Acquires Orchard House Foods Limited
Expands Fruit and Beverage Product Offerings in the
United Kingdom
LAKE SUCCESS, New York,
Dec. 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The
Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAIN), a leading organic
and natural products company with operations in North America, Europe and India providing consumers with A Healthier Way
of Life™, today announced the acquisition by Hain Celestial United
Kingdom, through one of its wholly-owned subsidiaries, of Orchard
House Foods Limited ("Orchard House"), a leader in prepared fruit,
juices, fruit desserts and ingredients with facilities in Corby and
Gateshead in the United
Kingdom. Orchard House supplies leading retailers, on-the-go
food outlets, food service providers and manufacturers in the
United Kingdom.
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"We are excited about the acquisition of Orchard House, which
expands our presence in the on-trend fresh category with prepared
fruit, drinks and desserts. Orchard House provides us with
the opportunity to expand fruit product offerings into continental
Europe, as well as new product
development with cold pressed juice and branded fruit product
offerings in the United Kingdom. Additionally, we expect
sales and operating efficiencies in terms of fruit procurement
across our businesses around the world," said Irwin D. Simon, Founder, President and Chief
Executive Officer of Hain Celestial. "Along with the
acquisition comes innovative new processing technology to expand
the shelf life of fresh fruit and juices. We also believe
there may be opportunities to leverage Orchard House's expertise
into new branded product offerings in fruit, juice and bars under
the Ella's Kitchen®, Hartley's®, Johnson's Juice Co.® and Sun-Ripe®
brands."
"This is a truly exciting acquisition, increasing our product
offerings to meet consumers' desire for a healthier lifestyle and
the "5 A DAY" Live Well Healthy Living for Everyone" initiative in
the United Kingdom. Orchard House brings new capacity and
opportunities for accelerated growth across a number of categories,
including the development of our existing branded ranges and new
brands presently being prepared for launch," said Jeremy Hudson, Chief Executive Officer of Hain
Daniels Group.
"We welcome James Skidmore,
Managing Director, who will report to Jeremy Hudson, and we look forward to working
with James and the rest of the leadership team to expand our
business in the United Kingdom and
into continental Europe,"
concluded Irwin Simon.
In fiscal year 2016 the Company expects between approximately
$60 and $65 million in net sales and
modest accretion to Hain Celestial's earnings from Orchard
Foods. Founded in 1985, Orchard House was owned by Wellness
Foods Ltd. The acquisition requires formal clearance from the
Competition Market Authority in the United Kingdom. Until
formal clearance has been received, Hain
Daniels and Orchard House will continue to operate
independently; thereafter, the Company expects to deliver synergies
and explore growth opportunities. The financial results of
Orchard House will be consolidated into the Company's United Kingdom operating segment.
The Hain Celestial Group, Inc.
The Hain Celestial
Group (NASDAQ: HAIN), headquartered in Lake Success, NY, is a leading organic and
natural products company with operations in North America, Europe and India. Hain Celestial
participates in many natural categories with well-known brands that
include Celestial Seasonings®, Earth's Best®, Ella's Kitchen®,
Terra®, Garden of Eatin'®, Sensible Portions®, Health Valley®,
Arrowhead Mills®, MaraNatha®, SunSpire®, DeBoles®, Casbah®, Rudi's
Organic Bakery®, Gluten Free Café™, Hain Pure Foods®, Spectrum®,
Spectrum Essentials®, Walnut Acres Organic®, Imagine®, Almond
Dream®, Rice Dream®, Soy Dream®, WestSoy®, The Greek Gods®,
BluePrint®, FreeBird®, Plainville Farms®, Empire®, Kosher Valley®,
Yves Veggie Cuisine®, Europe's
Best®, Cully & Sully®, New Covent Garden Soup Co.®, Johnson's
Juice Co.®, Farmhouse Fare®, Hartley's®, Sun-Pat®, Gale's®,
Robertson's®, Frank Cooper's®, Linda
McCartney®, Lima®, Danival®, Happy®, Joya®, Natumi®, GG
UniqueFiber®, Tilda®, JASON®, Avalon Organics®, Alba Botanica®,
Live Clean® and Queen Helene®. Hain Celestial has been providing A
Healthier Way of Life™ since 1993. For more information,
visit www.hain.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
Certain statements contained in
this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. Forward-looking statements are predictions based on
expectations and projections about future events, and are not
statements of historical fact. You can identify forward-looking
statements by the use of forward-looking terminology such as
"plan", "continue", "expect", "anticipate", "intend", "predict",
"project", "estimate", "likely", "believe", "might", "seek", "may",
"remain", "potential", "can", "should", "could", "future" and
similar expressions, or the negative of those expressions. These
forward-looking statements include the Company's beliefs or
expectations relating to (i) product offerings and development;
(ii) sales and operating efficiencies; and (iii) growth and
distribution opportunities. Such forward-looking statements involve
known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may
cause the actual results, levels of activity, performance or
achievements of the Company, or industry results, to be materially
different from any future results, levels of activity, performance
or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements. Such factors include, among others, general economic
and financial market conditions; competition; our ability to
respond to changes and trends in customer and consumer demand,
preferences and consumption; our reliance on third party
distributors, manufacturers and suppliers; the consolidation or
loss of a significant customer; our ability to introduce new
products and improve existing products; availability and retention
of key personnel; our ability to effectively integrate our
acquisitions; our ability to successfully consummate any proposed
divestitures; liabilities arising from potential product recalls,
market withdrawals or product liability claims; outbreaks of
diseases or food-borne illnesses; potential litigation; the
availability of organic and natural ingredients; our ability to
manage our supply chain effectively; changes in fuel, raw material
and commodity costs; effects of climate change on our business and
operations; our ability to offset input cost increases; the
interruption, disruption or loss of operations at one or more of
our manufacturing facilities; the loss of one or more of our
independent co-packers; the disruption of our transportation
systems; risks associated with expansion into countries in which we
have no prior operating experience; risks associated with our
international sales and operations, including foreign currency
risks; impairment in the carrying value of our goodwill or other
intangible assets; our ability to use our trademarks; reputational
damage; changes in, or the failure to comply with, government laws
and regulations; liabilities or claims with respect to
environmental matters; our reliance on independent certification
for our products; a breach of security measures; our reliance on
our information technology systems; effects of general global
capital and credit market issues on our liquidity and cost of
borrowing; potential liabilities not covered by insurance; the
ability of joint venture investments to successfully execute
business plans; dilution in the value of our common shares; and the
other risks detailed from time-to-time in the Company's reports
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the
annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2015. As a result of the foregoing and
other factors, no assurance can be given as to the future results,
levels of activity and achievements of the Company, and neither the
Company nor any person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and
completeness of these statements.