Hain Celestial Announces Accretive Strategic Acquisition

Acquires Live Clean® Personal Care Brand in Canada

Expands Health and Beauty Care Offerings with Diversified Line of Baby, Body and Hair Care Products

LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., Feb. 20, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:  HAIN), a leading organic and natural products company with operations in North America, Europe and India providing consumers with A Healthier Way of Life™, today announced the acquisition of 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 and manufactured in a company facility in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. 

"We are excited by the acquisition of the Live Clean brand, which expands our presence in the personal care category and complements our Avalon Organics®, Alba Botanica® and JASON® brands that we sell into Canada.  This acquisition increases the scale of our Canadian operations to over $150 million in net sales and provides us with opportunities for sales expansion and cost efficiencies as we leverage our existing infrastructure in Canada and our manufacturing and research and development expertise in personal care," said Irwin D. Simon, Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hain Celestial. 

"It is with great pride that I see my family's business become part of the esteemed Hain Celestial Group. I believe under their stewardship the Live Clean brand will reach great heights," said Sandra Belvedere.

The Live Clean brand is the leading natural hair care and baby care brand in Canada. In calendar year 2014 Belvedere had approximately $25 million in net sales and is expected to be accretive to Hain Celestial's earnings in fiscal year 2016.  Belvedere, which was founded by Rocco Donald Belvedere in 1981, was a family-owned company led by Larry Romagnuolo, President and Chief Executive Officer.

"The Live Clean brand establishes a personal care base of operations in Canada for Hain Celestial, which can serve as the foundation for the continued growth of all our personal care brands and provide us with an opportunity to expand the brand beyond the Canadian mass channel," commented Beena Goldenberg, President of Hain Celestial Canada.

"I am pleased the employees of Belvedere are joining Hain Celestial Canada, who can ensure the next level of growth for the personal care business established by my family 34 years ago, and I look forward to working with Beena Goldenberg and the Hain Celestial team in pursuing new opportunities as part of a leading organic and natural products company," said Larry Romagnuolo.

"We thank the Belvedere family for their contributions in creating the Live Clean brand and welcome Larry Romagnuolo as General Manager Hain Celestial Canada Personal Care, who will be responsible for the Live Clean brand as well as our Avalon Organics®, Alba Botanica® and JASON brands in Canada.  We look forward to working with Larry and his team to expand our personal care manufacturing in Canada," concluded Irwin Simon.

The Hain Celestial Group, Inc.
The Hain Celestial Group (NASDAQ: HAIN), headquartered in Lake Success, NY, is a leading organic and natural products company with operations in North America, Europe and India.  Hain Celestial participates in many natural categories with well-known brands that include Celestial Seasonings®, Earth's Best®, Ella's Kitchen®, Terra®, Garden of Eatin'®, Sensible Portions®, Health Valley®, Arrowhead Mills®, MaraNatha®, SunSpire®, DeBoles®, Casbah®, Rudi's Organic Bakery®, Gluten Free Café™, Hain Pure Foods®, Spectrum®, Spectrum Essentials®, Walnut Acres Organic®, Imagine®, Almond Dream®, Rice Dream®, Soy Dream®, WestSoy®, The Greek Gods®, BluePrint®, FreeBird®, Plainville Farms®, Yves Veggie Cuisine®, Europe's Best®, Cully & Sully®, New Covent Garden Soup Co.®, Johnson's Juice Co.®, Farmhouse Fare®, Hartley's®, Sun-Pat®, Gale's®, Robertson's®, Frank Cooper's®, Linda McCartney®, Lima®, Danival®, Natumi®, GG UniqueFiber®, Tilda®, JASON®, Avalon Organics®, Alba Botanica®, Live Clean® and Queen Helene®.  Hain Celestial has been providing A Healthier Way of Life™ since 1993.  For more information, visit www.hain.com.

Safe Harbor Statement
Certain statements contained in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Words such as "plan," "continue," "expect," "expected," "anticipate," "intend", "estimate," "believe," "seek", "may," "potential," "can," "positioned," "should," "future," and similar expressions, or the negative of those expressions, may identify forward-looking statements.  These forward-looking statements include the Company's beliefs or expectations relating to (i) accretion and (ii) growth trends and distribution opportunities.  Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the Company's actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements of the Company, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.  Such factors include, among others, the Company's ability to achieve its guidance for net sales and earnings per diluted share in fiscal year 2015 given the economic environment in the U.S. and other markets that it sells products as well as economic, political and business conditions generally and their effect on the Company's customers and consumers' product preferences, and the Company's business, financial condition and results of operations; changes in estimates or judgments related to the Company's impairment analysis of goodwill and other intangible assets, as well as with respect to the Company's valuation allowances of its deferred tax assets; the Company's ability to implement its business and acquisition strategy; the ability of the Company's joint venture investment to successfully execute its business plan; the Company's ability to realize sustainable growth generally and from investments in core brands, offering new products and its focus on cost containment, productivity, cash flow and margin enhancement in particular; the Company's ability to effectively integrate its acquisitions; the Company's ability to successfully consummate its proposed divestitures; the effects on the Company's results of operations from the impacts of foreign exchange; competition; the success and cost of introducing new products as well as the Company's ability to increase prices on existing products; availability and retention of key personnel; the Company's reliance on third party distributors, manufacturers and suppliers; the Company's ability to maintain existing customers and secure and integrate new customers; the Company's ability to respond to changes and trends in customer and consumer demand, preferences and consumption; international sales and operations; changes in fuel, raw material and commodity costs; changes in, or the failure to comply with, government regulations; the availability of organic and natural ingredients; the loss of one or more of the Company's manufacturing facilities; the ability to use the Company's trademarks; reputational damage; product liability; product recall or market withdrawal; seasonality; litigation; the Company's reliance on its information technology systems; and the other risks detailed from time-to-time in the Company's reports filed with the  SEC, including the annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2014.  As a result of the foregoing and other factors, no assurance can be given as to future results, levels of activity and achievements and neither the Company nor any person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of these statements.

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SOURCE The Hain Celestial Group, Inc.

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