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Blue Diamond® Growers, recognized worldwide as a premier food company, is headquartered in Sacramento and processes nearly one-third of the world's crop of almonds annually. The almond industry has grown spectacularly over the past decade, where acreage has doubled and tonnage has tripled.
Today, approximately 3,000 growers cooperatively own Blue
Diamond®. Through the co-op, they market their crop to
all 50 states and more than 90 foreign countries, making almonds
California's largest food export, and the sixth largest U.S.
food export.
At the turn of the century, growers sold their crops to independent dealers, negotiating individually on price. Dissatisfied with price-cutting by these independent buyers, a group of 230 growers joined together in 1910 to form their own cooperative. They hired professionals to run it, and each grower-owner was paid according to the amount and quality of almonds produced.
Blue Diamond® built a small receiving and packing plant at 18th and C streets in Sacramento in 1914. That same year it introduced the Blue Diamond® label, printed on burlap bags in which the nuts were packed.
In 1929, the co-op erected a five-story processing plant. As bakers, confectioners, and homemakers discovered the convenience of shelled almonds, Blue Diamond® installed shelling and grading equipment in 1922.
Blue Diamond® helped growers improve their cultural practices for better productivity. By 1940 more than 2,000 growers had joined the cooperative, and the plant was processing 8,000 tons of almonds per year. Volume increased during World War II to supply the Armed Forces.
Growth accelerated during the 1950s, and Blue Diamond® built concrete storage bins, cold-storage facilities and automated equipment. In 1960 it installed electronic sorting machines and expanded its cooking and packing facilities. Its national advertising sparked interest in almond recipes.
Blue Diamond® launched a worldwide campaign in 1955, appointing sales agents in Canada, Mexico, South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. When the organization persuaded airlines to carry foil packets of Smokehouse® almonds, passengers from all countries began to ask where they could buy them.
While the marketing division opened vast new territories, the research division developed new uses for almonds. Tasters, nutritionists and scientists analyzed every aspect of the almond and almond products. They discovered that almond oil is rich in Vitamin E and may be used as the base for cosmetics, soaps and pharmaceutical products.
As the world's largest tree nut marketer and processor,
Blue Diamond® has facilities that include processing plants
in Sacramento and Modesto, California; several receiving stations
located throughout the almond-producing areas of the Sacramento
and San Joaquin valleys; and three Blue Diamond® Grower
Stores in Sacramento, Chico and Salida, California. Blue Diamond®
also has offices in Japan, with a network of brokers throughout
major markets of the world. Blue Diamond® also markets
hazelnuts, macadamia nuts and pistachios and owns a hazelnut
plant in Salem, Oregon.
Facilities in Sacramento include 20 buildings for administration, research, processing, distribution, and storage at 18th and C Streets, along with a Blue Diamond® Visitor's Center and Growers Store at 17th and C Streets. Processing is in full swing for approximately eight months of the year. With up to 1,500 employees during peak season, Blue Diamond® Growers is Sacramento's largest food industry employer.
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