Almond marketer and processor Blue Diamond Growers has revealed major expansion plans for the US and Europe.
The California-based company is to buy 88 acres located at North Washington and Fulkerth Road in Turlock, California, as part of a 15-year capacity expansion plan.
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The investment includes ongoing operations at the Sacramento and Salida-based plants with upgrades planned at both facilities. The project is expected to provide training and other new opportunities for current employees in Sacramento, Salida and in Turlock.
The project is designed to minimise initial construction costs and to build Blue Diamond’s consumer brand and ingredient business. The Turlock location will serve as the major expansion location to meet the company’s increasing global market opportunities and crop supply.
“After an exhaustive site selection process, we chose Turlock because not only is it an ideal location for our long-term expansion plans, but the Turlock City council demonstrated great leadership by dedicating the resources necessary to provide the required infrastructure,” said Blue Diamond president and CEO Mark Jansen.
“This plan will provide the capacity we need to grow as global markets expand and US consumers demand more nutritional almond products.”
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By GlobalDataBlue Diamond also plans to build the presence of its consumer and ingredients operations in Europe.
The company has started two marketing campaigns throughout mainland Europe for its consumer products and the ingredients it sells to manufacturers. However, a spokesperson for the company said he could no reveal the how much money will be spent on it.
Blue Diamond general manager Bill Morecraft said: “We see huge potential in the UK for our consumer products and there will be a significant increase in marketing and advertising. Our consumer products are already featured in major high street stores such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose but we are aiming to make Blue Diamond’s almonds as popular in the UK as they are in America.”
He added that the company is expanding its presence within the snack, bakery and chocolate sectors.
Blue Diamond is owned by more than 3,000 growers and currently exports its products to 75 countries.
