Saudi Arabia's Luxury Brand Bateel Has a Plan to Take Dates Global

Newsweek

3 days ago

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
Date chocolates, date coffee, date (flower) tea, date olives, date vinegar, date syrup and most of all dates as themselves — seven different kinds of them.
That's what Saudi luxury date brand Bateel is planning to bring to New York in the coming year as it drives a worldwide expansion with a plan to triple its business by 2029 from 180 outlets in 25 countries to around 500 outlets and to take it from its Middle Eastern origins to make it a global name.
Underpinning everything are the dates, which have been described as a superfood for their richness in beneficial ingredients such as fibre and antioxidants as well as for releasing sugars into the blood more slowly than sugary sweets.
"Today we are in three continents. And going forward, we are planning to be in five continents," Nurtac Afridi, chief executive of Bateel International, told Newsweek over tea — and dates — at one of its cafés in Dubai.
Nurtac Afridi, CEO of Bateel International, at a Bateel outlet in Dubai on June 23, 2025
Nurtac Afridi, CEO of Bateel International, at a Bateel outlet in Dubai on June 23, 2025
Matthew Tostevin
"In the date world, Bateel has the pioneering position among any business, the best standard of dates, and that's related to our attention to detail, the different farming practices and making sure that each date is treated like a jewel," she said.
Bateel's origins are in Saudi Arabia, where its organic farms are home to the palm plantations where it grows its dates — over 5,000 tonnes a year.
In the Middle East, dates have had a cultural significance for thousands of years and they are often offered to guests with coffee. They are traditionally the first food to be eaten when breaking the Ramadan fast during the Muslim holy month.
They have increasingly been taken up by some of the health conscious in the rest of the world, either eating them as they are or incorporating them in recipes — something that has become very visible on TikTok videos.
Healthier Snack Option
A 2022 study found different date varieties had glycemic indexes — a measure of how quickly they release sugar into the blood — of well below 50 for some types, although others topped 70. For comparison, pure glucose has an index of 100 and white bread around 90. In moderation, they can be a sweet snack alternative for some diabetics.
"It is a healthier option for gifting and a healthier option for yourself too, for nutrition, snacking and indulgence," Afridi said.
Bateel pioneered presenting dates in the same way as fine chocolates, including in designer boxes, rather than in the sacks where they might be piled in the souks. The company started in Saudi Arabia in the 1930s, but only launched its first boutiques in the 1990s and opened Café Bateel in Dubai in 2007.
Bateel cafe at a shopping mall in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on June 23, 2025
Bateel cafe at a shopping mall in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on June 23, 2025
Titas Basu
Afridi, a former CEO of chocolate company Godiva, was also quick to leap on the viral Dubai Chocolate trend, which has raised the region's profile for sweet things. Bateel makes its own Dubai chocolates with a pistachio cream and kunafa filling.
"It has grown exponentially since we launched, and we had to increase our capacity for the white chocolate several times, and now our team is working in three shifts in our factory to cope up with the demand," she said.
And of course there is a date option too — with the dates having the same kunafa filling.
Bateel prides itself on constantly coming up with innovative new ways to turn dates into gourmet foods. Young dates are pickled and eaten like olives and it's the date seeds that are turned into a decaffeinated drink for "date coffee".
Not everything has dates in it in the cafes that are competing with other high-end brands, however. There are lots of other food options, although there will be plenty of dates on the menu too.
The plan for New York is to open by 2026 at the latest with both a café and a retail store. While Bateel will be dipping its toe in the New York market, a bigger part of the expansion will be in Asia, where it already has outlets in South Korea and Singapore. Next up are Japan, Indonesia and Malaysia. In Europe, it plans to expand from several southern European countries as well as in Britain and France.
Among Bateel's shareholders is French luxury brand conglomerate LVMH, whose brands include Louis Vuitton, Dior, Moët & Chandon and Tiffany & Co. Bateel is a private company and reliant on its own funding resources for its expansion, but it could consider selling shares at some point if the conditions were right, Afridi said.
For now, her goal is to keep expanding Bateel and position it as a luxury lifestyle brand.
"What we focus on is to keep ourselves developing with innovation, not losing our attention to detail, not compromising the quality," she said. "The whole lifestyle experience is luxury in wellness, luxury in health, luxury in taking care of yourself, luxury of having high quality products."