FIX

The original dubai chocolate

NOTE: This is an overarching snapshot of the strategy. The actual approach was far more in-depth, with extensive creative testing, iteration and performance-led optimisation across each pillar.

The Brand

Brand Overview

Yupppppp, I worked on the OG Dubai Chocolate.....
The one that broke the internet :)

FIX Dessert Chocolatier launched in Dubai in 2021 and went from a small local chocolate brand to a global obsession after its "Can't Get Knafeh of It" bar went viral. And honestly, FIX did things very differently.

At the peak of its UAE hype, there was no website and still does not.... Yep, no website. No store. No easy "add to cart and chill." Drops were released exclusively through its delivery partner at 2 PM and 5 PM, so if you wanted one, you had to be online, ready and fast. FIX even called out fake websites on Instagram because, well... apparently everyone wanted a piece of the Dubai chocolate.

Scarcity wasn't a side effect of the strategy. It was the strategy.
And that was exactly what made FIX so damn interesting to market!

CLIENT ASK

360_F_1036997271_boAXFFKToXtQaLFPD9SBcn7mclK4B8a3-removebg-preview_edited.png

360_F_1036997271_boAXFFKToXtQaLFPD9SBcn7mclK4B8a3-removebg-preview.png

Keep the internet's favourite chocolate bar famous, without letting the hype become yesterday's news.

My Role
Creative Director

01. CREATIVE STRATEGY & TESTING

Owned creative strategy and GTM creative direction
Developed creative briefs, UGC scripts and content pillars for Instagram.
Built testing frameworks across concepts, hooks, formats and messaging
Developed hypotheses and success metrics for creative tests.
Used performance insights to shape the next round of creative.
Partnered with other departments to ensure creative supported acquisition and scaling

02. CREATIVE DIRECTION & PRODUCTION

Led internal creative teams, creators and external production partners
Developed production guides, references and creative direction
Directed content production from brief through final execution
Maintained brand consistency across social, paid and campaign assets
Built a consistent pipeline of high-quality creative across the funnel
Pushed new formats and creative territories to keep the brand culturally relevant

Overarching Strategy Snapshot

Creative Strategy

Turn the first bite into a habit.

FIX had already mastered acquisition through scarcity and virality. The bigger opportunity was retention: how do we make someone who fought for their first box want the next one?

We built retention around frequency, anticipation and novelty, using new flavours, limited drops, product storytelling and post-purchase content to create a reason to stay connected.

Retention funnel
Purchase → Experience → Share → Follow → Anticipate → Repurchase

Key initiatives

Drop anticipation
Build excitement before the product even became available.
We partnered with creators and briefed them to make the wait itself part of the story, using FOMO-led hooks that felt like genuine reactions rather than ads.

Winning Hooks

"GUYSSSS I FINALLY GOT MY HANDS ON IT AFTER WAITING X HOURS"

"I've been trying to get FIX for WEEKS and I FINALLY GOT ONE."

"Okay, I finaally got the original Dubai chocolate... let's see if it's actually worth the hype."

The creator's job wasn't just to show the chocolate. It was to document the chase.
Waiting → Getting it → Unboxing → First bite → Reaction
This turned scarcity into social proof, making audiences who hadn't tried FIX feel like they were missing out on something everyone else already had.

Newness
Use new flavours and limited-edition products as reactivation triggers.

The UGC wasn't written like an ad. We scripted the story, not the personality, so creators could sound like they were genuinely texting their friends.

WInner Hook:
"I can't lie, I was a bit sceptical. I genuinely thought nothing was going to beat the OG... but this one is SO good."

Other hooks we tested:

"Okay wait... I think I have a new favourite."

"Guys, I wasn't expecting to like this one more than the OG..."

Community
Make following FIX feel like getting early access to what's coming next, hype the 2/5pm drops.
The goal was to take FIX from "that viral chocolate in Dubai" to a brand with global cultural relevance. We built the strategy around sensory content, creator amplification, social proof and comparison, giving people multiple reasons to discover, discuss and share the OG.

01. SENSORY CONTENT
Make people taste it through their screens.
We leaned into ASMR and texture-first content: the chocolate snap, pistachio filling, crispy kataifi, slow pulls and first bites.

The creative wasn't trying to tell people FIX was delicious.
It was trying to make them drool.

Snap.
Crunch.
Pull.
That filling.

02. CREATOR AMPLIFICATION
We partnered with food, lifestyle and culture creators across markets and briefed them to make FIX feel like something they'd genuinely discovered and couldn't stop talking about.

The scripts were intentionally conversational:

"Okay... I finally understand what everyone was talking about."

"I've tried a LOT of Dubai chocolate. This is still the one."

The goal was to take FIX from one viral conversation to hundreds of smaller conversations happening across different creator communities.

03. THE OG VS. THE COPIES
If everyone is making "Dubai Chocolate", which one is actually the OG?

We tapped into the conversation around copycat Dubai chocolate products through taste-test and comparison content, positioning FIX as the benchmark.
Creators compared products on:

Taste → Texture → Filling → Crunch → Overall experience

The creative tension was simple:

"Can anything beat the OG?"

And the payoff:

"Nope. Still FIX."

This gave audiences something to debate, comment on and share, while reinforcing FIX's original-product credentials.

04. CULTURAL MOMENT MARKETING
We monitored conversations around Dubai, chocolate, food trends, viral products and creator culture, then looked for opportunities for FIX to participate naturally.

Rather than posting:

"FIX is going viral!"
we created content that made people part of the conversation.

05. THE VIRALITY LOOP
See it → crave it → debate it → share it → search it → try it → post it → repeat.

The strategy was to make every piece of content capable of creating the next piece of content.

THE LEARNING
Don't manufacture virality. Give people something to crave, something to debate and something worth sending to the group chat.
We used creators strategically, not just for reach. The focus was on designing content around the behaviours that made FIX naturally shareable.

01. HOOK STRATEGY
Developed thumb-stopping openings designed to create immediate curiosity, FOMO or sensory intrigue.

"Okay you need to stop what you're doing and look at this."
"I just spent an embarrassing amount of time trying to get this."
"Wait, don't scroll. I need to show you what's inside."

02. CONVERSATIONAL UGC
Scripts were written around how people actually talk to friends, using interruptions, slang, exaggeration and imperfect delivery rather than polished brand copy.

"I'm sorry but WHAT is that filling?"

"Guys. I get it. I actually get it now."

"I genuinely thought the OG was overhyped, but... I'm annoyed because it's actually SO good."

03. REACTION-LED CONTENT
Built content around exaggerated but believable first-bite reactions, surprise reveals and texture moments to create emotional payoff.

04. COMPARISON CONTENT
Intentionally used the OG vs. copycat conversation as a creative device, putting FIX against imitation products to reinforce originality and spark debate.

"Okay, I've got the OG and three of the fake ones. We're settling this today."

"Everyone's making Dubai chocolate now, so I bought the copies. Let's see if anything actually beats FIX."

05. CREATIVE FORMAT TESTING
Tested first-bite reactions, blind taste tests, unboxings, ASMR, "worth the hype?", OG vs. copy and creator challenges to identify the formats most likely to drive watch time, shares and conversation.

The principle:
Don't script an ad. Script the moment people will want to watch.
LOCAL HYPE → GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION

The strategy was to turn FIX's Dubai cult status into a global retail story, adapting the message to wherever the product showed up. In Dubai, the creative leaned into scarcity and the chase: "2PM drop. Don't say I didn't warn you." For Dubai Duty Free, we shifted the story to travel and gifting: "You came to Dubai for the holiday. Obviously you're leaving with FIX." For Harrods, the creative became about global credibility and the OG finally landing in London: "London, meet the original Dubai Chocolate." Each channel had a different role, but the same core message: this is the OG, and now you can finally get your hands on it.

MAKE THE LAUNCH THE MOMENT

Every market entry became a content moment, not just a distribution announcement. We built launch creative around tease

→ creator seeding → reveal → product experience → retail discovery,

using hooks such as "Guys... the OG Dubai Chocolate just landed in London" or "You asked for it, London. We finally brought it." Creators were briefed to film first-bite reactions, ASMR, unboxings and "worth the hype?" content around the new availability, while paid social amplified the strongest-performing assets.