SHOPPERS have blasted M&S and Lindt for selling “Dubai-style” chocolate bars that they say are “underwhelming” and “overpriced”.
The two luxury own-label bars, which take inspiration from a viral Middle Eastern snack, are among the worst-rated chocolate products on Ocado.
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These two bars even rank below Munchies Orange Sharebag, Werther’s Original Chocolate Covered Caramels and Wagon Wheels Original, as revealed by The Grocer.
M&S’ £8.50 Big Daddy Pistachio was launched with fanfare on ITV‘s This Morning on April 23.
This was advertised as a spin-off on last year’s sell-out Big Daddy chocolate bar.
But Ocado shoppers gave it just 3.1 stars out of five, with fewer than half saying they would recommend it.
One user, who gave the bar a one-star rating, wrote: “This is definitely one of those things that just went viral but didn’t live up to expectations.
“Not worth the hype.”
Another wrote: “This is just awful. Had high hopes this was going to be along the lines of the Dubai chocolate bar but it’s just a disappointment on every level.
“Hardly any pistachio flavor, and it’s a bit powdery and just odd. Don’t bother.”
Shoppers also complained about the lack of foil wrapping on the bar, with one person writing: “I like my food to at least be hygienically stored and delivered.”
Lindt’s £10, 145g Dubai-style chocolate bar also faced backlash.
The milk chocolate bar, filled with pistachio paste and topped with crunchy kadayif pastry, first hit Waitrose‘s shelves in December, with a two-person customer limit.
Besides Waitrose, it is also available at Sainsbury’s and Ocado.
But with a measly 2.8-star rating on Ocado, customers are far from impressed.
One two-star reviewer wrote that they “got sucked into the hype and spent £10 on what is essentially a Kit Kat with a very small amount of pistachio in”.
Another shopper wrote: “I don’t love it… And for a tenner I definitely need to love it. I don’t hate it, but it’s just nothing special.”
“Not worth anything like £10”, said another. “Overwhelming taste of sugary chocolate and Weetabix.”
Dubai chocolate has racked up more than 120 million views on TikTok – and even contributed to an international shortage of pistachios.
The original Dubai chocolate bar was made by luxury confectionery brand, Fix Dessert Chocolatier, in the UAE.
The treat is inspired by the traditional Knafeh dessert, made with spun pastry, cheese, sweet syrup and a topping of pistachios.
Consumer reporter Lynsey Hope tried a number of Dubai-style chocolates, offering her reviews on each.
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How to save money on chocolate
We all love a bit of chocolate from now and then, but you don’t have to break the bank buying your favourite bar.
Consumer reporter Sam Walker reveals how to cut costs…
Go own brand – if you’re not too fussed about flavour and just want to supplant your chocolate cravings, you’ll save by going for the supermarket’s own brand bars.
Shop around – if you’ve spotted your favourite variety at the supermarket, make sure you check if it’s cheaper elsewhere.
Websites like Trolley.co.uk let you compare prices on products across all the major chains to see if you’re getting the best deal.
Look out for yellow stickers – supermarket staff put yellow, and sometimes orange and red, stickers on to products to show they’ve been reduced.
They usually do this if the product is coming to the end of its best-before date or the packaging is slightly damaged.
Buy bigger bars – most of the time, but not always, chocolate is cheaper per 100g the larger the bar.
So if you’ve got the appetite, and you were going to buy a hefty amount of chocolate anyway, you might as well go bigger.
