Chocolate, what’s not to love?
Did you know the sweet treat has a whole day dedicated to it? That’s right, World Chocolate Day is celebrated on 7 July every year and there’s no doubt which chocolate created the most clicks in 2024 so far…
In fact, it’s become so big that British people are travelling 4,000 miles just for a taste! But what is it and how did it get so popular?
The viral chocolate
The chocolate bar everyone can’t seem to get enough of is from an independent chocolatier based in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Ingredients include pistachio, tahini paste and Knafeh (Kataifi) - a popular Middle Eastern dessert made from shredded filo pastry. All encased in Swiss milk chocolate.
The worldwide popularity of the 'Can't Get Knafeh of It' bar skyrocketed when food influencer Maria Vehera posted a video of herself trying the chocolate in her car.
The TikTok video went viral and has now gained over 64 million views and a huge 4.4 million likes, leading to others creating their own reaction videos to the famous bar.
A quick search of knafeh chocolate bar on TikTok and you’re faced with videos totally nearly 500 million views!
The chocolate bar is currently only available to purchase in Dubai, but according to reports, that hasn’t stopped some Brits jumping on a plane and travelling 4,000 miles for the taste.
So, why do certain posts go viral?
This is the million-dollar question. Having a large following goes a long way to helping a post go viral, just like a snowball effect, the more likes, comments and shares a post receives, the more it will spread. And it’s Argentine football legend Lionel Messi who currently holds the record for the most liked Instagram post.
A sweet recipe for viral videos
Emotional Appeal – Emotions play a big part in making videos go viral. Videos that make the viewer feel a strong emotion are more likely to be shared. And who doesn’t feel happy or get enjoyment from watching chocolate videos?
Relatability – If the topic of the video is something lots of people are familiar with and can relate to, this will help the clip go viral too. And the taste of chocolate is something most of us are more than familiar with.
Shareability – Having a video that people want to share with their friends, will go a long way to making it go viral. And so an eye-catching, engaging video of someone eating chocolate, ticks the box.
Three times chocolate made the headlines
This isn’t the first time chocolate has gone viral on social media, remember these?
Gabs’ strawberries covered in chocolate. This simple video of a bowl of strawberries covered in melted chocolate went viral in February 2024. Currently the video has a whopping 460 million views and is reported to be the 9th most viewed TikTok video in the world.
Glasgow’s Willy Wonka experience. Who could forget this viral sensation that didn’t quite hit the sweet spot. It was advertised as “the place where chocolate dreams become reality”, but the event turned out to be more of a nightmare for ticketholders. The story even became the focus of a Channel 5 documentary ‘Wonka: The Scandal that Rocked Britain’.
The huge 24-layer chocolate cake. Hailing from a bakery in Leeds the viral cake shares its name with Matilda’s chocolate loving friend, Bruce Bogtrotter. Videos featuring the famous cake have collectively reached over 10.5 million views on TikTok alone.
Not sure if the news you’re seeing on social media is true or false? Can you always tell if the things you see online are real or fake? Learn how to get the other side of the story with our quizzes, videos and explainers.
