BAKERSFIELD, CA - The date category has come so far in the last decade, but this time of the year, the fruit’s demand harkens back to its most traditional format.
As Ramadan supply begins to flow in, Atlas Produce sat down with me to discuss why now is the perfect time for buyers to prepare for the holiday with Fresh Energy Medjool Dates.
“Ramadan orders are kicking off this week as volume starts to ramp up after the post-holiday season lull,” Luke Fountain, Sales, tells me. “Making sure we support our retail partners having bigger displays and getting orders in early to coincide with promotions we are doing during this time period has shown a lot of success. Our customers have been very excited with our program and the growth they are seeing.”
In fact, while Ramadan draws traditional, whole Medjool date consumption more than any other period of the year, the extra push has also attracted new customers and broadened the reach of the category.
“We’ve seen 30 percent growth in sales across our retail partners over the past year, thanks in large part to new demographics trying dates for the first time and the great quality of Fresh Energy Medjool Dates,” Luke continues. “We’ve been doing back-to-school promotions and targeting parents, which is really lifting the category for us. Utilizing Ramadan as an opportunity to encourage those first-time date buyers with promos and larger displays is where that all started.”
How do retailers further maximize this upward trajectory? Company Founders Robert and Nicole Dobrzanski discuss spreading date love across the store and how Fresh Energy Medjools helps make this as simple as possible to execute.
“Multiple display points have been a huge success. Pushing customers toward Fresh Energy Medjool's, where they usually are in the produce department, as well as having a larger display case in the front of the stores, has really helped lift sales for our retail partners during this period,” Robert shares.
To complement these efforts, Atlas offers pre-packed shippers, as well as wire-rack displays that fit anywhere in the store.
With the 2026 Ramadan kicking off the evening of February 17, the time is fast-approaching to partake in this date-forward opportunity.
