Diamond Foods facts for kids
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| Public company | |
| Traded as | NASDAQ: DMND |
| Industry | Consumer packaged goods |
| Fate | acquired; split up |
| Founded | 1912 |
| Defunct | 2016 |
| Headquarters | , |
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Area served
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100+ countries |
| Parent | Blue Road Capital |
Diamond Foods was an American company that made and sold packaged foods. It was based in San Francisco. The company was famous for its nuts, especially walnuts and almonds, and other snack foods. In 2016, Diamond Foods was bought by another company called Snyder's-Lance. By 2018, Campbell Soup Company owned the snack brands that used to belong to Diamond Foods. The part of the business that sold nuts, known as Diamond of California, is now owned by Blue Road Capital.
Contents
The Story of Diamond Foods
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, Inc., and its shares became available for people to buy on the stock market.
Important Moments in Diamond Foods History
- 1912: Diamond was founded by walnut growers in California.
- 1919: Diamond was the first nut company to advertise its products all over the country.
- 1930: Diamond began selling its nuts in other countries.
- 1950: Diamond became the first nut company to advertise on TV.
- 1956: The company moved all its main operations to Stockton, California.
- 1989: Diamond was the first company to use special laser machines to remove tiny shell pieces from nuts.
- 1997: Japan became the biggest buyer of Diamond's shelled walnuts from other countries.
- 1998: Diamond started selling a full range 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, 2004: Diamond was the only nut supplier for the U.S. Olympic teams.
- 2004: The Emerald Nuts line of snack nuts was launched.
- 2005: Diamond of California became Diamond Foods, Inc., and its shares were traded publicly.
- 2006: Diamond bought Harmony Foods, which included a factory in Indiana.
- 2007: A TV ad for Emerald Nuts during the Super Bowl, featuring Robert Goulet, was very popular and helped sales go up by 68 percent.
- 2008: Diamond bought Pop Secret popcorn from General Mills.
- 2009: Emerald Nuts made up 10 percent of the snack nut market in U.S. food stores.
- 2010: Diamond bought Kettle Foods, a company that made potato chips in the U.S. and the U.K.
- 2011: Diamond and Procter & Gamble announced plans for Pringles chips to join Diamond.
- 2012: The company faced problems with how it reported its money, and the Pringles deal was canceled.
- 2013: Because of the money reporting issues, Diamond Foods stopped all production at its Fishers, Indiana plant.
- 2016: Snyder's-Lance bought Diamond Foods and all its brands.
- 2017: Snyder's-Lance sold the Diamond of California nut business to Blue Road Capital.
Diamond Foods Products
Diamond Foods had five main types of products:
- Kettle Brand Chips: These potato chips were sold as Kettle Brand in the United States and Kettle Chips in the United Kingdom. They came in many different flavors and sizes.
- Emerald Snacks: These snack nuts were sold under the Emerald brand. They included trail mix, roasted nuts, glazed nuts, and other snacks. Some even came in small 100-calorie packs.
- Pop Secret Popcorn: This brand offered both popcorn kernels and different flavors of microwave popcorn. It included options like Homestyle microwave popcorn and low-fat choices.
- Diamond of California Nuts: This brand sold nuts still in their shells, usually found in grocery stores during the winter holidays. It also sold shelled nuts for baking and cooking, found in the baking aisle.
- Ingredients for Businesses: Diamond also sold nuts to other food companies, restaurants, and bakeries. These included in-shell nuts, shelled nuts, glazed nuts, and specially processed nuts.
Many of these snack products also had "better-for-you" options. For example, there were 100-calorie packs, 94% Fat Free popcorn, and baked potato chips with less fat.
Where Diamond Foods Made Its Products
The company had about 1,400 full-time employees. Diamond Foods did not grow its own crops. Instead, it bought raw ingredients from farms in the U.S. and other countries. Diamond products were processed and packaged in several places, including Stockton, California; Salem, Oregon; Van Buren, Indiana; Beloit, Wisconsin; Robertsdale, Alabama; and Norwich in the United Kingdom.
