FIX Dessert Chocolatier, the Dubai company behind the pistachio and knafeh bar sold worldwide as “Dubai Chocolate,” has won the Dubai-it Award in the business projects category, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, announced on Saturday.
Sales of Dubai-style chocolate rose 1,234% in one year, and the products are now sold in markets around the world and at more than 100 airports, Sheikh Hamdan, who is also Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, said in a post on X.
He credited founders Sarah Hamouda and Yezen Alani with turning a home-based business into a global brand. “This is the spirit of Dubai-it: transforming a simple home-based business into a global success,” he said.
FIX launched in Dubai in 2021. Its signature bar, Can’t Get Knafeh of It, prompted retailers and confectionery makers in several countries to release their own versions of Dubai-style chocolate. The brand has since expanded beyond Dubai, including at Singapore’s Changi Airport and Harrods in London, Gulf News reported.
The trend has also lifted airport retail sales. Dubai Duty Free sold AED165 million of Dubai chocolates in the first half of 2025, about 2.5 million bars, accounting for 40% of its confectionery sales, Chief Executive Ramesh Cidambi said last year.
Sheikh Hamdan launched the Dubai-it Award in June. The annual award recognizes individuals, projects, companies and institutions that turn ambitious ideas into measurable results, and forms part of the wider Dubai-it initiative introduced by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
