The Hain Celestial Group, a US-based organic and natural products company, is exploring sale of its pure protein business to focus on core brands.
The business, known as Hain Pure Protein, comprises the company’s organic poultry business which is not part of its future strategy.
The pure protein business features brands like Freebird organic chicken, Plainville Farms organic turkey and Empire Kosher Poultry.
Hain Celestial disclosed its plans to sell the business during the release of its financial results for the second quarter ended 31 December 2017.
The sale will be taken up as part of the organic food company’s plan to streamline its overall brand portfolio.
The move is expected to improve the company's stockholder value and position itself for future growth.
During the second quarter, Hain Pure Protein’s net sales grew 4% to $159m compared to the same period in the previous year.
Hain Celestial founder, president and CEO Irwin Simon said: “The category for fresh, organic, antibiotic-free protein remains strong. While we continue to believe that this is a highly attractive business with very good growth potential . . . we have determined it is not core to our go-forward strategy.”
Overall, the net sales of Hain Celestial surged 5% to $775.2m in Q2, compared to the same time period in the previous year.
Simon said: “We are pleased with the increase in net sales and profitability across our international business segments for the second quarter along with contributions from various brands in the United States, which reflects our well-diversified geographic portfolio.
“Our team remains intently focused on generating the growth we believe we are capable of achieving from our brand building efforts.”
In December 2017, Hain Celestial signed a deal to acquire Clarks UK, a manufacturer of natural sweeteners, for an undisclosed price. Prior to that, it had acquired The Yorkshire Provender, a UK-based manufacturer of branded soup.
