“We are experiencing double digit growth year after year with all our retail partners,” said Ryan, who is sales and operations manager for the Coachella, CA company.  “In fact, both domestically and in the export markets demand continues to increase.”

He believes there are several reasons for this but topping the list is that dates are naturally sweet. “They are sweet without any processed sugar,” he said. “Parents can give their kids a fresh piece of produce that satisfies their sweet tooth without the added sugars.”

Ryan has noted that dates, especially the popular Medjool date variety, are getting better placement at retail and attracting new consumers. “It’s a great product for retailers,” he said. “It’s a fresh produce item that is shelf stable with virtually no shrink.”

Talking to The Produce News toward the latter half of October, Ryan said the typically strong holiday sales period would be kicking in very soon. While the month-long Ramadan holiday, which will be from mid-February to mid-March in 2026, is the strongest sales season, the fall/winter holidays in the United States are not far behind. “The biggest pull is Ramadan but from the third week of October and all the way into December, we will see very strong sales in the U.S.”

He added that the time period also results in strong overseas sales especially in the United Kingdom, the European Union and Australia. “Believe it or not, we also do some pretty good business in the Middle East,” Ryan said, adding that the export market is challenging but it represents about 40 percent of SunDate’s sales.

The increased demand has been met by SunDate, and its parent company Anthony Vineyards, with new plantings resulting in growth on the production side.

“Most of that growth is with organics,” he said. “Anthony Vineyards is one of the foremost organic grape growers in California and we are continuing that movement with our dates.”

He said about 65-70 percent of SunDate’s Medjools are organic. The percentage is slightly less in the Deglet Noor date variety but is still in the 55-60 percent range. “Demand continues to grow for organics,” Ryan said, adding that it is very much fueled by club store business.

Dates are an interesting commodity in that pesticides are not typically used nor needed as the fruit is grown 40 feet or higher above the ground where pest exposure is light. Nonetheless, Ryan said the cost of production is greater for organic certified dates because of the other organic-friendly inputs that must be used. “We do get a premium for organics, but there is a balancing act as to how much organic fruit the market can support, but that number is increasing every year,” he said.

For holiday promotions, SunDate does push its free-standing display bin, which allows for an easy promotional opportunity without a lot of in-store labor.

The 2025 crop, which would typically begin harvest in early September with top volumes coming in through the month and into October, was a little bit later this year. Speaking on October 20, Ryan said harvesting was still ramping up, which wouldn’t typically be the case. “We were coming off a very strong year last season which gave us good volume and very good demand. We didn’t go into this season with very much fruit left over.”

The date crop is harvested in the fall and sold from storage year-round. “The Medjools typically are harvested from September to mid-October, but this year we are about 10 days later than that,” he said. “The quality is good and the yields are good. We will be harvesting Medjools for about two more weeks and then the Deglet Noors will start up.”

Ryan said it is not a bumper crop but increased plantings should produce sufficient volumes to meet demand until next year’s crop is ready.