Magic Dates on 'Shark Tank': What is the cost, who is the founder and all about healthy date-based snacks
With the growing health-consciousness and clean lifestyle on the rise, there's an ever-growing demand for healthy snacking options. Gone are the days when greasy fries or a bag of chips were seen as a viable snacking choice. As more and more people are turning to gluten-free, vegan, and nutritious eating choices, it seemed like a great opportunity for Diana Jarrar to launch her brand Magic Dates, based on the favorite snack treat that she grew up eating.
Jarrar will be pitching her unique snacking product on the upcoming episode of 'Shark Tank' before this Sharks- Mark Cuban, Kevin O'Leary, Daymond John, Lori Greiner, and Robert Herjavec. While we will have to wait to see if the Sharks decide to take a bite of the healthy snack brand, in the meanwhile, you can learn all about Magic Date, and its founder here.
RELATED ARTICLES
‘Shark Tank’: The Sharks expose a gimmicky weight loss bar and advise the audience not to buy it
What is Magic Dates?
While growing up in Syria, Jarrar enjoyed eating dates. She recounts how at her home, the pit of the fruit was replaced with walnut, which made it not only delicious but also a perfectly balanced snack bite. Her fond memory of eating those delicious date-based snacks, prompted Jarrar to launch a snack brand which is free of added sugars, yet delicious thanks to nutrient-dense ingredients like dates, which are high in phytonutrients, antioxidants, and fiber. Magic Dates are a guilt-free snack, that can be enjoyed by everybody as they are dairy-free, gluten-free, non-GMO, paleo-friendly, and even Kosher!
The brand's website states, "Give yourself the freedom to take joy and pleasure in snacking on MAGICdATES — the dream indulgent snack you’ve been craving. Life’s more fun that way!
MAGICdATES has NO added sugar, stevia, or sugar alcohol (what’s with the aftertaste?!) so you can snack in peace knowing you and your body will love every ingredient in every bite. No more missing out on the good stuff for the sake of “eating healthy”. And no more restricting and binging your favorite foods. While eating takes a few minutes, how you feel afterwards can last for days. And you deserve to feel good and nourish your body, even when snacking."
Who is the founder?
Diana Jarrar is the founder of Magic Dates. "I grew up in Damascus, Syria with Syrian traditions on my mom’s side and Palestinians ones on my dad’s side. One thing that was shared by both my cultures (and all Arab cultures) is the reverence for the date- an ancient Middle Eastern fruit. This fruit was my favorite sweet snack growing up. At home, we would replace the pit of this wrinkly, resilient, and sweet fruit with a walnut. We enjoyed this perfectly balanced bite especially during Ramadan where it was traditional to break our fast with dates and walnuts. These memories sparked the creation of MAGICDATES. Dates + Walnuts are the first two ingredients we use in our satisfying bites," she shared on the brand's website.
Jarra's family immigrated to Toronto, Canada when she was 11 years old and she moved to LA when she was 19. She graduated with a degree from California State College Northridge in 2010. For a while, she ran a Mediterranean-themed catering business before getting into real estate for three years. She started Magic Dates in September of 2016. She took to her LinkedIn to announce her big debut on 'Shark Tank'. "It is just nuts that MAGICDATES is airing on Shark🦈 Tank THIS Friday, March 4 on ABC!!! 🎉 Since the early days, I envisioned MAGICDATES as a brand that can help shift the narrative around the Middle East 🌴. Dates are an ancient fruit and we use it as a HERO ingredient because it is a symbol of cultural connection. I believe it's the *courage* to fully own our story that earned us a spot on Shark 🦈 Tank! I'm honestly still processing the journey over the past few months (and years in business!). I'm elated that we'll get to share our story with more people. This feels like the beginning of MAGICDATES 2.0 (check out our new glow-up too!) and the path forward is *exciting*. Cheers and thanks to Shark Tank for giving us such a magnificent platform. #sharktank #americanarabfounder #femaleleadership #datesrock #share," she posted.
What is the cost and where to buy Magic Dates from?
Magic Dates are sold in a 3.5-ounce bag, you can purchase a pack of 8 for $48 (the brand is currently selling it at a discount of $40), or a pack of 4 for $24.99. Magic Dates are available in various flavors such as triple choco crunch, choco hazelnut truffle, blueberry choc dream, salted walnut brownie, lush lemon bar, coconut cream cake, and choco coconut cookie. You can get your hands on these delicious snack bites either from the brand's website here, or from Amazon.
Where is Magic Dates now?
Magic Dates recently went through a rebranding process. In an Instagram post on the brand's page, the significance of the various colors used on their packaging was shared. "We are so obsessed with our new color palette and we hope you are too! It took us a long time to finalize our colors, but we are so happy to share the roots of our Middle East tradition with you all.
Deep Blue: Many countries in the Middle East sit on the Mediterranean Sea and we wanted it to be reminiscent of that 💙
Pink: Bringing in the uplifting spirit and a touch of feminine pop 🌸
Moroccan Spice Orange: Sharing the natural and earthy tones 🔶
Gold: Happiness comes in the form of precious metals, right?! Keeping the vibrance alive. ⭐️"
Who will steal the deal?
Mark Cuban or Lori Greiner might steal the deal. Although the brand's sales numbers and profit margins will ultimately be the major deciding factor for the sharks on whether to invest in the business or not. So, we will just have to wait and watch to see if the Sharks even make a deal.
‘Shark Tank’ Season 13 Episode 17 airs on ABC on March 25, 2022, at 8 pm ET. Catch the latest episode featuring products like Magic Dates, Pawnix, Round 21, and Young King.
Missed an episode? Been wanting to catch up? Episodes can also be viewed the next day on demand and on Hulu. Not just that, you can also watch old seasons and episodes on Amazon Prime Video and iTunes.
