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My favorite example of how a small food business can get global attention with a product people want to see, taste, and share is Dubai chocolate. Not just because it’s amazing and I love chocolate, but because its PR campaign was remarkable.
FIX Dessert Chocolatier mixed chocolate with pistachio cream and crunchy kunafa to make a bar that stood out in close-up videos. The unique texture gave social media users something different to notice and talk about.
The turning point came when a TikTok video of someone trying the chocolate caught viewers’ attention. People shared their reactions, searched for the bar, and wanted to experience the same combination themselves.
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Rather than just using traditional ads, the brand gained from content that made people curious and eager to share the product’s name. The craze quickly spread beyond Dubai. As more people wanted the chocolate, other businesses made their own versions, and big chocolate companies joined in.
A dessert that began as a distinctive local product became an international talking point, showing how influencer content can help turn an unfamiliar item into something consumers suddenly feel they need to try.
#5
After Dubai chocolate became a hit, Abu Dhabi introduced its own signature bar, created by chef Nouel Catis, who was also behind the original viral dessert.
Instead of repeating the pistachio-and-kunafa mix, he came up with a new recipe using salted caramel, halwa, cardamom, saffron, tahini, and date syrup. These ingredients were chosen to showcase Abu Dhabi’s local food culture.
The bar was first sold for Dh100 per 200 grams at the local Rain Cafe. Catis hoped the flavors would bring together Emiratis of all ages and help share Abu Dhabi’s food culture with more people. The launch shows that while a viral product can spark new ideas, changing the city and recipe does not always bring the same online buzz.
#7
KevinStoley:
There is a really great documentary on this called 'Hot Coffee' that is highly worth watching.
It goes way beyond just her case, but that case was basically used as the poster child by corporations and politicians for mass tort reforms over the years which have had a major negative effect on consumers rights and what sort of damages can be awarded in lawsuits brought by people who have been hurt or wronged by businesses.
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Another of my favorites is California’s Gold Rush. Thousands of people headed west hoping to strike it rich. Samuel Brannan saw a different opportunity. Rather than spend his days searching for gold, he opened a store near the mining areas and prepared to sell the supplies prospectors needed. He recognized that a rush for riches could create a fortune for merchants, too.
Brannan also helped build excitement. After visiting the goldfields near Coloma in 1848, he went back to San Francisco with gold in a bottle and announced the discovery to everyone. This news inspired people to head to the mines. Brannan’s store was ready for the crowds, and he reportedly sold up to $5,000 in goods each day.
His story shows a surprising part of a gold rush: people looking for gold weren’t the only ones who could make money. Brannan got rich by selling goods to miners instead of searching for gold himself. This idea is still true today in marketing, where businesses can profit by giving customers what they want during a trend.
#10
In its current state, you cannot use AI effectively without already being skilled and knowing the basics of your craft, economicst or studied knowlege. You need real expertise just to spot the mistakes AI still makes en masse. It's based on human knowlege and limited by the computing plans you buy as well as how you use it - and the majority using it blindly wrong. '
The reality is very different: people blindly trust flawed AI output. They build websites without knowing a single line of code, or generate business plans with zero background in economics.
Where is this promised wealth for everyone? Right now, AI destroys far more jobs than it creates, with no equal replacement for the people laid off. Meanwhile, we get the downsides: dehumanization, exploding energy costs, and sky-high AI company valuations built on a money-burning AI dominace race that the public will eventually have to pay for when the bubble bursts.
#11
Bradjuju2:
Blair Witch is a gold standard for grassroots viral marketing. Even pre social media, they managed to achieve a classic film on a shoestring budget.
Back to the present, a product can dominate social media without transforming its entire market. The Dubai chocolate craze quickly drew the interest of major brands, who hurried to release their own versions and take advantage of the trend.
Still, all the online excitement did not change the whole chocolate market right away. The premium chocolate segment in general grew by about 8%, but the overall chocolate confectionery market only grew by 3%.
This gap shows that a product can be very popular on social media without really changing how people shop in the long run. Thousands of videos might get curious customers to try a viral treat, but that does not mean they will keep buying it. Sometimes, the excitement around a product is much bigger than its lasting effect on sales.
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Either that, or getting people to pay to have listening/data collection devices in their homes (Alexa etc).
#14
Breakfast is not in fact the most important meal of the day and eating a lot of sugar is bad.
That being said, I love breakfast, sugar or salty, yummi!
#15
2) The British messaging that carrots will help one's vision.
Some brands intentionally make their products harder to get. Limited releases, exclusive drops, and quick sellouts can make shoppers feel like they have to act fast or miss out. If people think a product might not be around for long, they often want it more than if it were always in stock.
But scarcity can also have downsides. An article in Harvard Business Review explains that while limited availability can create excitement, it can also drive frustrated customers to competitors. The key is to make a product feel special without making it so hard to buy that people give up and look elsewhere.
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When a product goes viral, other brands often try to join in, something commonly known as trendjacking. They use popular memes, trending sounds, or create their own versions of products that everyone is talking about. This can seem like an easy way to get noticed, since the audience is already interested and the trend has already built momentum.
But copying a popular idea does not guarantee the same success. When dozens of brands follow the same trend, their campaigns can start to look almost identical. Adding a fresh twist gives people a reason to pay attention, remember the brand, and see it as more than just another company trying to cash in on the latest craze.
Behind every viral sensation, there is often a clever idea, a perfectly timed move, or a brand hoping to capture lightning in a bottle. But not every attempt gets the same reaction. Which one surprises you the most? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
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That doesn't mean they weren't an incredible and historic achievement, but from a scientific research perspective - not to mention the expense - there was very little reason to send humans, and no real reason at all behind putting so much emphasis on being first.
The drive was all about rubbing it in the faces of those godless commies over there, and making sure the whole world knew how awesome we were. That's a PR stunt to me, even if the outcomes were mostly beneficial.
