Dubai isn’t short on collaborations, but every now and then, one shows up that feels more like a mood than a marketing moment. BKRY’s three-day takeover with Dolce & Gabbana at Alserkal Avenue was exactly that — a quiet flex of flavour, craft and a little Italian nostalgia, filtered through Dubai’s café culture.
The activation primarily appealed to fans of Italian culinary culture and pastry enthusiasts, as well as loyal followers of the Dolce & Gabbana brand.
Designing for Dubai’s palate
The creative vision behind the activation was to celebrate the timeless heritage of Italian pastry culture through a BKRY lens. Inspired by iconic Italian desserts, the menu focused on authenticity and classic flavour profiles. The core brand message: elegance rooted in tradition, brought to life through artisanal pastry.
“The concept was adapted to the UAE’s multicultural audience by selecting universally relatable Italian classics, adjusting sweetness levels and ingredient balance to suit regional palate preferences, and ensuring the menu aligned with Dubai’s café culture through refined presentation,” says Kameel Rasyid, Co-Founder and Head Pastry Chef.
Guests engaged directly with a menu that sparked recognition and nostalgia for flavours they already knew and loved, presented with elevated technique.
Customer feedback indicated that there was a strong emotional connection to classic Italian flavours, as well as an appreciation for BKRY’s storytelling around ingredients, and a recurring sentiment described as “comfort with elegance.”
Micro and macro influencers from the culinary and lifestyle communities were invited for exclusive tasting sessions and to support social amplification through reels, stories, and in-feed posts.
Influencers were selected based on their strong presence in the UAE F&B scene, clear audience alignment with BKRY and D&G’s positioning, and consistently high engagement performance over follower count.
The activation set out to achieve elevated brand visibility for both BKRY and Dolce & Gabbana within the market, along with deep consumer engagement through product storytelling and the in-store experience, driven by a special menu available exclusively during the collaboration period.
Success was measured through social media reach and engagement, the volume of user-generated content, the sell-through of the collaboration menu, and overall customer sentiment and repeat visits.
