Tomoor wants to increase the reputation of Saudi dates. With their own plantation in Saudi Arabia and a convenient location near the Port of Antwerp, Mustapha and Kasim Chihabi are well on their way of achieving their goal.
The popularity of dates is increasing. The subtropical fruit is recognised as a healthy snack or sugar replacement more and more often. “Dates contain considerable amounts of minerals, including selenium, manganese, copper and magnesium, which makes the fruit a super food,” says Mustapha Chihabi, who started importing dates from Saudi Arabia with his brother Kasim in April last year. “Saudi Arabia is a major production country. Many date palms can be found particularly in the east of the country. The climatological circumstances as well as the soil are very favourable, which is to the benefit of the quality and flavour of the Saudi dates,” he says. “The Saudi dates now mostly remain in Saudi Arabia, but we’re going to change that.”
Tomoor wants to introduce Europe to the Saudi dates, and in the end, they want to become a market leader. Besides fresh dates, the brothers also import date paste and date syrup, which is used as a healthy alternative for sugar in smoothies, juices, chocolate milk, cakes, pies, and so on. The company works with a production company in Al Ahsa, in the east of Saudi Arabia, the largest palm oasis in the country. The factory is also located here, and this is where the dates are cleaned, sorted, stoned, processed and packed. The Saudi dates are available year-round. After the harvest in October, the dates are immediately frozen. They are subsequently taken from the freezer per order, after which they are cleaned and packed for shipment to Europe. From the distribution centre in Antwerp, the dates are transported to countries such as the Netherlands, France, Belgium, Germany and Spain. The fact that Tomoor controls the supply chain from the harvest onwards contributes to the quality of the Saudi dates, according to Mustapha.
Soft and creamy dates
There are hundreds of different date varieties. Tomoor has selected seven different varieties for commercialisation, and these each vary in texture, sweetness, colour and flavour. These varieties have all been organically certified. The dates are packed per five kilograms, one kilogram or 500 grammes under the Tomoor brand. “Besides, we also offer small packaging, including a new packaging with three stoned dates in a small box, because we noticed Europeans aren’t yet buying large volumes,” Mustapha continues. “We supply to wholesalers and directly to shopkeepers, particularly on the ethnic market. In coming weeks, we hope to continue expanding our network of distributors both nationally and internationally. Our products can also be ordered via our online shop.”
According to Mustapha, Saudi Arabia is number one when it comes to the flavour and health benefits of its dates. “Medjoul is the best known date in Europe. This date variety comes from the Middle East and North Africa. In general, Saudi dates are softer and creamier, contain more nutrients and essential minerals and are lower in calories than regular dates. Moreover, the prices of our dates are lower than for the dates from other countries, and we hope to appeal to a larger target audience because of this.” Saudi dates are still fairly unknown in Europe, but the entrepreneur has noticed increasing interest in this product. This is in part thanks to the increasing popularity of dates in general. “The fruit is seen as a healthy snack and sugar replacement more and more often. Foodies on social media, for example, like to use dates in their recipes, which stimulates demand for this product. We expect that this growth, and the continued development of our Tomoor brand, will continue in coming months.”
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Tomoor
Mustapha & Kasim Chihabi