day long, like a modern-day Willy Wonka. But there’s a lot more to being the co-founder of FIX as Sarah Hamouda is quick to point out.
The female entrepreneur who put ‘Dubai chocolate’ on the map is a very busy woman. Fix Dessert Chocolatier has just launched its 10th flavour – this latest one called ‘Time to Mango’ which contains both mango and passionfruit, along with popping candy to give it a nostalgic twist and that ‘FIX touch’.
If you are new to the brand, founded in 2021 by Hamouda and her husband Yezen Alani, it likes to pick fun names for its flavours – the original FIX bar is called ‘Can’t Get Knafeh Of It’ – a crispy knafeh mixed with pistachio and tahini paste, encased in milk chocolate. My personal favourites are ‘Butter To Be Safe Than Salty’ and ‘Baklawa 2 The Future’.
So how did Time to Mango come about? “It’s more inspired by my husband this time. He’s a lover of mango and passion fruit, and he wanted it encased in white chocolate. This bar has actually been a long time in R&D, around eight to 10 months.”
I was trying to imagine what that might look like, and again images of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory came to mind.
The journey to create this new flavour with its tropical twist is far more business-like. And it needs to be with a growing chocolate empire and a global fanbase of celebrities, royalty and anyone with a sweet tooth.
FIX Dessert Chocolatier likes to do things differently, from its fun names and ingredients to its hand-painted bars. Adding popping candy to its new chocolate bar is a case in point. “Literally from the first bite, I was blown away. I think about the whole experience, not just about the flavours. Taking that first bite, you get the flavours, and then the last thing you get is the popping candy crackles, so it takes you back to childhood.” Time to Mango made its debut at the Mall of the Emirates last week in a partnership with Deliveroo.
The launch event attracted thousands of visitors on opening day, showing love for the FIX brand is stronger than ever.
Standing out from the crowd, FIX has no physical store, website, social media sales or authorised reseller – so a partnership with Deliveroo made sense. It also operates its popular limited daily drops at locations in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Tasting Dubai Chocolate
The chocolate tasting sounds appealing, although not on the waistline, prompting me to ask if there were any vacancies at FIX. “There is a lot more to it. It becomes really, really difficult, because when you’re tasting too many things, your palate gets really confused. It is a lot of work, a lot of the team’s hard work goes into it. So it is a long process, but I think it’s worth it.”
So, how many bars has she eaten since launching the brand? “Thousands, if we’re going to talk from like 2021, then definitely in the thousands, loads and loads of bars. Not necessarily eating the whole thing, but kilo-wise, I think tons.” Willy Wonka would be proud.
Demand is extremely high for the chocolate bars, which range in price from AED 67 to AED 72.25 for the latest edition, although increasing supply is not that simple.
“The issue now is producing the bars, because they’re still handmade. If you look closely, you’ll find that they’re not all identical. Each flavour does have a unique look, but each one will look different.” That artistic touch comes at a price.
Given the huge crowds during the three-day launch event, there will be increasing pressure to boost output to match the almost insatiable demand. “To be honest, we’re trying our best to up our production, and be more available to everyone else. But it does take time. It’s only been 18 months since the day we went viral.”
Back in 2021, Hamouda had an urge to create something unique to satisfy her pregnancy cravings for knafeh and pistachio, and FIX was born. Then, in December 2023, TikTok influencer Maria Vehera posted a euphoric video of herself trying the chocolate bar inside her car which went viral, attracting more than 125 million views and scores of fans around the world.
The bar became a craze and was promptly christened “Dubai chocolate”.
