HOBOKEN, NJ. — Hain Celestial Group Inc. is putting in motion a program to make its brands “first to mind, first to find,” said Wendy P. Davidson, president and chief executive officer.

Speaking with analysts during a first-quarter conference call on Nov. 7, Davidson said the company’s organization in North America has undergone a redesign of its commercial structure “to better align our go-to-market model for improved customer focus and consumer engagement.”

“This new organizational design went live in the first quarter to enable, unlock and drive accelerated growth moving forward into fiscal 2025,” Davidson said. “We’ve said before that Hain is a very different company as we transform into an integrated enterprise. We are leveraging insights and expertise across global categories, driving synergies across functions and leveraging scale in our supply chain.

“Key retail partners are beginning to take notice of the changes, which are driving improved relationships, increased distribution, category advisory opportunities and strategic conversations around our brands. We expect this to be a key enabler of our pivot to growth.”

As it pivoted, Hain first had to deal with several expected headwinds in the first quarter. A promotion timing shift in snacks, a late recovery in its infant formula supply and stock-keeping unit reductions all weighed on financials in the first quarter of fiscal 2025.

Hain Celestial sustained a loss of $19.66 million in the first quarter ended Sept. 30, which compared with a loss of $10.38 million in the same period of fiscal 2024.

Net sales fell 7.2% to $394.6 million from $425.03 million. In the snacks business, sales totaled $99 million, down 15% from the same period a year ago, primarily reflecting the timing shift of a promotional event.

Despite the sluggish results, Davidson said Hain Celestial has a “significant opportunity to drive availability and reach with key brands that have brand awareness of 70% or more yet household penetration in the low teens, some even in the single digits.”

“As we’ve said before, we have beloved brands, but we have made them very hard to find, driving distribution expansion will be a key enabler to meet this consumer demand,” she said. “We have a clear line of sight to growth in the back half of fiscal 2025 with a number of initiatives in place, including promotional activity and snacks that shifted into the third quarter, the return to full supply and rebuild of our Earth's Best infant formula business, the ramp-up of key brand campaigns and the lapping of our portfolio simplification initiatives, primarily in personal care.”

Specific to snacks, Davidson said Hain Celestial continues to see strong interest for Flavor Burst tortilla chips, which she described as the No. 1 new launch in the better-for-you salty snack category. She said repeat for Flavor Burst is accelerating and sales are 80% incremental to the Garden Veggie brand.

In addition, the company’s YUMbelievably Delicious campaign for the Garden Veggie brand has flourished, she said. Since launching in the first quarter, the campaign has generated nearly 41 million impressions across the United States and Canada, she said.