Diamond of California, the US nuts supplier, has hired former Kraft Foods and WhiteWave Foods executive Craig Hope as its new CEO.

Hope, who spent more than a decade at Kraft and was chief marketing officer at WhiteWave, joins Diamond of California from fresh-produce supplier Country Fresh, where he had been CEO for a year.

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In a statement, Diamond of California said Hope’s “focus” will be to expand the company’s range of products “to drive accelerated, sustainable top-line growth”. The company, owned by Blue Road Capital, said consumers were demanding more “plant-based options”.

Hope added: “This year we plan on continuing to push the envelope by introducing groundbreaking products, as well as celebrating our core line in new ways so that we can accelerate the brand’s growth for years to come.”

Before Country Fresh, Hope was CEO for a year at another business owned by Kainos Capital, JTM Foods. He worked for WhiteWave between 2010 and 2016 as chief customer and marketing officer.

His career at Nabisco and then Kraft Foods covered various sales and customer roles.

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