Celestial Seasonings® Introduces New Line of Organic, Fair Trade Certified™ Estate Teas

BOULDER, Colo., Feb. 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Celestial Seasonings^®, a brand of The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAIN), today announced the launch of its new line of Organic, Fair Trade Certified^™ Estate Teas. Available exclusively at Whole Foods Market^® stores nationwide, the new varieties combine hand-selected tea leaves from premier tea growers around the world to create wholesome, delicious and socially responsible blends.

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"Celestial Seasonings has made products that are good for tea drinkers and good for the world for more than 40 years, and our partnership with Whole Foods Market has allowed us to take the next step," said Jennifer Stolte, senior director of marketing at Celestial Seasonings, Inc. "Our new Estate Teas are ideal for consumers in the natural channel who prefer Certified Organic and Fair Trade Certified products, and they also continue our long history of treating our farming partners with the respect they deserve."

To create their Estate Teas, the master blenders at Celestial Seasonings have carefully selected authentic tea leaves from some of the world's finest tea gardens, including:

• Rukeri Black Tea, Cyohoha Estate, Rwanda – a bright and lively black tea from a successful plantation that's led the economic revival in this central African republic
• Assam Black Tea, Sewpur Estate, India – a rich and malty black tea from an estate that's produced some of the Assam region's finest tea leaves for more than 100 years
• Authentic Green and White Teas, Guzhang Gaofen Organic Tea Cooperative, Hunan Province, China – traditionally grown green teas and delicate white teas from a network of small family farms across the Hunan countryside

Each Celestial Seasonings Estate Tea is Certified USDA Organic to ensure that that its ingredients were grown and processed in accordance with strict, earth-friendly standards, and Certified Fair Trade by Fair Trade USA to support the rural farming communities from which the teas are sourced. They are also Whole Trade^®, which affirms that the teas meet Whole Foods Markets' rigid requirements for ethical ingredient sourcing.

"We have built our business by partnering with brands that share our values and passion for top-notch natural and organic foods," said Dwight Richmond, global grocery purchasing coordinator for Whole Foods Market. "Working with Celestial Seasonings to bring our shoppers this new, exclusive, responsibly-sourced choice was a natural fit."

Available exclusively at Whole Foods Market locations nationwide, Celestial Seasonings Estate Teas allow tea drinkers to "discover the estate difference" in five thoughtfully balanced varieties: English Breakfast Black Tea, Earl Grey Black Tea, Pure Green Tea, Jasmine Green Tea and Perfect Trio, a unique blend of green, white and black teas for an exciting new tea experience. These new blends demonstrate the brand's ongoing commitment to creating wholesome, delicious tea varieties that also help support a healthy planet for everyone.

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Celestial Seasonings, Inc.
For more than 40 years, Celestial Seasonings, Inc. (a subsidiary of The Hain Celestial Group, Inc., NASDAQ: HAIN) has created delicious, natural specialty teas that are good for you and good for the world. The brand currently offers more than 70 unique and healthful varieties of herbal, green, black, wellness, Rooibos and chai teas, as well as ready-to-drink beverages like organic Kombucha and natural shots. Each blend is expertly crafted from the finest herbs, teas, spices and botanicals, and is presented in packaging adorned with the beautiful imagery and inspiring words that are part of the brand's heritage. From calming and relaxing to refreshing and rejuvenating to everyday health and wellness support, there's a Celestial Seasonings^® product for any mood, any moment, any time of day. For more information, visit celestialseasonings.com or facebook.com/CelestialSeasonings.

The Hain Celestial Group, Inc.
The Hain Celestial Group (NASDAQ: HAIN), headquartered in Lake Success, NY, is a leading organic and natural products company in North America and Europe. 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^®, Gluten Free Café^™, Hain Pure Foods^®, Spectrum^®, Spectrum Essentials^®, Walnut Acres Organic^®, Imagine^®, Almond Dream^®, Rice Dream^®, Soy Dream^®, WestSoy^®, The Greek Gods^®, BluePrint^®, 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^®, GG UniqueFiber^®, Tilda^®, Akash Basmati^®, Abu Shmagh^®, JASON^®, Avalon Organics^®, Alba Botanica^® and Queen Helene^®.  Hain Celestial has been providing A Healthier Way of Life^™ since 1993.  For more information, visit www.hain.com.

©2014 Celestial Seasonings, Inc.  All rights reserved. 

SOURCE Celestial Seasonings, Inc.