Hain Celestial sells Danival brand to European organic food company

The Hain Celestial Group Inc., a leading global organic and natural products company, today announced that it has completed the divestiture of Danival to a subsidiary of Wessanen N.V.

Danival is a line of soups, sauces and side dishes based on traditional foods of southwest France, according to the company's European website.

Details of the transaction were not disclosed. Wessanen N.V., based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, recently was certified as a B Corp, the first multinational food business in Europe to be so cited.

Mark L. Schiller, Hain Celestial's president and chief executive officer, said, "We are pleased to complete the strategic sale of Danival in Europe to Wessanen, a leader in healthy and sustainable food in the European market. This transaction helps to further our brand portfolio simplification journey as we continue to improve our margins and cash flow to fuel long term sustainable growth and profitability."

As part of a strategic plan implemented in 2018, Hain Celestial began divesting its less-profitable brands and SKUs.

During the third quarter, Hain Celestial sold three brands—Casbah, Europe's Best and Rudi's Organic Bakery—that had generated $30 million in sales but EBITDA of only $1 million. It also started shutting down three unprofitable brands, DeBole's, Little Bear and Gluten Free Bakery.

The company reported top-line growth in North America for the third quarter, which ended March 31—the first time in 10 quarters. Performance had improved even before the coronavirus pandemic triggered a surge of  what's been called pantry-loading buying, Schiller said in May.

The company's fiscal year ended in June, but it has not yet announced when it will release its 2020 earnings.

Source: Hain Celestial