From Viral to Viable: The Business Behind India's Kunafa Obsession

A crisp, golden strand of kataifi pastry, layered with pistachio cream and dark chocolate, first travelled to Indian screens through reels shot thousands of miles away in Dubai. A year on, that same combination is sitting on shelves across Indian cities, in gift boxes, bakery counters and quick commerce apps, no longer an imported curiosity but a category with its own sales numbers, price points and growth targets.

Three companies, working in entirely different categories, chocolate, gifting and bakery, describe a similar arc; a trend that began online, was tested cautiously and has since settled into sustained consumer demand rather than fading as a passing moment.

Where It Began

For premium chocolate brand SMOOR, the starting point was a gap in the market. Vimal Sharma, Founder and CEO of SMOOR, said the company had been watching the growing global popularity of the kunafa and pistachio combination and noticed that few Indian players were offering an authentic, premium version of it.

"We noticed that while the trend was gaining significant traction internationally, there were very few players in India offering an authentic, premium-quality version," Sharma said. He added that imported Dubai chocolates were frequently selling out in the country, a signal that told SMOOR the appetite for the format already existed, waiting to be met locally.

For India's largest gifting platform, Ferns N Petals (FNP), the entry point was different. Avi Kumar, Chief Marketing Officer at FNP, said the company tracks emerging gifting trends closely and saw the Dubai-inspired dessert wave building strong momentum in the UAE, alongside rising curiosity from Indian buyers. That gave FNP the confidence to bring the format home, framed specifically as a gifting product rather than a standalone dessert.

Britannia arrived at the trend from a research desk rather than a hunch. Shekhar Agarwal, General Manager-Marketing for Cakes, Rusks and Croissants at Britannia, said the company evaluated the flavour across multiple consumer touchpoints before committing to its Treat Croissant Dubai Kunafa- Pista Creme. This included tracking sustained conversation on social media, running consumer research and studying demand signals from e-commerce and quick commerce platforms, as well as its rising presence in fresh bakeries.

"Taken together, these signals gave us the confidence that Dubai Kunafa had the potential to become a scalable flavour innovation for Indian consumers," Agarwal said.

Numbers Behind the Trend

What separates kunafa from a fleeting viral flavour, according to all three companies, is that the sales data has continued to climb well past launch.

SMOOR has sold close to 2 lakh units of its Dubai-inspired chocolate over the past year. Sharma said sales have grown nearly eight-fold compared to the average recorded in the first three months after launch, which he described as evidence of sustained repeat demand rather than a one-time trial purchase driven by novelty.

That demand has held up despite the product carrying a real premium. SMOOR's Dubai-inspired chocolate is priced at around ₹400, compared to around ₹295 for comparable products in its regular range, a markup of roughly 35%. Sharma attributed this to the use of imported ingredients such as pistachios and kataifi and said customers have continued to pay the higher price for the quality and authenticity of the experience.

FNP has seen a similar pattern play out in gifting. Kumar said the category has recorded 40% quarter-on-quarter growth since launch, at a price point of ₹549, which he described as an accessible premium within the brand's dessert portfolio.

"This shows that Dubai-inspired desserts are not just a novelty purchase, but are becoming part of the premium gifting consideration set," Kumar said.

At Britannia, the profile of the kunafa buyer is clearer than at the other two companies, largely because the product sits in mass retail and quick commerce rather than a niche premium bracket. Agarwal said the core consumer base for the Treat Croissant Dubai Kunafa variant is aged between 18 and 25 years, a group he described as inclined to explore new formats and globally inspired flavours, making them the product's primary audience. The variant has had a nationwide rollout across retail and quick commerce channels since launch.

Additionally, Swiggy Instamart’s recent July 7 order analysis reveals that orders for viral pistachio-filled chocolates jumped 11,739%, making it the fastest-growing chocolate trend.

Social media, all three companies agree, plays a role in getting a consumer to try the product for the first time, but not necessarily in getting them to buy it again. Agarwal was the most direct on this distinction, noting that visual appeal helps consumers discover the trend and creates initial curiosity, but that repeat purchases depend on the product itself. "Taste, quality and the overall eating experience remain some of the strongest drivers of repeat purchase," he said.

Trend or a Category

Whether kunafa is a lasting fixture on Indian menus or a moment that will eventually fade is a question none of the three brands claim to have fully answered, though each is behaving as though it expects the former.

Britannia said it continues to evaluate the flavour through consumer research, social listening and marketplace insights before making further investment decisions. Agarwal said the early response to the Treat Croissant variant has reinforced the brand's belief that globally inspired flavours can find lasting relevance in India, provided they are adapted thoughtfully for local consumers.

SMOOR has taken a more selective approach to chasing global trends generally. Sharma said the brand does not try to follow every flavour wave that emerges internationally, but invests where a trend aligns with its identity and offers room for a premium, differentiated product.

"Our focus is not on following every trend, but on adapting the right ones in a way that reflects SMOOR's commitment to quality and craftsmanship," Sharma said.

Kumar said such launches are becoming an increasingly important part of FNP's innovation strategy, without giving a specific figure. Neither SMOOR nor FNP disclosed what share of their innovation budgets has gone into trend-led launches such as kunafa this year.

Notably, all three companies are now extending the flavour beyond its original product.

SMOOR has already carried the kunafa and pistachio profile into desserts and pastries within its portfolio, a move Sharma said has been met with an encouraging response. The brand's near-term focus, he said, is on widening this range further and scaling up availability to meet demand.

FNP, already established in bakery through its cake delivery business, is now looking at snacking formats that intersect naturally with gifting. Kumar said the momentum from the Dubai-inspired dessert has given the company confidence to expand its trend-led portfolio into these adjacent categories.

Britannia's spokesperson did not comment on specific plans to extend the kunafa flavour beyond the Treat Croissant line.

On growth expectations, FNP has set the clearest target among the three, aiming for 1.5 times growth in the category in FY27, citing strong headroom based on current sales traction. SMOOR, meanwhile, pointed to a broader shift it is tracking across the dessert space toward experience-led offerings, where presentation and craftsmanship matter as much as taste. Sharma said the brand is working with dessert chefs and consultants on more elevated creations, alongside growing interest in lower-sugar options and premium interpretations of traditional Indian desserts.

Britannia did not offer a specific growth projection for the kunafa category, saying its investment decisions will continue to be guided by ongoing consumer response.

Taken together, the accounts from SMOOR, FNP and Britannia trace the arc of a dessert that began as an imported novelty on social media feeds and has, over the course of time, become a functioning category in its own right, one that chocolate makers, gifting platforms and bakery brands are each shaping according to their own strengths.