Food company Hain Celestial finds buyer for its European division

The American company Hain Celestial, owner of organic and plant-based brands such as Lima, Rice Dream, Natumi, and Ella’s Kitchen, is selling its European operations to the investment group Aurelius.

No stranger to the market

The American group, which aims to reduce its debt, had been looking for a buyer for some time. It has now found one: Aurelius is paying $323 million (280 million euros) for the European division, which has operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Austria, Germany, and Belgium.

Hain Celestial owns, among others, the organic brand Lima in Belgium, the plant-based beverage producer Natumi in Germany, the Austrian brand Joya, the Irish brand Cully & Sully, and British brands such as Linda McCartney Foods, New Covent Garden, and the organic baby and children’s food brand Ella’s Kitchen.

The buyer is no stranger to the retail sector: Aurelius acquired the cosmetics chain The Body Shop in 2023 (but sold the company shortly thereafter) and was also tipped earlier this year as a potential buyer for Carrefour’s Belgian operations —a sale that is no longer on the table.