Diamond Foods facts for kids
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| Public | |
| Traded as | NASDAQ: DMND |
| Industry | Consumer packaged goods |
| Fate | Acquired; split up |
| Founded | 1912 |
| Defunct | 2016 |
| Headquarters |
,
U.S.
|
|
Area served
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100+ countries |
| Owner | Blue Road Capital |
Diamond Foods, Inc. was an American company that made and sold packaged foods. They were known for their nuts, like walnuts and almonds, and other tasty snack foods. The company was based in San Francisco, California.
In 2016, another company called Snyder's-Lance bought Diamond Foods. Later, in 2018, Campbell Soup Company took over many of Diamond Foods' snack brands. However, the part of the business that focused on nuts, called Diamond of California, is now owned by a company named Blue Road Capital.
Contents
A Look Back: Diamond Foods' Journey
Diamond Foods started a long time ago, in 1912. It began as a group of walnut growers in California who worked together. This group was called Diamond Walnut Growers, Inc. In 2005, the company changed its name to Diamond Foods and became a public company. This meant people could buy shares of the company.
Important Moments in Diamond Foods' History
Here are some key events that happened during Diamond Foods' time:
- 1912: Diamond was started by walnut farmers in California.
- 1919: Diamond was the first nut company to advertise across the whole country.
- 1930: Diamond began selling its nuts in other countries.
- 1950: Diamond was the first nut company to advertise on TV.
- 1956: The company moved its main operations to Stockton, California.
- 1989: Diamond was the first company to use special laser machines. These machines helped remove tiny shell pieces from the nuts.
- 1997: Japan became the biggest buyer of Diamond's shelled walnuts from other countries.
- 1998: Diamond started selling many types of shelled nuts for baking and cooking. It also became the top seller of nuts still in their shells around the world.
- 1999: The company changed its name to Diamond of California.
- 2000, 2002, and 2004: Diamond was the only nut supplier for the U.S. Olympic teams.
- 2004: Another company, J Stone & Son, joined with Diamond Foods.
- 2004: The Emerald Nuts line of snack nuts was launched.
- 2005: Diamond of California became Diamond Foods, Inc., and its shares were sold publicly.
- 2006: Diamond bought Harmony Foods, which included a factory in Indiana.
- 2007: Diamond's Super Bowl TV ad, which featured Robert Goulet, was very popular. It helped Emerald nut sales go up by 68 percent!
- 2008: Diamond bought Pop Secret popcorn from General Mills.
- 2009: Emerald nuts made up ten percent of the snack nut market in U.S. food stores.
- 2010: Diamond bought Kettle Foods, a company that makes potato chips in the U.S. and the U.K.
- 2011: Diamond and Procter & Gamble announced plans for Pringles to join Diamond.
- 2012: The Pringles deal was canceled because Diamond Foods faced some financial problems.
- 2013: On January 18, 2013, Diamond Foods stopped all production at its Fishers, Indiana plant.
- 2016: Snyder's-Lance bought Diamond Foods and all its related companies.
- 2017: Snyder's-Lance sold the Diamond of California nut business to Blue Road Capital.
Diamond Foods' Brands
Diamond Foods had five main types of products:
- Potato Chips: Their potato chips were sold under the Kettle Brand name in the United States and Kettle Chips in the United Kingdom. They came in many flavors and sizes.
- Snack Nuts: These were sold under the Emerald brand. They included trail mix, roasted nuts, glazed nuts, and other snack nut products. Some even came in 100-calorie packs.
- Popcorn: Diamond Foods sold popcorn kernels and different kinds of microwave popcorn under the Pop Secret brand. This included Homestyle microwave popcorn and options like 94% Fat Free.
- In-shell and Culinary Nuts: These nuts were sold under the Diamond of California brand. Nuts still in their shells were often found in grocery stores during the winter holidays. Nuts for cooking and baking were sold in the baking aisle.
- Ingredient and Food Service Products: Diamond also sold nuts to other food companies, restaurants, and bakeries. These included nuts in shells, shelled nuts, and specially processed nuts.
Many of these snack products also had healthier options. For example, there were 100-calorie packs, popcorn that was 94% fat-free, and baked potato chips with less fat.
Where Products Were Made
Diamond Foods had about 1,400 full-time employees. These employees worked in different places like Wisconsin, Indiana, Tennessee, Alabama, and the United Kingdom. Diamond Foods did not grow its own crops. Instead, it bought raw nuts and other ingredients from farmers in the U.S. and other countries.
Diamond products were processed and packaged at factories in several locations:
