There's nothing the internet loves more than a trendy ingredient. A few years ago, tinned fish became the It girl of the proverbial pantry, inspiring folks to swap their cheese boards for brinier, braver "seacuteries." Then cottage cheese blew up. Creators on TikTok and Reels proved that the creamy breakfast staple could be whipped, baked, blended, braised, and even frozen and churned for a delicious, protein-packed snack. Now, in 2026, we've seemingly reached peak pickle, with pickle-flavored everything from lip balms to (yes, even) lube.
But the newest snack darling is one of the oldest ingredients in the world: the date. We saw it firsthand during Pantry Awards judging, when date-based products started landing in our submissions pile in numbers we hadn't seen before. These fiber-filled fruits are having a moment, in new and unexpected ways. Sour date snacks, date-sweetened boxed cakes, date-based candies and syrups, even the world's first soft drink made from dates—the primordial fruit is being reimagined for modern times, and people love it.
"Consumers are starting to see dates as more than just a traditional dried fruit," says Amanda Sains-Harris, vice president of marketing for the date-based snack brand Joolies.
Sains-Harris explains that the date boom has been a long time coming: Dates have been gaining popularity on social media and at industry trade shows for years. Now the fruits are flying off shelves. The category is up 24.1 percent in conventional grocery channels through June 2026, she says, citing point-of-sale data from the market-intelligence platform SPINS.
As with cottage-cheese ice cream and tinned-fish cheese boards, folks seem to be looking for a healthy snack that still tastes good. Cardboard protein bars and chemical-tasting sodas are a thing of the past. "[Dates] check a lot of boxes without feeling overly engineered," Sains-Harris says. "Consumers also don't necessarily want to choose between better-for-you and indulgent anymore. They want both. Dates naturally live in that sweet spot."
Grace Finerman founded Date Smarter!, which makes decadent chocolate-covered date caramels (and won one of our 2026 Pantry Awards, BTW). She agrees that consumers are seeking out healthier alternatives to sugary snacks—but they don't want zero-sugar, either.
"Five years ago people were really turning to stevia," Finerman says. "I think the pendulum has kind of switched to people now wanting not cane sugar, but something sweet that's not processed." Despite their sticky sweetness, she says, dates are naturally low-glycemic. They're also high in fiber (6.7 to 8 grams per 100 grams), which is a tempting proposition in the age of GLP-1s and fiber-maxxing. And they make great fuel, especially when filled with protein-packed nut butters.
"We actually have a large customer base of endurance athletes, professional and collegiate athletes, and overall fitness enthusiasts," says Sophia Karbowski, co-founder of Realsy, which specializes in date snacks stuffed with different nut butters. "The natural combination of carbs, sugar, and fiber in dates—plus a bit of added protein and fat from the natural nut butter filling—is the perfect source of clean energy athletes are looking for."
Dates are also incredibly versatile, which makes them attractive to brands, too. On their own, the dried fruits are indulgent. But wrap 'em in bacon or stuff 'em with something sweet, and they're practically heaven.
Since they're so sticky, they make excellent binders. Mashed together à la the viral peanut butter date bark that's taken over TikTok, or blended into a paste, they hold nuts, fruits, and other ingredients together. And when they're dried and powdered, they make an excellent refined-sugar substitute in baking mixes, syrups, and more. "We [Date Smarter!] use date powder, which is when you take a date that's dehydrated and run it through a processor," says Finerman. "We make all our caramel with that."
Food trends come and go, but these brands are all betting that dates are here to stay (and given that they've been around since literally Mesopotamia, we think so, too). Karbowski expects to see dates on labels across the whole grocery store, from beverages to baking mixes. Sains-Harris wants to push the boundaries of where the fruits can go, and she's already getting creative: In May 2026, Joolies launched Date Sours, which swap the traditional buttery fillings for flavors like sour blue raspberry and cherry cola.
"We always say dates are 'the original palm tree candy,'" says Sains-Harris. "And I think they're finally getting the spotlight they deserve." Whatever happens, we're here for it.
