The First Seedless Date Product Geared to Children’s Snacks and Lunchbox Items, Little Mels Encourages Replacing Sugary Choices with Naturally Sweet Dates, and Supports Growers by Creating a Market for All Sizes of Medjools
Newport Beach, California — Rancho Meladuco Date Farm, the award-winning grower and seller of best-quality California-grown medjool dates, packaged in whimsically illustrated boxes, announces the release of an impact-driven, snack-sized container of seedless dates called Little Mels. The organic version is available at Ranchomeladuco.com, and its conventional counterpart is sold nationally in 1,100 US Walmart locations and at Walmart.com for local pick-up and delivery.
Packaged in snack-sized cup containers that are perfect for lunchboxes and convenient on-the-go bites, Little Mels encourage young eaters to reach for dates as a healthy superfood snack. (Dates are a good source of fiber, Vitamin B6 and magnesium; high in antioxidants; and ounce for ounce contain more potassium than bananas.) The eye-catching package features fun, hand-drawn artwork, with friendly bears playfully climbing California date palms to get to the sweet fruit.
Walmart quickly embraced founder Joan Smith’s vision of influencing young consumers across multiple demographics to reach for high-quality, nutrient-dense, naturally sweet dates instead of candy and other sugary snacks. The innovative product also makes use of smaller-sized dates, which helps growers maintain sustainable farming operations by creating a market for any and all sizes of medjools. In a crop traditionally valued for its size, smaller medjools are generally deemed less valuable.
Little Mels seedless dates follow Smith’s 2023 launch of The Grinders, imperfect dates, which won both a sofi™ award (Best New Product: Nuts, Seeds, Trail Mix, Dried Fruit) and Walmart’s Open Call, landing the product in all 4,500 US Walmart stores and on Walmart.com.
“California date growers are under financial pressure,” says Smith. “Labor rates have increased disproportionately to what consumers expect to pay for dates and many growers are exiting the industry, selling their ranches and trees, citing they can no longer make money. Both The Grinders and Little Mels close the loop so that all grades and sizes of a grower’s crop have a buyer in the marketplace.”
A win-win benefitting both date growers and parents, Little Mels seedless dates are a perfect size and format for younger eaters with little hands. “I hope they become as common in lunchboxes as raisins and goldfish”, says Smith.
Little Mels seedless medjool dates are available in both conventional and organic. MSRP: $3.98 (conventional); $4.55 (organic).
ABOUT RANCHO MELADUCO DATE FARM
Founded by Joan Smith in 2017 and headquartered in Newport Beach, CA, award-winning Rancho Meladuco Date Farm is a preeminent seller of premium California-grown dates, sold in whimsically-designed, eco-friendly packaging. On a mission to inspire a national obsession with dates, Rancho Meladuco offers a variety of products, from giftable premium fruit to quality everyday dates sold at more accessible price points. The company sources fruit from its own Coachella Valley date farm and other California date farm partners, and is supporting these date farms with its Grinders, Heirlooms Series, and Little Mels initiatives. Creative recipes and more information can be found at Ranchomeladuco.com.
