Bad news for the Matcha girlies! Tiktok is making Matcha extinct!

One minute it’s a harmless trend, the next—it’s a global shortage. The latest victims of social media’s insatiable appetite? Pistachios and matcha.

Once quiet, niche pleasures, they’ve become viral obsessions—now crumbling under the weight of their own fame.

Take the now-infamous Dubai chocolate bar. A luxurious blend of pistachio cream, kataifi crunch, tahini, and milk chocolate, it was first crafted in 2021 by FIX Dessert Chocolatier and cheekily dubbed Can’t Get Knafeh Of It. Back then, it was just a 15 treat for sweet-toothed connoisseurs. But by late 2023, social media did what it does best: turned a decadent dessert into a must-have trophy.

A few viral videos, a cascade of imitations, and suddenly? Supermarkets rationed pistachio bars like wartime essentials. What followed was a full-blown *pistachio panic*.

Already grappling with poor U.S. harvests and strained exports from Iran, pistachio supply chains simply buckled. Prices skyrocketed—from 7.95 to 10.30 per pound in a year. The humble nut, once relegated to baklava or the occasional gelato, now pops up in truffles, pastries, and Easter eggs across the globe.

The frenzy has left producers breathless—and shelves barren. All thanks to a chocolate bar and a camera.

But wait, there’s more. Enter: matcha misery.

Matcha—Japan’s finely ground green tea powder with centuries of ritual behind it—has become a darling of the wellness world. It’s photogenic, antioxidant-packed, and slots perfectly into any lifestyle post. Lattes, ice creams, smoothie bowls—you name it, matcha’s in it. And on it.

Production has tripled since 2010, yet demand continues to outpace supply. Uji, the traditional heartland of matcha in Japan, now finds itself under siege from global thirst and influencer hype. More than half of all matcha is now exported—and the pressure is mounting.

The risk? Quantity trumping quality. Experts fear the gap will be filled by inferior Chinese knockoffs, risking not just taste but the centuries-old craft and culture behind real matcha.

We’ve been here before. Remember the avocado craze of 2015? It won the brunch wars, took over Instagram feeds, and pushed prices so high that avocado theft became a genuine problem in New Zealand.

Same script, new ingredients.

Social media turns a delicacy into a sensation. Demand spikes. Supply falters. Prices soar. Tradition and sustainability pay the price.

And while it’s tempting to blame influencers, the real culprit is the machinery behind them—the platforms engineered to amplify every craving without consequence.

Our palates are ruled by the algorithm. But our supply chains? They’re still operating in analogue.

So next time a pistachio-stuffed chocolate bar goes viral, or your feed floods with forest-green swirls, remember: trends come with a cost.

Virality may taste sweet. But the aftertaste? Bitter.