Hadley Date Gardens

What Hadley Date Gardens does

Hadley Date Gardens is a privately-held, family-owned grower and packer of California dates headquartered in Thermal, California in the Coachella Valley. The company traces its origins to the early 1930s when entrepreneur Paul Hadley opened a roadside fruit stand in Cabazon, California; the Keck family, farming dates in the Coachella Valley since the early 1940s, purchased the business in the 1980s and merged the two operations into a vertically integrated enterprise. Today, Hadley operates under the registered Hadley Date Gardens® trademark with a small team and a heritage brand recognized across Southern California.

The company's product portfolio centers on three date cultivars — Medjool, Deglet Noor, and Golden Zahidi — offered as whole or pitted products, alongside value-added processed items including Coconut Rolls (a blanched almond, Deglet Noor, and unsweetened coconut blend), Date Nuggets for snacking and topping applications, and Date Paste marketed to food manufacturers as a natural sugar substitute for energy bars, cereals, and bakery products. Products are Non-GMO certified and processed in a facility powered by nearly 70% solar energy, with documented sustainable water management practices. The underlying operation is agricultural rather than technological: orchards, packing lines, and wholesale logistics with no proprietary software, APIs, or AI/ML components.

Hadley makes money exclusively through wholesale distribution, operating two channels: Package Wholesale (pre-packaged whole dates, pitted dates, coconut rolls, and date nuggets for retail outlets) and Bulk Wholesale (bulk whole dates and date paste for food industry manufacturing and large-scale buyers). Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is handled through direct wholesale inquiry. The company serves three primary customer segments: Food Industry/Manufacturing (energy bar, cereal, and bakery ingredient buyers), Wholesale/Retail Buyers (resellers of packaged dates), and Foodservice/Hospitality (restaurants and hotels). Geographic reach is concentrated domestically in Southern California, with Albert P. Keck II serving as President and Melinda Keck-Dougherty as CFO among a family-led management team.

Name

Hadley Date Gardens

Legal name

Hadley Date Gardens®

Website

https://hadleys.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1930

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Hadley Date Gardens is a family-owned California date grower and packer in Thermal, California, selling whole, pitted, and value-added date products (Date Paste, Coconut Rolls, Date Nuggets) through package and bulk wholesale channels to food manufacturers, retailers, and foodservice operators.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Date Products and Agricultural Wholesale

NAICS

Fruit and Vegetable Retailers (445230), Fruit and Vegetable Retailers (44523)

SIC

Canned, Frozen & Preservd Fruit, Veg & Food Specialties (2030), Canned, Fruits, Veg, Preserves, Jams & Jellies (2033), Food And Kindred Products (2000), Wholesale-Groceries & Related Products (5140)

akta.pro primary industry

Coconut & Date Palm Plantations (Coconuts, Dates) (AFAGACAH)

Keywords

• California date products
• Wholesale date distribution
• Date paste ingredients
• Medjool Deglet Noor dates
• Date growing and packing

Headquarters

HQ city

Thermal

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Date Product Sales: Revenue generated from growing, packing, and selling California dates and date-based products through wholesale channels, including whole dates, pitted dates, coconut rolls, date nuggets, and date paste for food industry use.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Hadley Date Gardens grows, packs, and distributes premium California dates and date-based products including whole dates, pitted dates, Medjool, Deglet Noor, Golden Zahidi varieties, coconut rolls, date nuggets, and date paste. The company sells primarily through wholesale channels to packaged-goods retailers, foodservice operators, and food manufacturers using date paste as a natural sugar substitute in energy bars, cereals, and bakery products.

Product overview

Hadley Date Gardens® is a premier grower and packer of California dates operating under a single unified brand. The product portfolio centers on four primary date varieties—Medjool, Deglet Noor, and Golden Zahidi—offered as whole or pitted products, alongside value-added processed items including Coconut Rolls (almond-date-coconut blend), Date Nuggets, and Date Paste for food industry applications. Products are distributed through package wholesale and bulk wholesale channels, serving both retail/consumers and commercial food manufacturing sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Whole Dates Premium whole California dates sold in package or bulk wholesale quantities for retail and foodservice distribution.
• Pitted Dates Pre-pitted California dates for convenient snacking, baking, and shake preparation, sold through package wholesale.
• Medjool Dates Large, caramel-like, soft date variety approximately three times larger than other varieties, with meaty texture and natural energy-boosting properties, offered for foodservice and retail wholesale.
• Deglet Noor Dates Domestically popular date variety with soft texture, light translucent color, and soft honey-like flavor; less than 25 calories per serving, fat-free, sodium-free, and cholesterol-free.
• Golden Zahidi Dates Golden-colored dates with slightly less sweet flavor, suitable for snacking, granola bars, salads, and baking applications.
• Coconut Rolls Snack product combining blanched almonds, Deglet Noor dates, and unsweetened coconut flakes rolled into bite-sized treats, sold through package wholesale channels.
• Date Nuggets Small date pieces suitable as on-the-go snacks, oatmeal or cereal toppings, trail mix, and salad toppings, sold through package wholesale channels.
• Date Paste Bulk date paste ingredient for food industry use as a healthy substitute for sugar in energy bars, cereal, and bakery products, made from ground Deglet Noor dates without additives, sulfating agents, or artificial flavors.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Western GrowerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHadley Date Gardens is a member of Western Growers, an industry association for fresh produce companies. Company President Albert P. Keck II served as Western Growers Chairman of the Board in 2022.
• California DatescoreOthersHadley Date Gardens is a member of the California Dates industry association (datesaregreat.com) representing California date growers.
• California Farm Bureau FederationminorOthersMember of California Farm Bureau Federation, supporting agricultural advocacy and farming community interests.
• Growing Coachella ValleyminorOthersOrganization supporting the Coachella Valley community that Hadley Date Gardens belongs to as a member.
• FIND Food BankminorOthersRegional food bank that Hadley Date Gardens supports through community giving programs.
• Loma Linda University Children's Health IndiominorOthersChildren's health facility in Indio that Hadley Date Gardens supports through community giving.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Coachella ValleyminorOthersYouth development organization that Hadley Date Gardens supports through community giving programs.
• Coachella Valley Regional Medical CenterminorOthersRegional medical facility that Hadley Date Gardens supports through community giving programs.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Mariani Nut Company: Northern California almond and dried fruit processor with industrial ingredient and retail customers. Comparable in scale, California sourcing, and serving food manufacturers as a natural-ingredient supplier, though serving different crop categories.

Broad incumbents

• Mariani Packing Company: Long-standing California-based dried fruit producer with both retail and ingredient product lines. Comparable in heritage, vertical integration, and the mix of branded retail items plus bulk industrial supply.
• Sunsweet Growers Inc. Cooperative specializing in prunes and other dried fruits, with a well-developed ingredient business supplying food manufacturers. Relevant comparable for the date-paste/ingredient side of Hadley's business and overall wholesale GTM.
• Sun-Maid Growers of California: Iconic California agricultural cooperative marketing dried fruit (raisins, dried cranberries, etc.) to retail and ingredient customers. Comparable grower-to-pack-to-wholesale operating model and customer base, though focused on different dried fruits.
• The Wonderful Company: Large privately held agricultural company producing pistachios, almonds, pomegranates, citrus, and wines from California farmland. Comparable vertically integrated California specialty crop operator with branded packaged goods and foodservice channels.

Others

• NOW Health Group (date and dried fruit ingredients): Large natural products company that sources dates and dried fruits for its supplement and food products. Relevant as a downstream buyer and category benchmark for wholesale date and date-paste ingredient economics.

Direct peers

• Bard Valley Date Growers (Natural Delights): One of the largest U.S. Medjool date growers and packers, marketing the Natural Delights brand. Direct competitor to Hadley in California-grown dates, selling through retail and foodservice with overlapping SKUs in whole and pitted Medjool.
• Desert Valley Date: Coachella Valley-based date grower and packer offering whole, pitted, and organic date products to retail and industrial buyers. Geographically adjacent direct peer competing in the same date category and channel mix.
• Datepac LLC: Date grower-owned cooperative and major processor of California dates, producing Deglet Noor and other varieties for retail and industrial customers. Comparable vertically integrated date packer serving similar wholesale and ingredient channels.

Emerging players

• Made in Nature Organic Dried Fruit: Organic and clean-label dried fruit brand competing in natural and grocery channels. Comparable in positioning around Non-GMO, organic, and health-forward credentials, though more of a brand-marketer than an orchard owner.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hadley-date-gardens

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hadley Date Gardens