Founder Feature: Alan Scholnick of Datefix

In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, Caitlin Bricker welcomes Alan Scholnick, founder and CEO of Datefix, for a thoughtful conversation on innovation, wellness, and entrepreneurship in the food industry. Alan shares how his journey from real estate and private aviation to launching a natural food brand was driven by a passion for fitness and clean nutrition.

Alan discusses the inspiration behind Datefix—a simple yet powerful concept that turns one of nature’s oldest fruits, the date, into a convenient, portable energy source. He explains how Datefix bridges the gap between health, flavor, and functionality, serving as both a nutritious snack and a reliable fuel for athletes and busy professionals alike.

They also delve into the nutritional science and versatility of dates, exploring their role as a low-glycemic, fiber-rich source of sustained energy. Alan also reflects on the brand’s authentic approach to marketing and consumer education, emphasizing humor, transparency, and a commitment to bringing natural foods back to the forefront of modern wellness.

You will also hear about Datefix’s growing community—from marathon runners to individuals managing diabetes—who have made the product a trusted part of their daily lives.

Tune in to learn how Datefix is redefining healthy snacking by combining simplicity, authenticity, and purpose.

Listen in as they share about:

• Origins and Concept of Datefix
• Health and Nutrition Benefits
• Sustainability and Zero-Waste Innovation
• Customer Stories and Community Impact
• Retail Growth and Brand Positioning
• Cultural Shift Toward Real Food
• Community and Distribution
  
  
  

Episode Links:

Website: https://datefix.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-scholnick-70a7061b5/ 

Don't forget to leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify if you enjoyed this episode. For potential sponsorship opportunities or to join the Startup CPG community, visit http://www.startupcpg.com.

Show Links:

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• Visit host Caitlin's Linkedin 
• Questions or comments about the episode? Email Daniel at [e-mail]
• Episode music by Super Fantastics
  
  

Creators and Guests

Host

Caitlin Bricker

Editor @ Startup CPG

What is The Startup CPG Podcast?

The top CPG podcast in the world, highlighting stories from founders, buyer spotlights, highly practical industry insights - all to give you a better chance at success.

Alan Scholnick
The waste of bananas. I mean, the ripeness windows are still too short between going from green, you know, yellow to black or brown. So they were throwing it away as they ripened, they were attracting fruit flies. And this is kind of a miracle. And the superpower of dates is sure, it's nature's candy, sure it's nature's caramel, it's great for a sweet tooth, but its superpower, it's that it's a long lasting fresh fruit.

00:36
Caitlin Bricker
Hey, everybody, this is Caitlin Bricker, editor at Startup cpg. We are back with another founder feature. Today we're talking with Alan Skolnick, founder of datefix. Datefix is fresh fruit made to go that blows traditional energy gels out of the water. Alan's entrepreneurial journey took an unexpected turn when his mother in law's date and orange blossom pastry opened his eyes to a whole new world of flavor. Now he's helping everyone from elite athletes to people managing diabetes with a low glycemic fuel that actually tastes good. He's landed in 3,000 locations, proving that sometimes the best innovation is just putting nature's candy in a better package. I am so here for the Date Fix mission, and I hope you are too. Enjoy. Hey, everybody. Welcome back to the Startup CPG podcast. This is Caitlin and today I'm here with Alan Skolnick, founder of Date Fix.

01:32
Caitlin Bricker
Alan, welcome to the show.

01:34
Alan Scholnick
Hi, Kaylin. Nice to be with you.

01:36
Caitlin Bricker
I am so happy to have you here. I think this is probably the most excited I've ever been to have a guest on because if anybody knows me, they know how much I love dates and your product is so focused on dates. I am just so excited to get into this and have this conversation with you. So for anyone who's listening and is not familiar with Date Fix, can you just give us a simple little introduction about what Date Fix is?

02:03
Alan Scholnick
Sure. Date Fix is simple as can be. It's just fresh fruit made to go. That's it. And the idea was to just take the oldest fruit in the book and turn it into the most convenient fruit.

02:16
Caitlin Bricker
Perfect. I love everything about it. So before we dive more into Date Fix, I want to know a little bit more about you. Can you tell us about your background?

02:25
Alan Scholnick
Sure. So I started my career in real estate and finance. And the sort of entrepreneurial journey that one that I really embarked on the most was I got involved in aviation because of my wife. And so we met in Singapore, we moved to Hong Kong, and she was already working in that field. And we started a effectively the first corporate jet charter business out of Hong Kong. And it was super pioneering and really audacious. We were technically licensed as a commercial airline, but we only did private jets. We were the first to do it. It was super pioneering and we did a lot of medical evacuations. And this is a time when, this is a long time ago.

03:04
Alan Scholnick
So entrepreneur and day fix has been my garage project, my passion project that I wanted to see if I could turn it into my full time endeavor.

03:14
Caitlin Bricker
Was there anything about your background or your personal lifestyle wants and needs that made you turn to dates and create date fix? So it sounds like you were fueling the world with private jets and going all sorts of places and traveling, but why this form of fuel?

03:32
Alan Scholnick
Okay, well just, I was never the passenger on the jet. I just made it possible for other people to do it. So I guess I've been in the fuel business technically for a long time if you think about it that way. No, Date fix is literally the intersection of my life. It really me, it's really two passions that came together. I'm a long distance runner, I'm really into fitness. So I knew this form factor from the quote unquote. And I energy gels. And then I love food and I basically like most people, I run to eat and I eat to run and I run to eat. And so this was just the marriage of those two. Two loves, two passions.

04:11
Alan Scholnick
And I thought the form factor was like genius because you can eat from it and you can dispense from it and it doesn't have a mushroom cap like some of the baby food products. But everything that had ever been inside of this product had always been artificial. And so going back to my wife when she introduced me to her mother made a pastry for me when I first met her. And it was, the filling was effectively date fix. It was dates and orange blossom water. And growing up in Detroit, I frankly had not really had a date until that point. The fruit date of that point and orange blossom water and that was super new to me. And as someone who just loved food, it just opened up my eyes into a whole new world.

04:53
Alan Scholnick
So I thought if I could put the delicious filling hiding in the dough here, I mean always we know the filling is the best part of anything, like of the cream and Oreos or something. So I literally took the fig out of the Newton and I put, thought if I could put into this form factor, I might be onto something.

05:09
Caitlin Bricker
I definitely think you are onto something. The first time I got introduced to date Fix was via Daniel, at our. I think it was our founder dinner out at Expo West. You were there. I'd never heard of Date Fix before. I was still at the time, fairly new to the team. Daniel knew this about me very early on, that if there's a product that has dates in it, I need to know about it. So when you brought us over together and I tasted, I was like, okay, this is cool. And I think I chose like four or five brands out of all of the brands I saw at Expo West. And I was like, date Fix is a brand to watch. And I stand by that today. So I. I'm pumped about Date Fix. So I need you. Of course, of course. Thank you.

05:52
Caitlin Bricker
I need you to tell us what makes Date Fix different than these other energy gels that are on the market. You were talking about the date paste that's in the product and the orange blossom water. But for anybody who's not familiar with an energy gel, why is Date Fix different? And why would somebody consider grabbing Date Fix over a traditional energy gel?

06:12
Alan Scholnick
Well, I think it was the same reason that. So the common. I mean, runners will mostly tell you that I think gels have been sort of a necessary evil. There wasn't a lot of things that you could traditionally carry that was portable that you could crack open and eat on a run. And so I think the idea that you could theoretically convince yourself you were putting some kind of fuel in your body, even if it was artificial or synthetic, I guess that was something maybe better than nothing, some would argue. But the common knock on gels is they're really hard to digest. I mean, they create GI issues. And that's sort of in keeping with the fact that they are artificial. I mean, the lead ingredient tends to be maltodextrin or tapioca syrup. Or to try to put a healthy halo on tapioca syrup.

06:56
Alan Scholnick
It might be organic tapioca syrup. What was become to. If I see the word organic, it's almost like being embedded in something. It's like, I don't know, it feels like it's real butter or something. It's like, be careful. Warning, red flag. But anyway, so gels are really hard to digest as a synthetic. And I also think there's been a lot of conditioning and disinformation that somebody thinks they need to have. Like, energy comes from some, like, outer space. And, you know, we wanted to bring it back to basics. Food is energy and good food is better energy. And what I mean by good food is there's not all carbs or sugars are created equally as we know, and they're good ones. And I don't think anyone's made a better carb or a better sugar than Mother Nature.

07:36
Alan Scholnick
And so we're backed by Mother Nature and common sense. And gels try to sell you. They're usually made in a lab, and some of them have lab and their name of their company. And our company's called the Perfect Date. And dates are already perfect the way they are, but we think we made them just a little bit better by changing the form factor, blending them up, making it easier to eat. You know, you don't have to worry about the pit, the stickiness, the washing. And some people are turned off by the form factor of a date, the wrinkly appearance. It's not a looker. So we gave the date a makeover. And I think this is. It's so simple, but it's somewhat revolutionary. And just to add, I mean, dates are a fresh fruit.

08:18
Alan Scholnick
I mean, despite the wrinkly appearance, that's the ripe fresh fruit state. And they're not dried. I mean, they can be dried out, but so this is fresh fruit made to go. And remarkably, and I mean, the people at where we did our food science, we stopped doing shelf stability tests for over two years, and there's no refrigeration, and it's just two ingredients, and there's really nothing like that. So the simplicity belies the kind of the innovation that's there.

08:44
Caitlin Bricker
Two things that you said that I want to hit on. One, yes. Looking at a date on its own. First time I ever saw a date was with my husband back in college. He was like, yeah, my mom just sent me dates. And I was like, what are you talking about? He showed me. I had never had a date before. I don't even know if I knew what a date was. This was. My God. Like, I don't even want to say how long ago it was a long time ago.

09:09
Alan Scholnick
I didn't, so you shouldn't either.

09:12
Caitlin Bricker
But I saw it and I was like, this looks like a cockroach. This is, like, not appetizing looking whatsoever. And then I tried it and I was like, this is so good. And now I love what you're saying about the shelf life. Because every time I go to the grocery store and I don't have dates with hanging out with the rest of my produce, I will get a container of dates at the store and I'll have them hanging out. But something that always happens to me is that they just sometimes do hang out there. And I'm not using them as often as I intend to, but I'm always amazed at how fresh they are even months after purchasing them. And probably if that's happening to me, it's the same way when they're just sitting on the store shelves too.

09:56
Alan Scholnick
Yeah, I mean, our sustainability story is that there's no fruit waste, no food waste and no fruit waste. And you know, what we solve for is this is the first fresh fruit that is, that's shelf stable naturally, and that's somewhat, I mean, absolutely remarkable. And I contend that people would be eating fruit more if it just wasn't so difficult to eat on the go. I mean, it's fussy, it's messy. I mean, you know, you think about, you buy your raspberries, I mean, if you don't eat them, almost the next day, they're like already turning fuzzy. So how many raspberries have been tossed? We've done a, a trial with Starbucks, we, that we've done with somewhat the idea to become their new banana. And Starbucks in April of 2022 stopped selling bananas as their healthy fruit because even the banana was just too much.

10:41
Alan Scholnick
It's stressed out. I mean, it was the waste of bananas. I mean, the ripeness windows are still too short between going from green, yellow to black or brown. So they were throwing it away as they ripened, they were attracting fruit flies. And this is kind of a miracle. And the superpower of dates is sure, it's nature's candy, sure it's nature's caramel, it's great for a sweet tooth, but it's superpower. It's that it's a long lasting fresh fruit and we need it.

11:09
Caitlin Bricker
We do need it. We definitely need it. And why I'm so excited about dates, Yes, I discovered them when I was in college, but I had gestational diabetes when I was pregnant. And I know a lot of people talk about you can eat dates towards the end of your pregnancy, I think to help induce labor. I never got to that point, but I was stuck with having to eat gummies, glucose gummies to help get my blood sugar up when my blood sugar was getting low. And then also having to eat these. They were kind of like glucose tablets. I was able to find a clean version online, but it was like eating a pellet of chalk. It was not great. I didn't know about date fix back then and I wish I did, but I still have blood sugar issues almost two years later.

11:54
Caitlin Bricker
And date fix is like something I can just stick in my Pocket in the front of my sling bag, in my bag before I go swimming in the morning. It's amazing because it is serious when the blood sugar gets low. I'm not even diabetic. So I want to get into this with you about people who have diabetes. Have you done any testing with CGMs or finger pricking and using date fix versus another product or just Date Fix in general and how that impacts the blood sugar?

12:24
Alan Scholnick
So this is really an organic story. This is. We discovered in the journey here that we didn't realize the benefit of dates to the diabetes community, in particular the type 1 diabetes community. And so we learned with, through our customers, just like you mentioned in reference to helping with labor, we started getting testimonials from customers who said, I'm a type 1 diabetic and dates are low glycemic. And we knew they were low glycemic. And to the point that we decided to now add low glycemic as a call it on the back of the pack, which I think is taking on an increasing importance to the broader public, even if you're not a diabetic, because effectively that's the fancy way of saying no sugar crash. And that's why day fix, I joke, it's morning fruit, afternoon pick me up and dinner date.

13:14
Alan Scholnick
So our customers started, they would send us readings of their gcms and they were telling us their stories about, well, it's low glycemic and it's got a lot of fiber. And so they use it as a pre or post. And it's been a game changer. So much so that we have gotten the most heartwarming testimonials. One in particular that jumps up. But it's not, there's, it's not limited to. One is a woman who is a Olympian as a marathoner and during her training got diagnosed with plain type 1 diabetes. She thought she was going to have to hang up her laces and say I can't do this anymore. And she heard from another elite athlete about Date Fix. And now Date Fix has been really the savior for her that's enabled her to continue to pursue her dreams.

14:01
Alan Scholnick
And as it stands, we might have that I know of. I mean, two women who could be in the 2028 LA Olympics as marathon runners for two different countries actually, and which would be incredible, but more importantly is the fact that, and it's been very gratifying when you hear these stories that there are people that are choosing to buy Date Fix because they really care about their health and wellness, and so they have the freedom to make that choice. But now we've discovered that we're a necessity for someone with type 1. They know about date fix. And so date fix is in all the places you described. It's at their nightstand.

14:37
Caitlin Bricker
It's.

14:38
Alan Scholnick
It is part of. It's glued to them. That's something that we didn't look for or expect. But it's super gratifying to feel like we're that important to someone's life.

14:48
Caitlin Bricker
Well, I mean, I think obviously the ingredients are a huge standout when it comes to making a choice. For me, now that I know that date fix is an option, the biggest thing aside from the ingredients is the nutrition panel, because I wasn't finding fiber in any of these products, even though they were cleaner options, die free, et cetera. But I wasn't getting that stability from my blood sugar when I was taking them. It was just a hit. But then if I wasn't near a food source, I'd have to get another hit.

15:16
Caitlin Bricker
And I'm not a scientist, I'm not an endocrinologist, but I would have to imagine that if there's no other added nutritional aspect, it's probably not great for my blood sugar and my health over time if I keep just getting those hits without that sustained energy and other nutritional benefits for my body.

15:35
Alan Scholnick
Yeah, I mean, look, there's a reason that people break fast with dates. You know, it is. I don't want to say it's a complete, but you can survive for quite a bit. It's nature's survival food. It's not the only one. You shouldn't have just dates, but it really has the kind of properties on a multiple of levels between the fiber, the carbs being low glycemic. I mean, dates have more potassium by weight than a banana. So someone's like the electrolytes. Well, electrolytes in part are potassium. And yes, it's there. And where does the energy come from? Well, carbs, like food is energy. And so the other thing about this form factor and this product is, of course, you can eat it from the pack as a snack or. Or as a fuel.

16:18
Alan Scholnick
And that's one of the things that we've had, you know, snack fuel. Like, we're all these things. People are putting this on Greek yogurt in the morning because they find it's a better fruit experience and quick than buying the premixed fruits in the yogurts, which feel a little like drizzle fruity. And you're not eating a strawberry in the middle of the yogurt there. And when you see the texture of Date Fix, you are getting a date. This is not a watered down date. There's texture which people love, love.

16:45
Caitlin Bricker
For sure. I've done the same thing especially I've been doing this crazy thing that's kind of been transformative for me is waking up at five o' clock in the morning, doing my five to nine, then my nine to five work day and then doing five to nine all over again for the evening and then my eight hours of sleep. But Date Fix really is the perfect thing, especially if I wake up a few minutes late and I need to get to the gym for 5:30 and get my swim in. Grab the yogurt, grab the Date fix right on top. There's my carb. I don't have to worry about washing fruit and doing that whole thing and then heading out the door. I can just grab the two things, grab a spoon and I'm gone.

17:20
Alan Scholnick
I love that. So I have a massive suite. We haven't gone live with this yet, but we're going to introduce the Date Fix Sunday. Date Fix is literally the most amazing ice cream topping. It is so satisfying. And for those who like a crunch element in there, you can, and you don't have a nut allergy, you can sprinkle like almonds. And so I just take roasted almonds unsalted. I put them on. It's almost like doesn't matter the flavor of the ice cream, but there's a whole range and I. It is like it slides out and it's like it does everything that it doesn't melt. Its texture holds up against the ice cream and it is so decadent, I can't even tell you. And then you're. But you're eating fruit with ice cream.

18:03
Alan Scholnick
So it's like reinventing like I guess if the banana split was meant to be bananas, fruit in the dessert item, we've got it with dates. I invite everyone to try that.

18:12
Caitlin Bricker
I definitely want to try that. All right, I think that's a good segue into my next question for you. We know where Date Fix is now, but where do you see Date Fix going in say, the next five years?

18:25
Alan Scholnick
So we started out, we've been evolving quickly here. We've been selling in the market now for about two years. We've been really lucky. We've been blessed. We're in over 3,000 locations. Walmart is our biggest customer in Whole Foods. And we're on the feed and we're running stores. And so it's been interesting because we have a product that you can sell in a running store and you can sell in a fitness store, a camping store, at a gourmet supermarket next to the cheese. We're trying to make Date Fix your ride or die sidekick. We're all about radical simplicity and we just want it to be kind of like your daily grab.

19:01
Alan Scholnick
You take your phone and your keys and your water bottle and just because Date Fix is sort of like, I mean, there are other things you could take, but you just know it's as clean as it gets. So we're really trying to help educate people on the versatility. We can sell in lots of non traditional retail, I would imagine. And I wouldn't be surprised if we end up selling in Nike or Lululemon one of these days. And we can really leverage a healthy halo here that's super unique. You know, we don't have to exaggerate performance claims. We don't say that you have date fiction. You're going to be able to, you know, leap over a building or run your fastest time. I mean this is in the lunch snack.

19:40
Alan Scholnick
And so our time is really being spent on all the versatility, all the ways dat Fix should be part of your lifestyle. Because the trend, it's not trend. People just want to eat cleaner and healthier and people like sweet. And we don't have to change our behavior about that. That's just a new way of doing it. It's actually going back to the old way. But we made fruit accessible and practical. And I think that breakthrough is really what we're trying to spend our time on and just take the forgotten fruit and mainstreaming it's. And I think that's really fun. Cause I think I've taken. It's been fascinating to watch where some food item that started in one corner of the planet made its way around the globe and became something.

20:20
Alan Scholnick
And I think in a certain way we're trying to do that with Date Fix and the date it hits home for me.

20:25
Caitlin Bricker
I'm all about it. I love watching your reels on Instagram. I get a kick out of them. A Because pardon my language, but you are just so. No bullshit when you're on there and talking about your products and the way people are viewing health and nutrition. I just think it's so funny because it's so basic, so simple. But you are going back to the basics with your product and the way that you're educating your consumers or soon to be hopefully consumers online. I just get a kick out of it because I think it's great. So tell me about your approach to educating your consumers and how you might make believers out of people who didn't believe in dates before.

21:08
Alan Scholnick
Yeah, we're trying to have more fun with it. We spent the weekend filming. I moved the company to Miami Beach. Miami beach is, I think, really one of the health and wellness capitals of the country. We decided that we're going to make Muscle beach in Miami beach our world headquarters. So that's where were this week, filming some spoofs. We'll see how it goes. We decided to make the team members characters in our own little sitcom that's coming next. Hopefully we execute on it. But we're trying to tell people is I think, what they already know, but looking for an outlet to express. When we do the running shows, people are like, awful, but they buy it reflexively. Some are led to believe that's part of the lifestyle. We brought out to the beach a whiteboard, and on it we wrote date fix equals fruit.

21:50
Alan Scholnick
Date fix does not equal gel. So we're having some fun with that because the form factor sort of types us as a gel because they've never seen fruit in the form factor, so they've always seen gel, whatever a gel is. So we're having a lot of fun with that. I think we're trying to find ways to, no BS ways of telling people like, you know, think a little bit outside the box. Like the whole protein craze. And I think it's getting protein when you're eating, I don't know, things you otherwise wouldn't eat. And you sprinkle protein into it. Now you can eat. It's almost licensed to eat junkier or lesser quality food. So while there's a better for you food movement, we're actually adding a protein additive to things that aren't maybe sort of regressive on that scale and.

22:31
Alan Scholnick
And say, you know, you can have your protein brownie now. I love a brownie. No knock on a brownie, but I want the best brownie and I don't really care if it has protein in it. And there are so many better ways of having more enjoyable food. Ways to get protein also call out. We see protein and then it's next to art. It's swimming in artificial flavors. So our early adopters are people who respect food and what they put in their body. They don't think ranch is a natural flavor. We get a kick out of reading packs that, you know, the familiar Setup, you'll see the supplement, the powder, the gel that's got a strawberry banana and they put a strawberry outside the pack and a banana outside the pack.

23:10
Alan Scholnick
And then you read the ingredient list and there's a strawberry banana to be found. It's amazing what how many flavor profiles natural flavors can take on. I guess. So we're just having fun kind of. It's like a gift out there. So we're having some fun on it and we're just trying to hope endear people. And it's authentic, it's sincere. And we don't really want to tell you the science story. We want to tell you the authentic story and just try to have fun doing it. If nothing else, hopefully we'll entertain ourselves and maybe if we do that, other people will laugh too.

23:43
Caitlin Bricker
Well, you have at least one person me laughing with you. So mission accomplished. I have had so much fun talking to you. I would love if you could tell us where we can find you and Date Fix online for anybody that's listening and wants to maybe go order a variety pack or just follow along on the journey for some laughs.

24:05
Alan Scholnick
Great. So date fix.com@datefix is our social handle. It's great. You can go to the retail world and buy a single pack and try it out and you can go online and buy it by the box. And that tends to be what people do. We have a variety box and minimum order is one box and shipping. There you go. And we send it all over and we send them out every day and we appreciate everyone's support and we love what your community is doing, by the way. And I'm trying to help share what I know, but I'm the student all the time. So thank you very much for providing the resources to all of us. And I think as people who are interested in learning and teaching, you foster amazing community. We get to do it around generally food and what could better.

24:52
Caitlin Bricker
Thanks, Alan. Daniel really has created something extremely special with startup cpg and I am just amazed every single day how many people are joining. We recently passed 30,000 members. I think we're very close to 30.5. It's unbelievable. It's great. When I joined In October of 2024, I think were at 23,000 members, which is says a lot. And we're really lucky to have members like you. Really just creating really standout product, doing something different, doing something better, doing something great for yourself and for the community. So thank you. Thank you.

25:32
Alan Scholnick
Pleasure.

25:33
Caitlin Bricker
Great talking to you. I'm sure I'll catch you soon. All right, everyone, thank you so much for listening. If you enjoyed this episode, do us a solid and leave us a five star review on ratethispodcast.com startup cpg I'm Caitlin Bricker, the host of the Founder Feature Series and editor at Startup CPG. Feel free to find me on LinkedIn or reach out to me on Slack and get on my radar. I'm always keeping my eyes peeled for new and emerging brands to spotlight. If you're a potential sponsor who would like to appear on the podcast, please email partnershipsartupcpg.com and finally, as a reminder for anyone listening, if you haven't already, we would love for you to join our free CPG community on Slack. You can sign up via our [e-mail] see you around.