Diamond Foods, Inc. was an American packaged food company based in

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, that marketed

nut Nut often refers to: * Nut (fruit), fruit composed of a hard shell and a seed * Nut (food), a dry and edible fruit or seed, including but not limited to true nuts * Nut (hardware), fastener used with a bolt Nut, NUT or Nuts may also refer to: A ...

s (particularly

walnut A walnut is the edible seed of any tree of the genus '' Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. They are accessory fruit because the outer covering of the fruit is technically an i ...

s and almonds) and other

snack food A snack is a small portion of Human food, food generally Eating, eaten between meals. Snacks come in a variety of forms including Food packaging, packaged snack foods and other processed foods, as well as items made from fresh ingredients at ho ...

s. Diamond Foods was acquired by

Snyder's-Lance Snyder's-Lance, Inc. is the second largest salty snack maker in the United States. It was formed by the 2010 merger of Lance Inc. and Snyder's of Hanover. The company is a subsidiary of The Campbell's Company (known before November 2024 as the ...

in 2016, and as of 2018,

Campbell Soup Company The Campbell's Company (doing business as Campbell's and formerly known as the Campbell Soup Company) is an American company, most closely associated with its flagship canned soup products. The classic red-and-white can design used by many Campbe ...

owns Diamond Foods's former snack brands; Diamond of California, Diamond Foods's nut business, is owned by Blue Road Capital.

History

The company was founded in 1912 as Diamond Walnut Growers, Inc., a member-owned Californian agricultural cooperative association. In July 2005, Diamond Walnut Growers converted to a

Delaware corporation The Delaware General Corporation Law (sometimes abbreviated DGCL), officially the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (Title 8, Chapter 1 of the Delaware Code), is the statute of the Delaware Code that governs corporate law in the U. ...

and initial public offering of stock as Diamond Foods.

Timeline

* 1912: Diamond was founded as a cooperative by a group of Californian walnut growers. * 1919: Diamond was the first nut producer to launch a national advertising campaign. * 1930: Diamond started to sell its nuts abroad. * 1950: Diamond became the first nut company to advertise on TV. * 1956: Diamond centralized its operations to

Stockton, California Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. It is the most populous city in the county, the List of municipal ...

. * 1989: Diamond was the first company to adopt laser sorters in its processing plant to eliminate shell fragments. * 1997: Japan became Diamond’s number one export market for shelled walnuts. * 1998: Diamond introduced a full line of shelled packaged nuts for baking and cooking and became the number one global marketer of in-shell nuts. * 1999: Diamond changed its name to Diamond of California. * 2000, 2002, and 2004: Diamond was the exclusive nut supplier to the U.S. Olympic teams. * 2004: J Stone & Son merged with Diamond Foods. * 2004: The Emerald Nuts line of snack nuts was launched. * 2005: Diamond of California became Diamond Foods, Inc., and became a publicly traded company (NASDAQ DMND). * 2006: Diamond acquired Harmony Foods, including an Indiana production facility. * 2007: Diamond’s Super Bowl spot featuring

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ranked as the number one ad by ''Advertising Age'' and resulted in a 68 percent sales increase of Emerald. * 2008: Diamond acquired Pop Secret popcorn from

General Mills General Mills, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded ultra-processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in ...

. * 2009: Emerald hits ten percent share of the snack nut market in U.S. food stores. * 2010: Diamond acquired Kettle Foods potato chip company with operations in the U.S. and the U.K. * 2011: Diamond and Procter & Gamble announced that Pringles would merge with Diamond. The deal was expected to close by June 2012. * 2012: The company is troubled by an accounting scandal and the Pringles deal is cancelled. *2013: Following the accounting scandal of 2012, on January 18, 2013, Diamond Foods officially ceases all production at its

Fishers, Indiana Fishers is a city in the Fall Creek Township, Hamilton County, Indiana, Fall Creek and Delaware Township, Hamilton County, Indiana, Delaware townships in Hamilton County, Indiana, Hamilton County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2020 United Sta ...

plant. Over 100 full-time employees are fired and the Harmony brand is permanently discontinued. *2014: The SEC authorized a settlement in regards to the 2012 accounting scandal. The SEC separately entered into a settlement with the former CEO, Michael Mendes. SEC litigation with the former CFO, Steven Neil, remained unresolved. *2015: The SEC entered into a settlement with Steven Neil in regards to the 2012 accounting scandal. *2016:

acquired Diamond Foods and all companies under the Diamond Foods Name. *2017: Snyder's-Lance sold the Diamond of California culinary nut business to Blue Road Capital.

Diamond Foods brands

Diamond Foods has five product lines: * Diamond Foods’ line of potato chips are sold under the Kettle Brand label in the United States and Kettle Chips brand in the United Kingdom. They are available in a variety of flavors, styles and package sizes. * Diamond Foods’ snack nuts are sold under the Emerald brand, and include

trail mix Trail mix is a type of snack mix, typically a combination of granola, dried fruit, nuts, and sometimes candy, developed as food to be taken along on hikes. Trail mix is a popular snack food for hikes, because it is lightweight, easy to sto ...

, roasted, glazed and flavored snack nut products and other snacks. The product line includes 100 Calorie pack sizes. * Diamond Foods’ popcorn, in both kernels and various flavors of microwave popcorn, is sold under the Pop Secret brand. The product line includes Homestyle microwave popcorn and items such as 94% Fat Free and 100 Calorie snack size. * In-shell and culinary nuts are sold under the Diamond of California brand. In-shell nuts are typically sold in grocery store produce sections during the winter holiday season. Culinary nuts are sold in the baking aisle of grocery, mass, club and other retailers. * North American and International Ingredient and Food Service products include Diamond of California brand in-shell nuts, shelled and processed nuts, glazed nuts, and custom-processed nuts for food processors, restaurants, bakeries and food service companies and suppliers. Each of the snack product lines has “better-for-you” options including 100-calorie packs, 94% Fat Free popcorn and both baked potato chips with 65% less fat than traditional potato chips and a reduced fat chip with 40% less fat.

Production

The company has about 1400 full-time employees in Wisconsin, Indiana, Tennessee, Alabama and the United Kingdom. Diamond does not grow any of its own crops; it purchases raw material from domestic and international sources. Diamond products are processed and packaged at facilities in

;

Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, w ...

;

Van Buren, Indiana Van Buren is a town in Van Buren Township, Grant County, Indiana, United States. The population was 864 at the 2010 census. History Joseph Boxell platted Van Buren Township in 1837. Martin Van Buren was the United States president at the time. ...

;

Beloit, Wisconsin Beloit ( ) is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 36,657 people. Beloit is a principal city of the Janesville, Wisconsin, Janesville–Beloit metropolitan statistical area (Rock Co ...

;

Robertsdale, Alabama Robertsdale is a city in Baldwin County, Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georg ...

; and

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

References

External links

“Diamond Chews on Acquisitions” San Francisco Business Times, September 3, 2010

{{authority control 1912 establishments in California 2005 initial public offerings 2016 mergers and acquisitions American companies established in 1912 Companies based in San Joaquin County, California Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq Food and drink companies established in 1912 Former cooperatives of the United States Snack food manufacturers of the United States Walnut