We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Michelle Wilton. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Michelle below.

Hi Michelle, thanks for joining us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

To me, success is about finding peace in the beautiful chaos of life. Building Date Better Snacks has taken what I like to call the “magic trio”—grit, hustle, and determination. It’s been a wild ride, full of twists, turns, and moments where I thought, Wait… what did I just get myself into?

But here’s the thing, I’ve learned that you can’t get stuck in the past or obsess over the missteps. There’s a reason the rearview mirror is smaller than the windshield—because where you’re going matters so much more than where you’ve been.

I also love the saying: “Don’t worry about the destination, fall in love with the journey.” And honestly? That’s been everything for me. The late nights, the unexpected wins, the “oh no” moments that turn into “aha” moments—it’s all part of the story. And if you can find joy in that, I think you’ve already won.

Michelle, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I began my career as a pastry chef because since a little kid, I just loved baking—and sugar! But as I got older, sugar stopped loving me back. I didn’t want to give up indulgence, though, so I started experimenting with dates. They’re naturally sweet, low-glycemic, and don’t come with that dreaded sugar crash. One day, I stuffed a date with peanut butter, dipped it in chocolate, and—boom—my own little candy bar alternative was born. It was rich, decadent, and completely satisfying, but without all the junk.

My career grew into owning three restaurants, but when the pandemic hit and the health department forced me to close temporarily, I had no idea what I was going to do to provide for my family. When I went to grab my 3 o clock pick me up treat for the day (our almond butter java stuffed date) I had that aha moment of packaging these and selling them to stores. What if I could bring that same nostalgic joy of a candy bar to people who had to give them up? I wanted the packaging to be colorful and eye-catching, something people would be drawn to, but also feel smooth and gift-like in their hands. This was important so they would be drawn to dates in a new way. Most people don’t realize just how delicious dates are, so I love saying, we took a date and made it better. Many people crave something sweet, rich, and satisfying but struggle to find a treat that aligns with their health goals. Whether they’re trying to eat cleaner, or simply looking for a better-for-you alternative to their childhood favorites, the options are often either too “healthy” (and not satisfying) or still loaded with hidden sugars and additives.

Date Better bridges that gap. Our snacks taste like a candy bar but are made with only four simple, whole ingredients—medjool dates, fresh ground nut butter, rich chocolate, and a sprinkle of sea salt. They’re low-glycemic, provide lasting energy, and let people indulge without regret.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Faire has been amazing for us! We are gaining on average 45 new stores per month through the platform. Doing the Summer Market and Winter Market has really boosted our business as well. We do a tier discount approach for these two markets and it is great as Faire matches up to 5% discount during this as well.

Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?

I do self manufacture, and what a learning curve! As a chef, manufacturing for me is the easy part of the business I feel like the rest is me building the parachute after jumping out of the plane! Scaling the manufacturing is what has been the learning curve, luckily my husband has an engineer mind and has been able to make specialized custom machines, the first one he built was when we saw a box cartoner cost $100,000, there was. no way a scrappy start up could afford this. He said he would try and build us one for $3,000 and he pulled it off! Next, he built a machine that pits, sizes and stuffs the dates. I do have some exciting new skus coming out that I would love to find a co-manufacturer to help with.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.datebettersnacks.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/datebettersnacks/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-valdez-wilton-803b8a119/

Image Credits

Stan Lee
Caroline Herring
If Only Creative Studio