MEXICO CITY — Grupo LALA, S.A.B. de C.V., a Mexican Company focused on healthy and nutritious foods (“LALA”) (BMV “LALAB”), today announced that it has entered into a multi-year license agreement with Blue Diamond Growers to market and distribute Blue Diamond Almond Breeze® almond-based beverages in Mexico.
“LALA’s partnership with Blue Diamond Growers strengthens our product portfolio, market-leading brands and an almond-based innovation pipeline to complement LALA’s robust suite of exceptional products within our protein-based portfolio. This also reinforces our premiumization strategy to offer customers a diverse range of healthy and nutritious options,” said Mauricio Leyva, CEO of Grupo LALA. He added, “I am confident that partnering with the global almond leader, complemented by our LALA’s strong commercialization capabilities, will result in a successful long-term relationship that could continue to expand into other categories in the future.”
“Mexico is a key market for Blue Diamond Growers in Latin America and one of the most relevant for the company’s growth. Blue Diamond Growers has been making a significant investment in developing its international business and the Blue Diamond Almond Breeze® brand globally,” said Mark Jansen, President and CEO of Blue Diamond Growers. “As the #1 almond milk brand globally, we are excited to partner with the strength and leadership of LALA in the Mexican market to grow Almond Breeze® Almondmilk in Mexico.”
As part of this relationship, Blue Diamond Growers will source almond-based raw materials and provide its technical and quality-oriented expertise with benefit of Blue Diamond’s industry-leading almond based innovation. Grupo LALA will provide local and regional market knowledge while leveraging its production and distribution capabilities.
Blue Diamond Almond Breeze® will coexist with Grupo LALA’s Vita Almendras beverage, which has a different formulation and product positioning. The products will enable LALA to participate in two different market segments; Blue Diamond Almond Breeze® expansion into the premium market and Soy Vita to address the mainstream, value market.
The initial product launch is expected in the first quarter of 2019.
About LALA
Grupo LALA, a Mexican company focused on the healthy and nutritious food industry, has more than 65 years of experience in the production, innovation and distribution of milk, dairy products and beverages at the highest levels of quality. LALA operates 31 production plants and 176 distribution centers in Mexico, Brazil, the United States and Central America. The Company is supported by more than 38,000 employees. LALA operates a fleet of more than 7,000 units for the distribution of more than 600 products that reach more than 578,000 points of sale. LALA®, Nutri Leche® and Vigor® appear in its extensive brand portfolio. For more information visit: www.lala.com.mx
About Blue Diamond
Blue Diamond Growers is the world’s leading almond marketer and processor. It led the development of California’s almond industry since it was formed as a nonprofit, grower-owned cooperative over 100 years ago. Today, Blue Diamond has over 3,000 growers across California. Blue Diamond is dedicated to delivering the benefits of almonds around the world and does so by providing high-quality almonds, almond ingredients and branded products. Headquartered in Sacramento, the company employs more than 1,500 people throughout its processing plants, receiving stations and gift shops. To learn more about Blue Diamond Growers, visit www.bluediamond.com.
Grupo LALA is listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange under the ticker “LALAB “
