Atlas Produce & Distribution Inc. in Bakersfield, CA, producer of California-grown Medjool dates, has introduced a new style of packaging for its “Caramel Naturel” brand date products, according to Robert Dobrzanski, president of the company.

The new packaging is an air-tight clamshell that “extends the shelf life of the product, so that the consumer is happy with what they buy,” Dobrzanski said. Made by Safe T Fresh, the containers are also tamper resistant. “We have those in the eight-ounce, 12-ounce and one-pound” sizes as well as in a two-pound size, he said.

All of the packaging will carry a “California Grown” sticker this year, “which is a great promotion in itself,” said Dobrzanski, who has always spoken with pride regarding the fact that all of the company’s dates are grown in California.

“With the high quality that we have, and with the California Grown sticker, that really helps a lot, because people trust it and trust California,” he said.

Atlas date products include whole fresh dates, date coconut rolls and date almond rolls, all of which are being packed in the new airtight clamshells, he said.

An Atlas Produce date grove in California. (Photo courtesy of Atlas Produce & Distribution Inc.)In addition, the company packs raisins and figs. “We have a whole line of products that we sell,” he said. “There continue to be innovations in the packaging, and those innovations help sell the product.”

With the 2013 Medjool harvest recently completed, Dobrzanski said that the quality of the Medjools this year is the best quality he has seen.

“I just got back from the ranch,” he said. “It was unbelievable, really nice. So we are really excited about that.”

The company’s volume is up 30 percent this year, he noted.

That growth is largely due to young plantings that are coming into greater production.

Sales Manager Ben Antongiovanni told The Produce News in August that the company has added onto its cold storage facility to accommodate the current and anticipated growth. Atlas “basically built a new state-of-the-art” cold storage facility a year ago, and “we are adding onto it right now,” he said.

Although Atlas has year-round availability of its Medjool date products and finds a market for the products year-round, the holiday season continues to be a major marketing period. “Christmas is huge for us,” Dobrzanski said. But “what we have found is when [customers] pay attention to this category year-round is when they see the biggest benefits in terms of profit for the stores.”

Also, about 75 percent of the company’s volume goes overseas, and that is year-round business, he said.

Demand for Medjool dates continues to increase, according to Dobrzanski. “We are really excited about the future growth of Medjool dates. As we implement higher quality standards with the packaging of the fruit and with the growing. This category is going to continue to grow. There is a lot of potential.”

Mothers are “our target audience out there, primarily. That is our demographic,” since women do “most of the shopping,” and they are increasingly interested in healthy foods for themselves and their families.

“We are going after them with the ‘Caramel Naturel’ brand, and we are getting great results,” he said.