‘World first’ date soft drink launched by PIF subsidiary

• Aimed at opening global markets
• Date sector key to Saudi farming
• New date products planned

A soft drink made from dates has been launched by Al Madinah Heritage Company, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

Milaf Cola, which is claimed to be the world’s first commercial soft drink made from dates, uses only premium fruit and contains no added sugar. 

Dates have historically been used in Middle Eastern beverages such as sharbat, which are fruit-flavoured and sweetened with ingredients such as sugar, syrup and honey.

Bandar Al Qahtani, CEO of Al Madinah Heritage Company, said that the company’s launch of Milaf Cola was aimed at opening more global markets for the kingdom’s date farmers. 

A company spokesperson told India’s The Munsif Daily: “Milaf Cola is just the beginning. We are working on a variety of products that will revolutionise how dates are consumed globally.”  

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Milaf, launched only this year, is already a leading date producer in the kingdom, selling a variety of dates and date byproducts such as a sugar-free date sandwich spread, as well as bags and boxes of dates.  

Al Madinah Heritage Company was established in July this year, with a view to improving the quality and production capacity of Ajwa dates in the Madinah region, as well as promoting and distributing them both locally and internationally. 

Ajwa dates are widely considered among the finest dates in the world, because of their high nutritional value and supposed significant health benefits. Dates have been claimed to be “a natural superfood” because of their nutritional profile, including fibre, antioxidants and essential minerals such as magnesium and potassium.

Dates are also of particular religious and cultural value to Muslims as they are traditionally used to break the fast during Ramadan.

Majed Al Assaf, head of consumer goods and retail in the Mean Investments Division at PIF, said in July that the date industry was an important part of Saudi Arabia’s food and agriculture sector. 

“Saudi Arabia is one of the world’s most prominent producers and exporters of dates, and its products have always been of the highest quality, catering to wide consumer demand,” he said.