BOCA RATON, FLA. — The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. is “in” with millennial consumers, who make up roughly a third of the Lake Success, N.Y.-based company’s business, said John Carroll, executive vice-president and chief executive officer of Hain Celestial North America.
“Millennials account for 32% of Hain's total sales today, as opposed to accounting for only 25% in the total broader food category,” Mr. Carroll said during a Feb. 17 presentation at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York conference at the Boca Raton Resort and Club. “Millennials account for 31% of Hain shopping visits, as opposed to 20% for the total food category. And last but not least, a millennial’s average basket spend is about $100 for Hain as opposed to $56 for the broader food category. So, clearly, Hain is winning with millennials.”
What’s the secret to Hain’s success with the key consumer group?
“We put a lot of work into understanding where the trends are going,” Mr. Carroll said.
Forthcoming innovation expands the company’s BluePrint brand of cold-pressed juices into on-trend categories, including kombucha, ready-to-drink tea and soup. From Imagine, the company is launching ramen broth, miso broth and bone broth. The company also is relaunching Dream almond milk with four times the almond content of other brands, Mr. Carroll said.
By the end of the year, Hain expects one-third of its sales, or about $1 billion, will come from the refrigerated section of the grocery store — where “all the action is,” Mr. Carroll said. In the center of the store, he added, the company competes in high-growth categories of nut butters, healthy oils and snacks.
“Natural snacks, not unlike baby food, or produce, or dairy — these are key entry points for consumers to get into the natural and organic category, because it’s a low-risk buy,” Mr. Carroll said. “The other thing is, the natural and organic snacks category is … less than 10% of the total snacks category, but … that segment is growing six times faster than the total snacks category.”
Recent snack launches from Hain include new Terra heirloom potato chip varieties, Sensible Portions stackable vegetable chips and Garden of Eatin’ bowl-shaped tortilla chips.
“We've been a disruptive product innovator with some really strong record of success,” Mr. Carroll said. “As you think about the numbers I shared with you on millennials, we're uniquely positioned to increase household penetration with health and wellness consumers, and particularly millennials.”
