This is where Migros’ Dubai chocolate is made

The machine chatters away and the smell of chocolate fills the room. The chocolate balls fall onto the conveyor belt every four seconds, accompanied by a click. Chocolate production is in full swing at Werkhofstrasse in Lucerne: Confiserie Bachmann is currently producing 800,000 Dubai-style "guardian angel" truffles for Migros.

Dubai chocolate has been gaining popularity throughout Switzerland since October. The special thing about this chocolate creation is the filling. It consists of green pistachio cream and angel hair – shredded phyllo pastry fried in oil.

Dubai filling with a Swiss touch

Instead of chocolate bars, however, the Lucerne-based family business produces truffles for Migros. "The special thing about our creation is that it appeals to Swiss tastes", says Raphael Bachmann, owner of Confiserie Bachmann AG.

For example, the pistachio mixture is not mixed with the angel hair. Instead, they are sprinkled onto the truffle, which is then covered again in another layer of chocolate. Two employees then reshape the balls by hand in just a few simple steps.

"This is how we guarantee that the chocolate balls stay nice and round, otherwise the truffles would get chocolate feet", explains Bachmann. In other words, the chocolate would flow downwards and form a kind of base. Two other employees then sprinkle chopped pistachio nuts over the almost finished balls.

The balls must now be cooled, after which they are packaged. Four employees carry out the final quality check and pack the truffles. There are eight per pack. Each ball is framed by two small golden cardboard wings – the trademark of the Bachmann guardian angels.

Another speciality of the Dubai-style chocolate balls is their pistachio filling: "It consists of high-quality pistachio cream mixed with crushed wafer rolls and our secret guardian angel filling", says Bachmann. The addition of wafer rolls in the filling make the Dubai truffles crunchier than normal Dubai chocolate.

A special machine is the key

Bachmann has been producing guardian angels for Migros for four to five weeks now. A total of 100,000 boxes are sold in stores throughout Switzerland. The large-scale production is only possible thanks to a new type of machine at the traditional Lucerne confectionery.

"We spent almost three years tinkering with the machine, which is made exclusively for our guardian angel production", explains Bachmann. It can efficiently sprinkle round truffles all over with pieces of nut – or, in the case of the Dubai balls, with angel hair.

However, the machine was only put into operation six months ago. Beforehand, chocolate balls were rolled by hand in the desired coating. "We were only able to make far fewer truffles", says Bachmann.

Another challenge was procuring the angel hair. Since the hype surrounding Dubai chocolate, prices for the dough threads have exploded: while a kilo cost around CHF 1 a year ago, today it is CHF 20 to 30. "Fortunately, we have a large network", says Bachmann.

The Lucerne confectionery developed the truffles in mid-November and they have been an absolute hit product ever since. The first stocks were sold out just a few hours after the launch: "Never before in our 127-year history has a launch been as successful as our Dubai-style guardian angels", says Bachmann.

What is Dubai chocolate?