Welcome back to the Duck Pond Podcast, where we dive behind the scenes with founders, creatives, and forward-thinkers to uncover what it really takes to get a product onto store shelves, from branding and packaging to the grit of distribution and everything in between.

Today we’re featuring Michelle Valdez-Wilton, founder of Date Better Snacks, the brand reinventing what a “better-for-you treat” can be, using Medjool dates stuffed with nut butter and enrobed in organic chocolate, all designed to give you that indulgent treat without the guilt. What started in her home kitchen during the COVID-era has blossomed into a fast-growing snack company now stocked in hundreds of stores across the U.S. and beyond.

We’ll dig into:

• How Date Better Snacks positions itself in the “clean-label, better-for-you treat” space, satisfying sweet cravings with whole foods instead of processed sugar bombs.
• The leap from restaurant kitchens to packaged snacks: recipe testing, ingredient sourcing, packaging clean-label treats that still feel indulgent.
• The ups and downs of scaling a food business,  balancing handmade care with growth, navigating supply, manufacturing, and distributing in 700+ stores in under two years.
• Marketing, storytelling, and how Date Better builds community,  not just through flavor, but through authenticity, transparency, and a mission to make better snacking accessible.

✨ Learn how Date Better Snacks is redefining indulgence, proving treat foods can be clean, crave-worthy, and kind to body and soul.