Hain: Takes Strategic Actions to Simplify Business

Hoboken / NJ. (hc) The Hain Celestial Group Inc., a leading manufacturer of better-for-you brands to inspire healthier living, announced strategic actions the company is taking to progress the Focus pillar of its «Hain Reimagined» business strategy. Key initiatives include category-wide SKU reductions, consolidation of its operating footprint, and streamlining its co-manufacturing network, globally. The steps Hain has taken are unlocking annualized savings, generating operating cash flow to pay down debt and driving gross margin expansion.

«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,» said President and CEO Wendy Davidson,. «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.»

Global SKU Reduction to Shape a Winning Portfolio

Hain is designing a winning portfolio by actively assessing and streamlining its brand portfolios. Since July 2023, the company has removed 6 percent of its SKUs globally and is expected to increase that number over the next two years. Today, those reductions are split almost equally between North America and International and include brands across the Snacks, Baby/Kids, Beverages, Meal Prep and Personal Care categories.

• The largest SKU reductions are occurring within Hain’s Personal Care business, which includes hair care, skin care and sun care under several brands. As part of a comprehensive assessment, Hain is removing 62 percent of underperforming SKUs in the portfolio, which will enable the team to prioritize products that have higher velocities to improve the portfolio’s growth and margin expansion. This work is being executed in phases to ensure a smooth transition for customers.
• In Meal Prep, the company is streamlining its «Linda McCartney» Plant-Based (Meat Free) portfolio, which includes a focus on the frozen portfolio that is sold in Europe and the UK.
• In Snacks, Hain announced the sale of the «Thinsters» cookie brand in April, enabling the company to remove a non-core brand and category from its Snacks business and utilize cash proceeds to pay down debt.
• And in the Baby/Kids and Beverages categories, Hain is adjusting its portfolios as part of ongoing brand maintenance.

Operating Footprint Simplification to Reduce Supply Chain Complexity

Hain is also streamlining its operating footprint and leveraging synergies across the business to drive scale as the company focuses in five core geographies: the U.S., Canada, UK, Ireland and Western Europe.

• Within Personal Care, Hain announce that it is consolidating its manufacturing footprint down to one facility and eliminating five co-manufacturers from the network. This initiative will help to expand overall gross margins through improved capacity utilization and lower manufacturing costs. The phased approached is expected to be completed in late summer/early fall 2024.
• In Snacks, the «Thinsters» divestiture enabled Hain to reduce its distribution center needs by two and removed a co-manufacturer from its network, generating annualized cost savings.
• In Meal Prep, Hain consolidated its «Yves» Plant-Based (Meat Free) manufacturing plants in Canada in late fiscal 2023. This move has enabled greater capacity utilization and delivered overall operational efficiencies and focus for the Yves brand.
• In April, Hain ceased all production and operations within its non-strategic joint venture in India, which further streamlines the company’s manufacturing footprint. Hain will continue to supply products in the IMEA region through the International operating segment.

As Hain is in the foundational year of its Hain Reimagined strategy, the company is continuing to identify opportunities to further simplify and streamline the business through optimizing its operating model, leveraging synergies and scale and continuing to focus on shaping a winning portfolio. These efforts will unlock savings to further de-leverage the balance sheet and reinvest in brand building, channel expansion and innovation.