10% Off Your First Order
A Sweet Welcome from Salahuddin Dates.
Our Story
Salahuddin Dates was founded in Leicester by Adam Sulayman, a pharmacist turned chocolatier and entrepreneur better known online as The Chocolate Man. After nearly two decades in healthcare, Adam turned a lifelong love of chocolate, food and innovation into a business with a bigger purpose.
His love of chocolate is rooted in memories of his grandad, family gatherings and the simple joy of opening something good and sharing it around. Those memories also made him increasingly frustrated by how much familiar chocolate had declined, with cheaper ingredients, flatter flavour and products that no longer lived up to the nostalgia attached to them.
He wanted to help bring back proper chocolate while also making genuinely good, carefully sourced dates more accessible to everyday families. Salahuddin Dates grew from those two ambitions, united by the belief that quality food should be generous, memorable and made with integrity.
Our name is inspired by Salahuddin Al-Ayyubi, whose legacy is remembered for courage, integrity, generosity and service. Those values guide how we source, create and do business.
For us, excellence is not only about taste. It is also about how people are treated, where ingredients come from and whether a business leaves something good behind.
Behind the Bar
Adam also hosts The Chocolate Man Podcast: Behind the Bar, sharing honest conversations about chocolate, innovation, entrepreneurship and the people behind the products.
From asking what happened to proper British chocolate to exploring cocoa origins, forgotten favourites and the realities of building an independent food brand, the show takes listeners behind the wrapper.
From Madinah, Directly Connected
Our principal date farm is in Madinah, situated between Masjid an-Nabawi and Mount Uhud, and is run by a close friend of our founder. Adam has personally visited the farm, and our team keeps a direct relationship with the people responsible for growing and packing the fruit.
We focus on dates from the current harvest and choose freshness over holding old stock. If demand exceeds the harvest from our principal farm, we work only with carefully vetted neighbouring farms that share the same standards. This allows us to be transparent while protecting the quality our customers expect.
Farm workers are expected to be treated fairly and respectfully, and every stage from cultivation to selection and packing is handled with care. We want better-quality dates to be accessible for everyday families, not treated as something reserved for select circles or special occasions.
Ajwa holds a particularly important place in Islamic tradition. Known for its dark colour, soft bite and gentle sweetness, it is valued both for its flavour and for what it represents. We treat that heritage with the respect it deserves.
More Than Dates
Chocolate became a natural part of our story. We began pairing premium dates with carefully chosen chocolate, nuts, fruit and fillings, introducing chocolate dates as a more considered alternative to conventional confectionery. They remain a treat, but they begin with whole fruit rather than an ordinary sweet centre.
Today, our collection spans handcrafted chocolate dates, chocolate-covered nuts, gifting selections and small-batch bars. We are developing two sides of the chocolate range: single-origin bars that let the character of cocoa-growing regions shine, and classic British-inspired chocolate that brings back the comforting flavours and sense of generosity many people remember.
From pistachio kunafah dates and Malawi single-origin cocoa to nostalgic milk chocolate creations, every product is made to have personality. We avoid palm oil, use real cocoa and select ingredients for flavour and quality rather than taking the easiest shortcut.
Desert Gold 33, our camel milk and date sugar chocolate bar, is a GAMA Innovation Awards 2026 finalist in the Hospitality category. It is recognition that unusual ingredients, strong values and genuinely good chocolate can belong in the same bar.
The aim is always the same: proper flavour, thoughtful ingredients and a little sense of wonder.
Talk to the Team
Have a question, wholesale enquiry or collaboration idea? Send us a message and our team will be in touch.
Follow our journey on Instagram
Premium dates, small-batch chocolate and gifts made with purpose
