• by Aaron Baar , November 26, 2007

Looking to make its Internet presence more consumer-friendly, Diamond Foods has relaunched its Web site, separating out its company information from other information that is more valuable to consumers.

The move was made after research on the company's six-year-old site showed it wasn't very user-friendly, combining both company and consumer information in the same place, Jeff Ngo, Diamond's senior marketing manager, tells Marketing Daily. "We wanted to split it out for a place that consumers could go to find information," Ngo says.

The redesigned site includes more than 200 recipes for general dining and special occasions, all focused on using nuts. It includes a new "Celebrity Kitchen," where celebrity chefs such as Martin Yan and Tina Saller offer recipes and cooking tips. The site also includes a healthy living section, offering tips on how nuts can be a part of a healthy diet.

The Stockton, Calif. company modeled the site on others in the food space that have proved popular with consumers like Epicurious and Everyday Food, Ngo says. "The idea was to take the best practices of others and give people a location with a true brand identity," he says.

Diamond Foods has been promoting the redesigned site through search engine and keyword marketing, as well as with print ads in food titles, Ngo says. Diamond Foods has a 35% market share in the culinary nut category, according to Information Resources Inc. data.

Diamond, which markets both Diamond and Emerald Nuts brands, has also partnered with several other brands--such as Hershey chocolate and Eagle condensed milk--for in-store holiday promotions. During the high-season baking months of November and December, packaging for Diamond and the partner brands will include recipes and instantly redeemable coupons for Diamond products. The promotion carries the message: "Your holiday season just got a whole lot sweeter."

The company's Emerald brand has partnered with Anheuser-Busch for holiday promotions featuring in-store displays and instantly redeemable coupons. It has also distributed about 60 million coupons in free-standing inserts in newspapers for the holidays.