Several date shippers have released new snacking products. Bard Valley Natural Delight’s new Truffles snacks, which feature dates covered in chocolate, are different than other, similar products on the market because they’re made with fresh dates, not juice, said Bridgette Weber, trade marketing manager. The five-ounce packs come in three flavors: Dark Chocolate with Probiotic, Chocolate Blueberry and Chocolate Cherry. The snacks also meet a practical need for Bard Valley, Weber said. Fruit that doesn’t quite make the grade for fresh sales because of appearance issues but is still perfectly fine to eat can be used to make Truffles instead of being thrown away.

New from Sunsweet are Sierra Trail Bites, snacks that include dates, prune, sunflower seeds and other ingredients. The 5-ounce packs contain 3 grams of fiber and 3 grams of plant protein and come in Cranberry Walnut, Almond Delight and Peanut Butter.

New from Joolies are Jooliettes Date Nibbles, chocolate-covered diced dates covered in chocolate and available in three flavors: Sea Salt Dark Chocolate, Blood Orange Dark Chocolate and Matcha Dark Chocolate. The 2-ounce packs create an eye-catching on-shelf billboard effect when merchandised next to Joolies snack packs, according to Joolies. The packs, which won a new product award at Expo East, can be marketed in both produce departments and center-store, said Joolies’ Jason Berry.

“It’s the first product we know of where a piece of date is the anchor,” he said. “We’ve had a huge response to them.”