Bard Valley Natural Delights' David Baxter Discusses Holiday and Cross-Merchandising for Retail Lift

YUMA, AZ - As holiday sweets tempt consumers, opportunities are ripe to steer them toward the healthy indulgence found in the produce aisle.

“We recommend creating prominent secondary placements that capture the festive spirit and highlight the premium, giftable nature of Natural Delights Medjool dates,” David Baxter, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Natural Delights, said. “Eye-catching holiday displays near produce, bakery, or deli sections draw shoppers in and remind them that dates are perfect for entertaining, snacking, and baking.”

Because they’re shelf-stable, Natural Delights are an excellent merchandising staple across the store. Among the complementary options David listed were holiday baking ingredients, entertaining displays with cheese and meats, as well as charcuterie and appetizer boards.

“Retailers can also leverage endcaps or shipper displays featuring holiday recipe inspiration like stuffed or wrapped dates to showcase the product’s versatility and drive impulse purchases. Cross-merchandising is a powerful way to showcase how versatile dates can be while tying into the broader momentum happening online,” he shared.

This holiday season, Natural Delights is hosting a sweepstakes on Instagram from November 14 through December 31, partnering with produce heavy hitters like Stemilt, Love Beets, SugarBee®, and Frieda’s for giveaways that celebrate the creative ways dates fit into holiday entertaining and baking. An online buzz retailers can leverage and build on in-store.

In fact, when asked about success stories from retail partners who executed standout holiday promotions or creative merchandising that boosted sales for Natural Delights, David said retailers who have seen the most success during the holiday season are bringing Natural Delights Medjool dates out of the produce section.

“Bringing our products into high-traffic areas where shoppers are planning for entertaining and baking, many have utilized our holiday shippers with clear callouts to recipe inspiration and hosting ideas to capture attention and drive impulse purchases,” he explained.

During the holidays, Natural Delights sees sales lifts of 25–50 percent, with those featuring more prominent displays achieving results on the higher end of that range.

“We’ve also seen strong results from retailers who take advantage of cross-merchandising opportunities, placing dates alongside those complementary staples, so shoppers can easily add them to their carts while shopping beyond produce,” he reiterated. “And with Google searches for ‘date caramel’ and ‘date dessert recipes’ trending 5,000 percent higher during the holiday months, it’s the perfect time for retailers to take advantage of this consumer interest and position Natural Delights throughout the store.”

Retailers can bring the company’s recipes to life in-store through point-of-sale signage, QR codes, or digital promotions that feature holiday favorites like Bacon-Wrapped Dates, Date Bark, or Brie-Stuffed Dates. Who says holiday sweets have to be a guilty pleasure?

For more ways to ensure holiday traffic lifts the produce aisle across categories and beyond, keep an eye on AndNowUKnow.