Diamond Foods expand packaging capacity in UK Kettle Chips Plant

Diamond Foods, Inc. today announced a $10 million expansion of its production facility in Norwich, UK to meet increasing demand.

The Kettle(R) brand has experienced significant growth driven by the introduction of its new Kettle(R) Ridge Crisp line, the expansion of its Kettle(R) Chip Sharing, Single Serve and Multi-Pack lines and an increased penetration in both the Impulse Channel and international markets.

The Kettle(R) brand performed well during the important Christmas holiday season, up 13% for the twelve weeks ending December 25, 2010 and up 19% in the four weeks running up to Christmas according to scanner data.

"We are continuing to drive strong growth in a tough marketplace and see a lot of opportunity to sustain this trend,"said Jeremy Bradley, Managing Director for Kettle Foods Europe. "It's a credit to the work of the Norwich team that Diamond is making this investment, which supports our plans for growth and will create a number of new jobs for the region."

The expansion is anticipated to get underway in the spring and includes new packaging lines, an increase in multi-packing capability and enhancements to employee facilities.