Greg Wilsey wasn't sure at first whether dates coated in sour watermelon powder would be a good idea.
But as one of the founders of Joolies, a snack brand best known for selling plain dates, he noticed that competitors and home cooks alike were starting to play up the fruit in weird new ways. Taking a page from candy flavors might be a Trojan horse to get the company's fresh fruit on more shelves.
“Some people, myself included, were skeptical about whether this could work,” he said. In March this year, Joolies previewed its date Sours product at the Western Natural Products Expo, an annual industry show for emerging food brands. The product was just one of 250 date products at the show.
“Two or three years ago, we started seeing dates emerge as an alternative ingredient to stevia and allulose,” said Adrienne Smith, content director for Natural Products Expo West. "But the star of the show this year is the dates themselves. As a snack, they're so hot right now."
At the show, dates appeared in "every form imaginable," including being coated in sugar-coated shells, pressed into puree to make birthday cake-flavored energy balls, and used as a sweetener in soda. "I find it interesting that you look at a date palm and think, how could anyone innovate on this? But they actually did it."
Once the preserve of specialty stores and health food co-ops, dates have become a supermarket favorite. The dull, wrinkled, thumb-sized fruit may not look like the star of the packaged snack world at first glance. But many brands are adapting the malleable fruit in ways big and small to cater to consumers craving fiber but wary of sugar. You can find it on almost every shelf in the supermarket: filled with fillings or wrapped in various coatings to make candies, made into energy foods like protein bars, used as alternative sweeteners with other baking ingredients, and of course, in the fresh produce section, as original whole dates.
To some, the craze may be just another superfood having its moment, only to fade away like kale chips. Snack brands and retailers, however, are betting that the date's best days are yet to come.
First cultivated in the Middle East and North Africa, dates have played a role in human food culture for thousands of years—as the first bite to break the fast, as a welcome gesture to guests, and as the basis for dishes like tagine and toffee pudding. Driving this craze is its nutritional value, which fits current dietary trends.
Smith said consumers are increasingly moving away from snacks with scary ingredient lists and unfamiliar ingredients, in favor of products made from a handful of natural ingredients. Dates are easy to process and are rich in dietary fiber, making them a natural choice.
In the packaged foods world, consumer interest in dietary fiber is quickly catching up with attention to protein, and dates are becoming an easy vehicle to obtain this macronutrient. According to nutritionist Maya Ferrer, one serving of dates (about three) contains about 5 grams of dietary fiber, which is a significant contribution compared to the recommended daily intake of 25 grams for women and 38 grams for men — especially when you consider that the average American only consumes 10 to 15 grams per day.
However, she suggested that if you are purchasing date snacks that have undergone more processing on the market, you might as well lower your expectations for health benefits. “If it’s stuffed with peanut butter and covered in chocolate, enjoy it!” says Feller. “But don’t expect it to promote gut health. Right? That’s dessert.”
Dates’ natural sweetness also makes them an ideal sugar substitute for snack companies and consumers. "They have a lower glycemic index than sugar," says nutritionist Vanessa Rissetto, a measure of how quickly a food causes blood sugar to rise. “They’re rich and delicious, but have very little impact on blood sugar.”
