The Hain Celestial Group, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and its subsidiaries
manufacture, market, distribute and sell organic and natural products under
brand names which are sold as “better-for-you” products, providing
consumers with the opportunity to lead A Healthier Way of LifeTM. We are a leader
in many organic and natural products categories, with many recognized brands
in the various market categories they serve. Our brand names include Almond
Dream®, Arrowhead Mills®, Bearitos®, BluePrint®, Celestial Seasonings®,
Cully & Sully®, Danival®, DeBoles®, Earth’s Best®,
Ella’s Kitchen®, Empire®, Europe’s Best®, Farmhouse
Fare®, Frank Cooper’s®, FreeBird®, Gale’s®, Garden
of Eatin’®, GG UniqueFiberTM, Hain Pure Foods®, Hartley’s®,
Health Valley®, Imagine®, Johnson’s Juice Co.®, Joya®,
Kosher Valley®, Lima®, Linda McCartney® (under license), MaraNatha®,
Natumi®, New Covent Garden Soup Co.®, Plainville Farms®, Rice Dream®,
Robertson’s®, Rudi’s Gluten-Free Bakery®, Rudi’s Organic
Bakery®, Sensible Portions®, Spectrum®, Spectrum Essentials®,
Soy Dream®, Sun-Pat®, SunSpire®, Terra®, The Greek Gods®,
Tilda®, Walnut Acres®, WestSoy® and Yves Veggie Cuisine®. Our
personal care products are marketed under the Alba Botanica®, Avalon Organics®,
Earth’s Best®, JASON®, Live Clean® and Queen Helene® brands.
Our mission is to be the leading marketer, manufacturer and seller of organic
and natural products by anticipating and exceeding consumer expectations in
providing quality, innovation, value and convenience. We are committed to growing
our Company sustainably while continuing to implement environmentally sound
business practices and manufacturing processes.
We have acquired numerous companies and brands since our formation and intend
to seek future growth through internal expansion as well as the acquisition
of complementary brands. We consider the acquisition of organic, natural and
“better-for-you” products companies or product lines to be a part
of our business strategy. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2015, we acquired
Belvedere International, Inc., (“Belvedere”) a leader in health
and beauty care products including the Live Clean® brand with approximately
200 baby, body and hair care products as well as several mass market brands
sold primarily in Canada. In addition, we had a minority investment in Hain
Pure Protein Corporation (“HPPC”) through June 30, 2014. HPPC processes,
markets and distributes antibiotic-free, organic and other poultry products.
On July 17, 2014, we acquired the remaining 51.3% of HPPC that we did not already
own at which point HPPC became a wholly-owned subsidiary. Included in the acquisition
was HPPC’s 19% interest in EK Holdings, Inc. (“Empire”), which
was previously recorded as an investment. On March 4, 2015, HPPC purchased the
remaining 81% in Empire that it did not already own, at which point Empire became
a wholly owned subsidiary of HPPC and we began to consolidate the results of
Empire.
Our business strategy within each operating segment is to integrate our brands
under one management team and employ uniform
marketing, sales and distribution programs. We believe that by integrating our
various brands, we will continue to achieve economies of scale and enhanced
market penetration. We seek to capitalize on the equity of our brands and the
distribution achieved through each of our acquired businesses with strategic
introductions of new products that complement existing lines to enhance revenues
and margins.
We also have an investment in a joint venture in Hong Kong with Hutchison China
MediTech Ltd. (“Chi-Med”), a majority owned subsidiary of CK Hutchison
Holdings Limited, a company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, to market
and distribute certain of the Company’s brands in China and other markets.
Certain of our product lines have seasonal fluctuations. Hot tea, baking products,
hot cereal, hot-eating desserts and soup sales are stronger in colder months
while sales of snack foods and certain of our prepared food products are stronger
in the warmer months. Additionally, with our recent acquisitions of HPPC, Empire
and Tilda, our net sales and earnings may further fluctuate based on the timing
of holidays throughout the year. As such, our results of operations and our
cash flows for any particular quarter are not indicative of the results we expect
for the full year and our historical seasonality may not be indicative of future
quarterly results of operations. For fiscal 2016, we anticipate that our net
sales will be the highest in the second fiscal quarter and lowest in the first
fiscal quarter, with the third and fourth fiscal quarters being generally similar
to one another. However, this may be impacted by the timing of any future acquisitions
we complete.