Blue Diamond almond sales are flat. Here are 10 of its ideas for snack nuts, milk and more
Blue Diamond Growers reported just a slight gain in its annual almond sales while touting new efforts to reach consumers, including selling mixed nuts for the first time.
The Sacramento-based cooperative brought in $1,331, 935,000 in the fiscal year ending Aug. 30, up just 0.17% from $1,329,241,000 the previous year. Normally, such numbers are rounded off in the business press, but that would put both years at $1.33 billion.
Blue Diamond employs about 1,400 people at its headquarters and at processing plants in Salida and Turlock. It is the largest player in the California industry, which accounts for about 80% of the world supply.
Almonds go into milk and crackers, too
Most of the nuts are sold plain to food manufacturers around the world. Blue Diamond also makes its own brand of snack nuts, milk under the Almond Breeze label, and Nut-Thins crackers.
The sales figures were announced at the 114th annual meeting at Modesto Centre Plaza on Nov. 20. Each fiscal year roughly coincides with the start of harvest and the sales that ensue over the next 12 months.
Blue Diamond’s record year remains 2016, with $1.67 billion in sales. The bumper crop of 2020 led to a drop in grower prices that has continued. The company also has cited COVID-19 shipping backlogs, which kept some sales from being completed, and inflation-wary consumers cutting back on nonessential items.
Ripon-area grower Steve Van Duyn, the current board chairman, noted the rough patch in a news release.
“This year, amidst the challenges, Blue Diamond has fought for its members by tapping into every opportunity to strengthen our portfolio and increase demand for our almonds,” he said.
Details on some of Blue Diamond’s efforts
The annual report notes several new products and marketing strategies. Here are some highlights:
- Blue Diamond is selling cans of mixed nuts for the first time since its founding in 1910. The line, Almonds & More, has smaller amounts of pistachios and cashews. They come in smoked, honey-roasted and roasted-salted options.
- Almond milk is the subject of a campaign on Spanish-language television and social media in the United States.
- Kellogg’s has a new version of Special K cereal with vanilla and almonds, complete with the Blue Diamond logo.
- Club store shoppers in Mexico will see a campaign about flavored almonds, aka almedras sabor.
- Europeans will start getting four snack nut flavors already in U.S. stores: honey-roasted, hickory smoke, cinnamon-sugar and wasabi-soy. The last features an especially strong horseradish from Japan.
- Japan is returning the favor via an almond milk marketing deal. It is with Kagome Inc., which also has a tomato cannery near Los Banos, among varied ventures around the world.
- Thailand is getting drinkable yogurt made from Almond Breeze milk.
- American snackers’ new nut flavors include ranch dressing, snickerdoodle cookie and chile-lime.
- Blue Diamond nuts can now be found in produce aisles, as well as on snack shelves, thanks to a partnership with Oppy. The fruit and vegetable distributor is based in British Columbia and serves Canada and the U.S. Some of the bags also have dried cherries or blueberries.
- Blue Diamond launched a chocolate-covered nut called Thin Dipped.
“It all comes down to one thing: Build a bigger, better, stronger Blue Diamond that provides the best return for our growers’ almonds,” President and CEO Kai Bockmann said.
This story was originally published December 1, 2024 at 6:00 AM.
