Joolies changing the date-ing game

While Joolies has only been an established brand since 2019, the farm and facility has been in operation since 1985. 

“Located in the heart of Coachella, CA, our family farm spans over 1,000 acres of Medjool and Deglet Noor date palms,” said Mark Masten, Joolies’ CEO. “Vertical integration is the foundation of our supply chain model. This has enabled us to control every aspect of the growing and distribution process.”

Joolies is an eco-conscious company at its core, constantly looking for ways to farm effectively and harvest dates in the most efficient and safe way for its workers. 

“Today, we now market our dates as Joolies with the basic concept of bringing new, young consumers into Medjool dates,” Masten said. “In order to be successful in the category, our brand continues to remain visible. Additionally, our success hinges on innovation through creating date-based products that we love and know our consumers will love.”

That has helped the company become one of the fastest growing date brands, up more than 50 percent in 2022, compared to the previous year.

“Dates are a growing category,” Masten said. “We continue to observe consumers leading healthy lifestyles include dates as part of their daily fruits and snacks. Aside from a growing category, dates are an extremely versatile product and can be used in either sweet or savory meals.”

Joolies is one of the only date growers that is 100 percent certified USDA organic and glyphosate residue-free.

“Overall, we are fortunate to have a great product and our goal is to continue to get the word out,” Masten said. “For Joolies, our biggest opportunity for expansion is to continue to grow distribution. We have seen an increasing number of retailers realize that dates and more broadly, dried fruit, are a sleepy category. We’re pumping fresh life into the sleepy category and changing the date-ing game.”

One of the best ways for the demand for dates to continue is for retailers to do their part in marketing and merchandising them. 

“One of the biggest challenges in the industry is getting buyers to appreciate that dates are and can be an important category to help them grow their snacking consumption,” Masten said. “Displays are vital. Consumers need to see dates, especially in different categories around retail stores. Our Joolies shippers are the perfect vehicle to improve display and take advantage of key, seasonal promotion opportunities.”

The way things are looking, the rise in dates should continue, especially since Joolies is predicting an excellent upcoming crop. 

Elsewhere around the company, it’s firing up a new freezer to further improve logistics and quality, and is continuing to add new products to the mix. 

“Our latest product, Jooliettes, won the 2022 Expo East NEXTY Award for ‘Best New Sweet Snack.’ Available in three different flavor combinations (blood orange, sea salt, and matcha), these dark chocolate-covered date nibbles have been a huge success and are bringing new consumers into the date-ing space,” Masten said. “We are thrilled to announce even more new and exciting products such as our new date toppers, as well as our environmentally friendly, resealable stand-up pouches.”