In the opinion of Robert Dobrzanski, president and sales manager of Atlas Produce & Distributing Inc. in Bakersfield, CA, some consumer packaging for dates and date products does not show the product well because the label tends to hide the contents of the package.

New packaging from Atlas goes the other direction, increasing the visibility of the product.

New retail packaging for Caramel Naturel products from Atlas Produce features high product visibility. (Photo Courtesy of Atlas Produce)“We are rolling out some new packaging this year that just displays the product a lot better,” Mr. Dobrzanski said. “We notice that a lot of our competitors put this huge label on their packaging that covers everything up. We are proud of our product and our excellent quality, and we want to show it off and not hide it.”

The label will carry the company’s “Caramel Naturel” brand, which, Mr. Dobrzanski said, is “the number one consumer brand in the United States” for dates and date products.

The new packaging has also been proven to increase product shelf life because “it is a lot more air tight,” he added. It also has “a greener footprint than what other people are using out there” because the type of PET plastic used requires less energy to produce.

Also new at Atlas Produce this year is an organic line, Mr. Dobrzanski said. “Everything we have is now also available in organic.” The label is “Caramel Natruel Organics.”

Atlas Produce packs some 15 different items. They include date coconut rolls and date almond rolls as well as pitted Medjool dates.

“We do jumbo raisins as well,” he said. “All of those are available in multiple different-sized packs.”

He contends that “no one else has date coconut rolls and date almond rolls” to match those from Atlas.

They are “consistent every single time people buy [them] from us, and so are our Medjools,” he said.

Many companies “do a blend of sizing in their consumer packs,” which may range from minis to jumbos,” he continued. “We don’t do that in ours.”

Atlas Produce has enjoyed “continued growth just with our brand recognition,” as “people are seeing high quality” in the products, he said. “Particularly in the date almond rolls and the date coconut rolls, we have seen excellent growth because it is a premium brand.”

New on sales at Atlas Produce this season is Kyra Dykes who is new to the industry. She brings a marketing background to the job.

The company has recently expanded its cold storage facility in Coachella, CA, to “ensure having product available for our customers year-round,” Mr. Dobrzanski said. “The sales office is in Bakersfield. We ship out of Coachella and also Los Angeles.”

The company has its own date grove but also has associated growers, he said. The new organic products are produced by associated growers.