Blue Diamond reports $1.59 billion in revenue. Almond milk from Turlock is a hit
Blue Diamond Growers had $1.59 billion in revenue in its latest annual report, boosted in part by the new almond milk operation in Turlock. The Sacramento-based cooperative saw a 1.5% increase in the fiscal year ending Aug. 28 over the previous year. It was announced during a Nov. 23-24 online event that replaced the usual luncheon at Modesto Center Plaza.
Blue Diamond employs about 1,800 people at plants in Sacramento, Salida and Turlock, up about 100 from a year ago. It is the biggest player in a California almond industry that accounts for about 80 percent of the global supply. This was the 110th annual meeting for the company, launched in Sacramento in 1910. Plants followed in Salida in 1968 and Turlock in 2013. The Washington Road plant in June added Almond Breeze milk to its slicing, dicing, blanching and almond flour production. Before that, the Sacramento plant made all of this dairy substitute.
The Salida plant long did just basic processing of bulk almonds bound for food makers around the world and the Turlock and Sacramento plants. Last year, the Sisk Road site added dry-roasting and flour production. This past spring, it expanded warehouse space for incoming nuts by 20 percent.