Dive Brief:
- Dates have become more popular as a natural sweetener and binder in snacks, spreads and sauces, according to Food Business News. The publication noted dates were a featured flavor profile in a number of products displayed at the Summer Fancy Food Show last month in New York.
- Along with its better-for-you nutritional profile — which includes fiber, magnesium, potassium, antioxidants and amino acids — dates are star ingredients in recipes for the paleo and Whole30 diets. The fruit is currently used in a variety of spreads, sauces, baked goods and ice creams.
- Adding to dates' popularity is the fact that their naturally occurring sugars don't count as added sugars on Nutrition Facts panels, Food Business News wrote.
Dive Insight:
Dates are increasingly cropping up in a range of food items such as muffins, cakes, cookies, syrup, spreads and sauces. They're being positioned as an allergen-free and low-glycemic alternative to sugar, honey, maple syrup, agave and dessert spreads.
However, like most dried fruits, dates are not low-calorie. The fruit has been called "nature's candy" since it is so rich in sugars. A 100-gram serving size has 277 calories and 75 grams of carbohydrates, although that amount also provides 7 grams of fiber, 2 grams of protein and 20% of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Reference Daily Intake for potassium.
These qualities may be spurring higher demand for dates. Many consumers say they want to limit their sugar consumption and are making moves to do so. Per capita consumption of sugar and other caloric sweeteners declined in 2017 for the third straight year. As consumers turn away from these sweeteners, use of refined sugar is also dropping.
Manufacturers are paying attention and putting more alternative sweeteners — including dates — in products. Kellogg uses date paste in its Special K Nourish Chewy Nut Bars and Bear Naked bars. Startup D'vash Organics, which makes organic and non-GMO date nectar and other products, has recently expanded its portfolio into cayenne-infused date nectar and packaged its original date syrup in a squeeze bottle. The company has so far been successful in marketing what one of its co-founders has called "the Middle Eastern superfood."
Dates are also being sold on their own. Dole Food Company's Made In Nature brand sells date snack packs. But most producers are smaller outfits including Date Lady, Hadley Fruit Orchards, Amazing Coachella, Terrasoul Superfoods and We Got Nuts.
Dates are grown in Arizona, California and Florida, although the U.S. crop pales in size compared to those in Egypt, Iran and Saudi Arabia. The U.S. exports fresh dates to Australia, Canada, the U.K. and other countries, but imports much more of them from Tunisia, Israel and Pakistan, according to the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center.
The global consumption of dates is predicted to grow at a CAGR of about 4% from 2019 to 2024, according to Mordor Intelligence. Since dates check so many boxes for consumers — better-for-you, plant-based, natural sweetener, lower glycemic and allergen free — the demand is likely to continue to grow. Dates will likely show up in additional products as time goes on.