PRESIDENT’S CORNER
When I look back at where we started, I am proud of how the team has come together to develop a new strategic plan and set it into action. We remain focused on strengthening our core business, accelerating international markets, and expanding into new areas such as food service. Now, we are beginning to see the result of our efforts and we continue to persist despite all the headwinds. Those headwinds are not small — lower price of almonds, poor crops impacted by significant weather events, and a high inflationary environment are challenges that we have all been facing. However, we are starting to see some real wins, and the team and I are excited about our growth plans for Blue Diamond.
We have secured some great deals with large supermarkets and grocery chains across the U.S. and will continue to grow our relationships with these big retailers, among others. You have heard me say that expanding our international footprint is key for our growth and the Canadian market is one of the areas where we are building the brand and distribution. Soon you will start to see us on the shelves in Canadian retail stores such as Dollarama and Walmart. From co- branding agreements to new partnerships in the pipeline in Asia and Europe, we are leaving no stone unturned. I am looking forward to sharing further details with you on these wins and more. This April, I will join Mel on a webinar to talk about our progress, so keep an eye out for the link and tune in. As you all know, last year’s weather during the bloom proved difficult. This year we are looking a bit better! Although we had storms in the early days of bloom that saturated the orchards and hindered bee activity, particularly in the Sacramento Valley, weather conditions have provided ample opportunities for pollination. Right now, the orchard backdrop across the landscape is stunning. We will have to wait and see what the weather conditions will be like now through mid-April before we can determine the size of the crop. However, I am optimistic and very much looking forward to seeing what this year’s harvest will look like.
In addition to the crop challenges from last year, Blue Diamond has also been facing tough market conditions and consumers have been choosing cheaper options in the snack nuts and plant-based milk categories. Although we expect to see an uptick as soon as consumer confidence increases, we know consumers can be unpredictable. These are challenging times and Blue Diamond , like almost every business right now, has had to manage through that. Thankfully, as a 113-year-old company, this is not our first experience with challenging times, and we know how to weather the storms. Above all, we need to ensure we are cost efficient and one of the ways we have done that recently was through staff reductions. During COVID-19, we strengthened our organization to be able to support the demand and now, like many other companies, we have cut back and realigned with current market conditions. Importantly though, while we have pulled back in some areas, we continue to grow in others, specifically sales. We recently hired a Director of Canada to grow that important market for us and a Director of Food Service to target new partners and customers in this space. Blue Diamond continues to grow aggressively in these targeted areas where we know we can get the greatest returns.
Kai Bockmann President & CEO
6
ALMOND FACTS
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker