Hain Celestial has offloaded another US snacks asset with the sale of the ParmCrisps brand.
The disposal of ParmCrisps follows the divestiture of the Thinsters cookie line in April to J&J Snack Foods. Both were the subject of an impairment charge of almost $157m by New York-based Hain last year, resulting in a third-quarter loss of around $116m.
While Hain did not reveal the price received for ParmCrisps, which was sold to US snacks company Our Home, the brand and that of Thinsters were bought for $259m from fellow business That’s How We Roll in 2021.
Our Home, headquartered in New Jersey, owns the snacks brands Real Food From the Ground Up and Food Should Taste Good.
The company added Pop Secret to its portfolio last week, buying the brand from Campbell Soup Co. In May, Our Home also acquired Sonoma Creamery snacks.
Hain said today (3 September) that funds raised from the sale of ParmCrisps would be used to pay down debt, adding the “transaction further optimises Hain's better-for-you portfolio and streamlines its supply chain to drive greater operational efficiency and margin expansion”.
President and CEO Wendy Davidson said: “By divesting ParmCrisps, we can continue to prioritise driving market reach and category scale of our core better-for-you brands.
“This transaction further simplifies our better-for-you portfolio and streamlines our supply chain for operational efficiency and margin expansion.”
Commenting on the impairment last year, Davidson said ParmCrisps had experienced a “significant loss of distribution”, while Thinsters was the victim to general “softness” in North American snacks.
Aaron Greenwald, the founder and CEO of Our Home, said in a LinkedIn post: “We are very excited to have the ParmCrisps manufacturing family join our team.
"The combination of our Sonoma Creamery and ParmCrisps talent will drive tremendous IP and knowledge sharing, benefitting both brands, our retail partners, and most importantly, our customers."
Soon after taking the reins at Hain in January 2023, Davidson launched her Reimagined 2027 strategy to focus the business on five core product areas, although snacks was one of them. The other four include baby and kids’ foods, meal prep, beverages such as tea and personal care.
Hain added today that the disposal of ParmCrisps “will reduce its manufacturing footprint and co-manufacturer network while also streamlining its vendor base”.
Fiscal 2025 will be focused on “commercial execution and leveraging the benefits of its scale model to expand reach and accelerate top- and bottom-line growth to deliver long-term shareholder value”, Hain said.
For the 2024 financial year, Hain reported debt of $744m, down from $829m at the start of the year.
Sales in the 12 months to 30 June dropped 3% on a reported basis to $1.74bn, while in organic terms they were down 2%.
The company’s operating loss was narrowed to $19m from $85.6m, while net losses shrank to $75m from $117m.
Guidance for the new year was set out for “flat or better” organic growth.
