FDBusiness.com

The Hain Celestial Group, the US-based leading natural and organic products company, has acquired Ella’s Kitchen and formed the Global Infant, Toddler & Kids Division. Ella’s Kitchen is a manufacturer and distributor of premium organic baby food under the Ella’s Kitchen brand and the first company to offer baby food in convenient flexible pouches. Ella’s Kitchen offers a range of 80 branded organic baby food products principally in the United Kingdom, the United States and Scandinavia.

UK-based Ella’s Kitchen generated approximately $70 million in sales in calendar year 2012 and is expected to be accretive to Hain Celestial’s earnings in fiscal year 2014 by $0.05 to $0.08 per diluted share. Details of the transaction were not disclosed. 

Paul Lindley, founder of Ella’s Kitchen, will become chief executive of the new Global Infant, Toddler & Kids Division at Hain Celestial US, with responsibility for Hain Celestial’s Earth’s Best brand as well as the newly acquired Ella’s Kitchen brand. He will report to John Carroll, executive vice president and chief executive of Hain Celestial US.

“We are very excited by the strategic acquisition of Ella’s Kitchen, which complements our Earth’s Best line of infant, toddler and kids products. Our Earth’s Best team has much to be proud of, having grown the brand from less than $15 million in sales in 1999 to over $150 million today, as the first and only full line of organic baby food products with a wide variety of offerings including jars, pouches, formula, cereal, smoothies, snacks, soups, meals and frozen products, diapers and wipes,” says Irwin D Simon, founder, president and chief executive of Hain Celestial. “We plan to grow the Ella’s Kitchen brand by leveraging our distribution platform in the European Union and the United States with the addition of Ella’s Kitchen organic baby food product offerings. We also see the opportunity to expand in the UK market with new feeding and personal care products under the Ella’s Kitchen brand.”