A Wren Says

I had a little taste of the famous “Dubai” Chocolate bar from FIX Chocolatiers while I was in Austin for SXSW. Or rather, it was the “Can’t get knefah of it.” I enjoyed the crunch of the knafeh, but I didn’t have my life changed to the point of wanting to pay $20 plus shipping for a candy bar. (To be fair, I’m not big on milk chocolate.) Later, a friend would offer me an inspired version from Costco. The two were markedly different. There was much less of the craveable crunchy pastry inside. In comparing the two, it was clear there were corners cut for cost that impacted the final product and flavor. Had I tried the Costco version first, I would definitely have thought the bar was overhyped.

Yezeni Alani, co-founder of FIX, had this to say in an interview with the BBC: “copycat” bars are “very frustrating because people are trying knockoffs, which damages our brand”.

I look back and think, that the number of people who did walk away saying the bar was “overhyped” in their TikTok videos were trying the bars from an inspired source or were making it at home themselves. They hadn’t even tried the actual bar, and yet were saying they didn’t like it.

Imitation is a form of flattery, but that only goes so far. It can just as quickly shift into mistaken identity that ruins an image. When brands, be they food-based or otherwise, go after copycats, this is part of the reason. People can conflate the dupe with the real thing. The dupe becomes part of the image of the original. This is why brands get so intentional about pursuing copycats legally to get them to stop.

Honestly, it amazes me that after all these months the chocolate pistachio craze has not died down. You can’t (really) trademark flavors, so expect the trend of copycats to continue. But what are your thoughts? Have you tried the chocolate bar or an inspired take? What did you think?