CHICAGO — In Dar Baklava founder Sherif Badawy’s opinion, the traditional baklava pastry that is formulated with filo dough, chopped nuts, honey or syrup is often underfilled with nuts and overfilled with dough and syrup, leaving a sticky and mushy snack.

After researching the baklava market, Badawy’s goal for launching Dar Baklava, a startup producing a snackable version of baklava called Snacklava, in January 2024 was to bring a “healthier version” of the Middle Eastern treat to American cuisine.

A pediatrician by day, startup owner and a “fitness obsessed person” on the side, Badawy saw the market was lacking a product that consumers could enjoy without the guilt feeling after, he said.

The company’s Snacklava is formulated with 80% nuts, 20% filo dough and less sugar than its traditional counterpart, Badawy said. The product, which comes in cashew, pistachio and walnut flavors, features six ingredients, including nuts, wheat flour, pure cane sugar, butter ghee, corn starch and powdered milk.

Dar Baklava offers consumers 1 to 1.7 grams of protein per piece and 3.3 grams of sugar per piece, according to the company.

To produce the baklava, the company begins by making the filo dough, then layers the dough with nuts, then another layer of filo dough is added and finally the syrup is added and the product is baked.

Once the baklava is baked, the syrup is drained from the baklava overnight, for approximately 12 to 14 hours, leaving approximately 4% to 5% of the syrup per piece.

“Baklava usually has a lot of syrup that is usually drenching and soaking so it’s soggy when you bite through it,” Badawy said. “That’s why we came up with the slogan ‘no sticky fingers’ so you can bite through it and hold it on a walk or traveling without needing to wash your hands.”

Dar Baklava’s co-packer is located in Jordan. After the products are manufactured, the manufacturer ships it to the company’s warehouse in Chicago and from Chicago the product is shipped to consumers, Badawy said.

“I have been self-funded and am the sole owner of the company,” he said. “I also have worked with The Hatchery Chicago (a food and beverage incubator and production facility for Chicago entrepreneurs) that has been helping me get in front of customers. I also work with a marketing company to help me reach my audience.

“We get a few pallets of the baklava and then we ship it. The shelf-life is 12 months so we have time to make sure we can ship it fresh.”

Baklava typically is sold in bigger trays, which gave Badawy the idea to produce the treat in a snackable format.

“As a society, we’re always looking for snacks and things that are portion controlled and things that are easy to take around,” he said. “So, we thought maybe we can come up with a concept of a baklava snack so it doesn’t have to be in those big boxes. That’s where the name Snacklava came from.”

The company also offers Nutlava, or the Mix Baklava Gift Box, which provides consumers 40 pieces of pistachio and cashew baklava to offer consumers a variety pack option, Badawy said.

Having grown up in the Middle East, Badawy has been familiar with the baklava pastry, but realized some consumers and other parts of the world may not know what the treat is.

To bring baklava to the market, Badawy said the company is targeting coffee shops in downtown Chicago and Meijer’s supermarkets.

“It’s something that you don’t only get from a Greek store, or ethnic store, or Pakastani Middle Eastern store,” he said. “I really wanted to have it (Dar Baklava) in other stores that you don’t need to work hard to find it. We are in Mojo Coffee. Meijer’s wants us to be in about 14 of their stores right now. My dream is to see it be mainstream.”

With consumer feedback, the company is currently looking to innovate within its baklava line and penetrate other markets, Badawy said.

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