Hain Celestial to trim portfolio, consolidate manufacturing footprint

As part of an effort to strengthen its balance sheet, Hain Celestial is looking to simplify its portfolio assortment and operating footprint.

On May 1, the Hoboken-based consumer packaged goods giant announced it will remove 62% of underperforming stock keeping units (SKU) within its personal care unit.

Within the meal preparation category, Hain is streamlining its Linda McCarney plant-based portfolio to focus more on frozen items currently sold in Europe and the U.K.

In snacks, Hain sold its Thinsters cookie brand last month to Mount Laurel-headquartered J&J Snack Foods Corp ., removing a non-core brand and category from its snacks business. Financial terms of that deal were not disclosed, but Hain said it is utilizing proceeds from the all-cash transaction to pay down company debt.

As for Hain’s baby/kids and beverages categories, the company said it is adjusting those portfolios as part of “ongoing brand maintenance.”

Since July 2023, the company has removed 6% of its SKUs globally and is expected to increase that number over the next two years. As of now, those reductions include all of Hain’s product categories. They are split almost equally between North America and International.

Streamlining and scaling

Hain said it is also continuing to streamline the company’s operating footprint to reduce supply chain complexity. It aims to drive scale in five core geographic regions: Canada, the U.S., Ireland, the U.K., and Western Europe.

For example, selling Thinsters enabled the company to reduce its distribution center needs by two facilities and remove a co-manufacturer from its network.

In meal preparation, Hain consolidated its Yves plant-based manufacturing locations in Canada. It also ended all production and operations within a non-strategic joint venture in India.

Hain was also able to reduce its manufacturing operations for its personal care products down to one facility and eliminate five co-manufacturers from the network. The company’s family of hair care, skincare and sun care brands currently includes Alba Botanica, Jason, Live Clean and Avalon Organics.

Moving forward, the company will continue to identify other opportunities for operating model optimization and to align its footprint in its target regions, according to the press release.

Looking ahead

Hain Celestial is the parent company of brands like Celestial Seasonings tea, Garden of Eatin’ snacks, Terra Chips and Garden Veggies Snacks. It embarked on a multiyear transformation plan last fall, shortly after relocating from Long Island to Hudson County.

Under the plan , Hain aims to streamline and simplify its five core product categories: snacks, meat and dairy alternatives, tea, foods and personal care.



Hain President and CEO Wendy said, “This critical work delivers on the commitments we outlined in the focus pillar of our Hain Reimagined strategy to design a winning portfolio of brands across five categories, and to materially simplify our footprint and leverage scale and synergies across our five core geographies.”

“These actions strengthen our focus on driving a core, hardworking portfolio of brands that produce stronger velocities and remove operational complexity from our supply chain to drive margin expansion,” she said.

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