Irwin Simon, founder, CEO and president of Hain Celestial, said during the Barclays Global Consumer Staples Conference on September 9 that the company has become a growing player in the U.S. poultry industry.
Given the diversified natural and organic food company’s significant growth in its 21-year history, and current demand trends for organic and antibiotic-free poultry, it seems reasonable to believe the company’s presence in the poultry industry will continue to grow.
Since its beginning, the company headquartered in Lake Success, New York, has grown to be the parent company of dozens of brands. All of Hain Celestial’s subsidiaries have been established, ironically, through inorganic growth.
“We never created a brand from scratch. We went out there and bought brands that were started by founders, entrepreneurs that couldn’t take it to the next level,” said Simon.
Within the past 15 months, those acquisitions have helped Hain Celestial increase its presence in the poultry industry. Hain Celestial is now the full owner of Hain Pure Protein and Empire Kosher.
A quick look at the WATTAgNet Top Poultry Companies Database shows that Hain Pure Protein is tied with Gentry Poultry as the 30th largest broiler company in the United States, and Empire Kosher is tied with Murray’s Chickens as the country’s 32nd largest broiler company. Adding the total weekly ready-to-cook production of those two companies in 2014 would result in Hain Celestial becoming the nation’s 27th largest broiler company.
Simon is expecting big things in the coming year from Hain Pure Protein, whose brands now include Plainville Farms, Freebird and Empire.
The company has recently launched chicken deli meat programs under the Freebird label and turkey deli meat program under the Plainville label, and Simon sees great opportunities in the deli meat category, as well as in the tray pack and value-added categories.
How much of a player Hain Celestial will be in the poultry industry in the coming years remains to be seen, but Simon is fully aware that the millennial generation is having an increasing influence in the marketplace, and that many members of that generation desire the type of poultry products Hain Celestial is already producing.
“It’s all antibiotic-free and organic. We just continue to see the growth in that category. As consumers want to eat less and less meat and less and less pork, they want more and more antibiotic-free and organic protein,” said Simon.
