The Sweet Spot: FIX Dessert Chocolatier Co-Founder And CEO Sarah Hamouda Is Building Her Business On Her Own Terms
Two years on from the moment it took off online, FIX’s creations continue to appeal to the masses, even as the company remains firmly in control of its own growth story.
“I’ve told this story so many times, yet it still feels surreal every time.”
This is how FIX Dessert Chocolatier co-founder and CEO Sarah Hamouda begins telling Inc. Arabia the tale of the Dubai-born brand that she started in 2021 with her husband, Yezen Alani, and what her words lay bare is the disbelief that she still can’t quite shake about the trajectory her business has had over the last couple of years.
But it’s easy enough to understand why, though. Given that FIX is behind the confectionery innovation now internationally known as “Dubai chocolate,” the success Hamouda has seen since her brand’s decadent creation—the “Can’t Get Knafeh Of It” milk chocolate bar with a filling made of pistachios, tahini, and knafeh—went viral on social media in 2023 is what founder fables are made of. Except, of course, in Hamouda’s case, it’s all real.
Having caused everything from industry sales records to global pistachio shortages, FIX—which stands for “Freakin’ Incredible ‘Xperience,” by the way—has been heralded as one of the most remarkable entrepreneurial successes to come out of the UAE, but its origins lie in a rather personal issue that Hamouda was navigating at that particular point in time. “When FIX Dessert Chocolatier began, I was pregnant and craving something incredibly specific: something indulgent, layered, and deeply comforting,” Hamouda recalls. “It needed to have that balance— the warmth of nostalgia, yet still unexpected.”
Hamouda and Alani ended up landing on an idea for a dessert encased in chocolate, and that became the basis for the unique make of FIX’s “Can’t Get Knafeh Of It” bar, as well as its many subsequent creations. A lot of care and effort has gone into making them—the co-founders have been intentional about everything from the ingredients and techniques used to craft their products, to even how they were packaged, such that opening them would be reminiscent of unwrapping presents.
Sarah Hamouda and Yezen Alani, co-founders, FIX Dessert Chocolatier.
But the breakout success that FIX is today known for didn’t happen from the get-go, though. The brand launched as an online business officially in 2022, and it was, for a while at least, just another fledgling startup in Dubai that Hamouda and Alani were running as a side hustle, with the duo navigating challenges that will sound familiar to just about any founder out there. “We had a tiny setup,” Hamouda shares. “And we were up late every night, juggling life with two small children, as well as full-time jobs. In those early days, we were simply making something we believed in and sharing it. The support, the reactions, and the encouragement were what kept us going, even when things felt impossible, because we truly believed in our product.”
FIX was thus chugging along as a typical small business then, but the turning point came in December 2023 when a content creator called Maria Vehera posted a video of herself eating a couple of its chocolate bars on the social media platform, TikTok. Filmed as an autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) video, it blew up on the internet (it has had more than 142 million views at the time of writing this piece), and, in turn, fueled a massive surge in demand for the chocolate bars that Vehera was so undoubtedly enjoying. (FIX went from selling just about one bar a week to seeing nearly 30,000 orders in an hour, according to a report in The New York Times.)
But FIX was simply not equipped to handle such a substantial spike in orders at that point in time, which was what led Hamouda and Alani to regulate how their chocolate bars were sold. Indeed, they were available to buy online at only select hours of the day, and once the daily stock ended, FIX would open up for purchases again only the next day. Many saw the tactic as a clever marketing ploy, but Hamouda tells Inc. Arabia that it was actually born of necessity— there simply weren’t enough chocolate bars for FIX to sell then, and the brand was not willing to cut any corners to keep pace with the growing interest in them. “In the early days, we were a very small operation, and the drops were the only way to manage demand without ever compromising on quality,” Hamouda explains. “Even as we’ve grown, we’ve kept that same intentionality. We don’t flood the market for the sake of scale. That mindset runs through everything we do, from our flavors, to our pop-ups, to the way we show up online.”
FIX's signature “Can’t Get Knafeh Of It” milk chocolate bar, which is filled with pistachios, tahini, and knafeh, went viral on social media in 2023.
FIX may have wanted to limit its supply; however, there were other players who were only too happy to step in to meet the appetite for its products, and especially so for the “Can’t Get Knafeh Of It” bar, which, by then, had been given the moniker of Dubai chocolate by the internet. Copycat versions of this chocolate-pistachio-knafeh combination have since abounded not just in the UAE, but around the world, with even global confectionery giants like Lindt and Läderach coming out with their own version of FIX’s product.
And while one would not fault Hamouda and Alani for being irked by such clones of their creations, they are choosing to look at them with a completely different attitude. “Seeing others create their own versions of Dubai chocolate is flattering,” Hamouda says. “It tells us that what started in our kitchen has resonated far beyond it. It’s incredible to think that we’ve created something that now sits as its own category within the confectionery world. It makes us proud to know that FIX has inspired a wider movement.”
As for FIX itself, it has been steadfastly marching to the beat of its own drum. Two years on from the moment it took off online, FIX’s creations continue to appeal to the masses, even as it remains firmly in control of its own growth story. “We’ve always been very intentional about how we scale,” Hamouda adds. “For us, the priority has never been speed; it’s been the quality and integrity of the product. The real challenge was making sure that increasing our output never compromised the standards we built FIX on. Every bar has a specific texture, balance, and flavor profile, and maintaining that consistency requires time, care, and control. Instead of rushing, we made conscious decisions that allowed us to grow at a pace that protected the product first. It wasn’t always straightforward, but the principle has always been simple: quality above everything else.”
FIX's signature creations.
FIX has therefore continued to maintain its daily online drops, and its recent tie-up with Careem—a fellow Dubai-born startup success story—now sees the former’s products sold exclusively on the latter’s super app. “Partnering with Careem felt like a natural step for us,” Hamouda tells Inc. Arabia. “We’re both homegrown brands that have grown alongside the communities we serve, and there’s something special about a platform that’s already part of people’s everyday routines. For us, everything comes back to customer experience, speed, consistency, and making sure the FIX moment feels the same every time.”
This same formula also governs the pop-ups that FIX has been staging, which have now extended beyond carefully selected locations in its home market of the UAE, to high-profile spots overseas like the Harrods luxury department store in the UK and the Changi Airport in Singapore. Meanwhile, the brand continues to innovate with new flavor combinations and product formats, with Hamouda stating that FIX’s focus is on “creating things that excite the people who have believed in us from the very beginning.” “FIX has always been built on community, the people who have supported us, who shared our bars, and the connection we have with our customers,” Hamouda says. “That foundation is what has allowed us to grow in a way that feels real and true to who we are."
And such a philosophy is set to govern FIX’s foreseeable future as well. “The heart of FIX will always stay the same,” Hamouda says. “Everything we do is rooted in emotion, flavors that feel like home, moments that bring people together, and creations that mean something to the people who try them. As for what’s next, we’ll keep innovating and finding new ways to inspire our community. Whether that’s through experiences, storytelling, or new ideas that come to life in the kitchen, the goal is always to deepen the connection people have with FIX. We want to grow, of course, but in a way that stays true to our craft, our quality, and our community.”
FIX Dessert Chocolatier co-founders Sarah Hamouda and Yezen Alani with HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, this is the same ethos Hamouda encourages other founders to embrace in building their own businesses. “If I could share anything with someone starting their own journey, it would be to believe in what you’re creating, even before the world understands it,” Hamouda says. “That early belief is what carries you through the uncertain parts and the quiet moments. The second thing would be to create with intention. Build from a place of meaning, purpose, and sincerity. Everyone’s journey looks different. There’s no single path or formula, and there’s no one ‘right’ way to do any of it.”
Pictured in the lead image is FIX Dessert Chocolatier co-founder and CEO Sarah Hamouda. All images courtesy of FIX Dessert Chocolatier.
This article first appeared in the Dec 2025-Jan 2026 issue of Inc. Arabia. To read the full issue online, click here.
