Date brand Beloved

Beloved date-based products will start rolling out from 28 February

A premium food brand has been developed to raise awareness of dates as an ‘ancient superfruit’.

The six-strong Beloved range comprises three date-based cereal bars (rsp: 99p or £2.99/four-pack), a granola, a muesli and date nectar (used as a topping or cooking ingredient), all priced £3.99. It will be available from retailers from the end of this month.

All the products are vegetarian and sweetened with unrefined date nectar that retained key nutritional benefits better than honey, according to co-founder Gervase Cottam, who predicted Beloved would clock up £10m in first- year sales.

While the date had been “fêted for thousands of years in the Middle East” as a nutritious and sustaining fruit, it had long been undervalued in the West, he said. “As the good versus bad sugar debate rages on in the media, the launch of the range couldn’t have come at a better time.”

The fruit, which is high in fibre and has a low GI, contained a unique complex of minerals, fibres and phytochemicals that could help protect against certain illnesses, claimed Cottam.

Beloved was set up by brand management agency Chartered Brands, which has also worked with Genius and Pomegreat.