nov-dec-2020

for innovation, knowing that the world would ultimately survive COVID-19 and that our customers would look to Blue Diamond for new sources of growth. For the on-going commitment to innovate unceasingly on new products and for the cross functional innovation teams under the leadership of our Vice President of Innovation, Maya Erwin, thank you. We made the commitment three years ago that Amazon, Blue Diamond ’s 86th largest customer, would be a top five customer within five years. We made early investments in adapting to e-commerce and in recruiting world-class talent like our Director of E-commerce Sales Jonas Paretzkin. This prepared Blue Diamond to rapidly respond after the pandemic accelerated consumers’ adoption of all e-commerce sites. Last year, our e-commerce customer sales more than doubled! You will also not be surprised to learn that two years ahead of schedule, Amazon is Blue Diamond ’s fifth largest customer. Last year, you heard me describe that Blue Diamond is a growth business by choice. I am glad to share that with a great deal of hard work our sales leadership continues to be recognized. For the fourth consecutive year, Blue Diamond was awarded as a fastest growing Consumer Packaged Goods business. We pride ourselves on being nimble. The changes we have made in brand building are another example. Six years ago, we were spending more advertising dollars on magazine and traditional radio than in paid search or social media. Today, we analyze the return on investment for all of our marketing spending. The result is that we are substantially more effective in picking the right messages and the right marketing vehicles to grow your brands. Social media and paid search have proven two and a half times more effective than those old vehicles. In the U.S., television is still effective, but digital vehicles make up our largest and highest returning investments. The quality of our advertising continues to improve and our newest advertising tests at world class levels. On team Blue Diamond is a marketer with 32 years of service who helped lead the original Can A Week campaign. And, as Vice Chair of the Global Marketing Development Committee has significantly influenced the Almond Board of California’s advertising. Most recently he has overseen negotiations with all sports sponsorships and for contracts with advertising agencies. Al Greenlee will be retiring in December. Thank you, Al, for your 32 years of iconic marketing leadership at Blue Diamond ! The team members of Blue Diamond understand that the dollars we invest in new facilities, people or marketing must provide a positive return to our growers. We know that you entrust us with your year’s work in the form of the almond crop. We are proud that Blue Diamond has never been more successful in delivering competitive returns. Over the last decade, we exceeded the previous 10-year advantage of $.01 per pound by delivering an $.11 advantage. Many will recall that seven years ago, we committed to the then very ambitious goal of $.10 per pound. Our capabilities and our ambitions continue to grow. This year we delivered over a $.16 per pound advantage and we have set our future sites on $.20. It is only appropriate that I introduce the Leadership Team at Blue Diamond whose guidance and expertise has made these results possible. • Raj Joshi, Senior Vice President of Global Consumer, who has elevated our consumer sales and marketing to world class levels. • Brian Barczak, Senior Vice President of Global Supply, whose leadership helped Blue Diamond ’s plants and warehouses stay operational through the pandemic. • Simone Denny, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, whose expertise protects Blue Diamond ’s incredibly valuable assets. PRESIDENT’S CORNER 8 A L M O N D F A C T S