No longer stuck on the sidelines, dates have mainstream momentum. Circana data confirms the category has nearly doubled in the last five years to dominate retail dried fruit sales. Yet, with household penetration sitting at between 12% and 13%, the industry has just scratched the surface of its full potential.
At the forefront of this category evolution are three Packer 25 honorees driving growth through strategic scale, brand development and consumer-focused innovation.
Oasis Dates’ Adam Cooper
Adam Cooper, CEO of Oasis Dates, North America’s largest date company, is transforming the date industry by building a vertically integrated operation that spans 5,000 farming acres, 500,000 square feet of processing facilities as well as the brand’s commercial division and consumer products. Drawing on his extensive background building iconic produce brands like Wonderful Pistachios and POM Wonderful, he is driving new growth and modernizing scale across the category.
To establish a foundation for its ambitious “2X in 5” goal — a strategy aimed at doubling date category sales in five years — Oasis Dates spearheaded an in-depth research initiative combining comprehensive consumer surveys with in-home visits. By directly observing how consumers interact with dates in their own kitchens, the brand uncovered versatile, everyday usage habits that quantitative data alone couldn’t capture. These immersive insights are now guiding Oasis Dates’ product innovation, branding and retail merchandising to convert untapped consumer interest into sustained category growth.
“Oasis Dates is launching a multimillion-dollar marketing campaign, which is probably the largest in the history of dried fruits, titled ‘Earth’s Most Versatile Fruit,’” says Cooper. “This is a bold statement, and this is a bold campaign derived directly from our consumer research that will help Oasis Dates deliver on our plan to double the date category over the next five years.”
Oasis Dates’ consumer research revealed that there are far more potential date consumers than there are current date consumers. It also discovered the No. 1 barrier to purchase was a lack of awareness about how to use dates.
“People just don’t know enough about dates,” says Cooper. “So, at Oasis, we’re innovating across every consumer touchpoint to convert those potential consumers into date lovers.”
According to Cooper, this push spans packaging, branding and digital media.
“It’s about being clean, clear and disruptive on shelf,” he explains. “It’s also about being innovative in our media, so we’ll be on Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, [and] TikTok with our ‘Earth’s Most Versatile Fruit’ campaign.”
The initiative extends into stores and produce departments through targeted marketing, dietitian partnerships and new product offerings — starting with an initial line of seven products that includes two functional snacks: Cinnamon Oat + Gut Health Boosted Dates and Salted Caramel + Energy Boosted Dates.
“Retailers are loving this innovation because they’re realizing that produce deserves these sales,” Cooper says, noting that similar products traditionally lived in the center store. “This is a produce-based item and needs to be in produce. ... All this will help us become the No. 1 brand in dried fruit.”
Bard Valley Natural Delights’ David Baxter
As CEO of Bard Valley Date Growers, David Baxter has guided Natural Delights to become the nation’s top date brand over the past eight years through premium positioning, digital innovation and sustainable practices that champion the cooperative’s grower community.
Under Baxter’s leadership, the brand has continually pushed the date category forward by transitioning medjool dates from a seasonal holiday specialty into everyday snacking and meal routines. Recognizing that modern shoppers want more than just great taste, Baxter has prioritized forward-thinking development that aligns with holistic health.
“Innovation is one of the biggest opportunities ahead, particularly as consumers begin to think about dates in more everyday snacks and meals,” he says. “As consumers are increasingly looking for new and interesting flavors, they are also looking for functional foods that go beyond just great taste. They are looking for items that will help them achieve their holistic health goals.”
To further elevate the category, Natural Delights plans to roll out a comprehensive brand refresh at the International Fresh Produce Association’s Global Produce and Floral Show that aims to connect consumers directly to the multigenerational farmers who pioneered the U.S. medjool date industry.
“The goal of the refresh was not only to update our design and aesthetics but to do a better job of telling our grower story,” says Baxter. “Several of our co-op members go back to the very early days of developing the medjool date industry in the USA, and we want to tell that story to consumers. Consumers not only want to know who is growing their food and where it’s coming from, but also why where we grow and how we grow produces a better product.”
By pairing this deep-seated grower heritage with functional, flavor-forward product development, Baxter continues to position dates as an essential, high-growth staple for modern retail produce departments.
Joolies’ Amanda Sains
As vice president of marketing and the first employee at Joolies, Amanda Sains has elevated the fresh date category by applying a CPG mindset to make produce engaging for a new generation of consumers. Her strategic vision and commercial leadership have helped build the brand from the ground up, driving Joolies to 28.9% growth and securing the No. 2 spot nationwide in the date market.
“Dates are having a moment right now,” says Sains, who attributes the brand’s growth trajectory to a combination of key factors: “the broader consumer adoption of dates, strong relationships with our retail partners and the visibility we’ve built within the produce industry over the last seven years.”
Central to Joolies’ commercial expansion is a fresh approach to creating new snacking occasions and rethinking traditional store placement.
“We see a huge opportunity to bring incrementality to the date category by creating more snacking occasions and giving consumers new ways to experience dates,” Sains says. “Retailers are seeing the same consumer trends we are — people want better-for-you options, but they still want food that’s fun and tastes great.”
To capture these new moments, Joolies is actively leaning into the confection space.
While Sains says whole and pit-free medjool dates remain the core of the Joolies business, innovative products like Date Sours and Date Pops allow the brand to reach consumers through familiar, approachable formats. By positioning dates directly against traditional sweets, Joolies offers health-conscious shoppers a guilt-free indulgence without sacrificing flavor or fun.
“That’s where products like Date Pops and Date Sours have been really exciting,” she says. “We’ve had countless people tell us, ‘I don’t even like dates, but I love these!’ or ‘I ate the whole bag!’ Someone who may never have picked up a pouch of whole dates might try a sour candy made from dates or a Brownie Bite Date Pop because it feels familiar, fun and relevant to the way younger consumers are snacking today. Suddenly, their entry point into the category is completely different.”
Innovation can expand the top of the funnel for the entire date category, says Sains.
“TikTok and Pinterest are full of date recipes of stuffed dates, date balls, homemade bars, sweet and savory snacks; so someone who discovers dates through a Date Pop might be inspired to make their own version at home and end up buying whole dates as an ingredient,” she says. “I love that cycle: innovation can introduce someone to dates in a completely new way and ultimately lead them right back to the whole fruit.”
While Sains says expanding Joolies’ retail footprint has been an important part of its growth, adding distribution is ultimately “about being reliably available when someone is looking for dates and hopefully making Joolies the one they notice.”
Vibrant packaging is one way to get noticed.
“Our mint packaging has been a big part of that from the beginning,” says Sains. “Mint green isn’t a color you typically find in nature, so in a produce department full of natural colors, it brings this unexpected vibrancy to the shelf. The more often shoppers see that bright mint Joolies pouch or tub across the stores they shop, the more familiar the brand becomes. That repeated impression helps drive trial, which ultimately helps drive velocity for both Joolies and the category.
“We’re still very much a challenger brand, so reaching the No. 2 position is something we’re really grateful for,” Sains continues. “There’s still a lot of work ahead of us, but it’s exciting to see that growth happening alongside broader momentum for dates and to know we’re playing a part in bringing more visibility and new consumers to the category.”
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