Hain Celestial Sells Thinsters Brand to Icee Owner J&J Snack Foods

The Hain Celestial Group has sold cookie brand Thinsters to Icee and Dippin’ Dots owner J&J Snack Foods Corp. in an all-cash transaction. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The sale, closed on Monday, aligns with Hain’s previously announced multi-year transformation plan, Hain Reimagined, which aims to refocus the company’s portfolio of better-for-you brands across five growth categories: snacks, baby and kids’ food, beverages, meal preparation and personal care.

“Divesting Thinsters further streamlines our supply chain network and strengthens our ability to focus our efforts on driving greater reach and scale of our core better-for-you brands across our categories of focus,” said Wendy Davidson, Hain Celestial president and CEO, in a statement, adding that proceeds from the transaction will be used to pay down company debt.

Hain acquired Thinsters – the producer of clean-label cookie crisps sold in a variety of flavors – in 2021 as part of a $259 million deal with That’s How We Roll, the owner of Proven Brands, Inc., and KTB Foods, Inc. The transaction also included oven-baked cheese snack brand ParmCrisps.

In 2023, Hain wrote down over half the purchase price of Thinsters and ParmCrisps due in part to the declining popularity of the keto diet and associated products.

According to today’s announcement, Hain will continue to advance its transformation plan’s Four Pillar Efforts – focus, grow, build and fuel – through operating model optimization and aligning its footprint in five core geographies including the U.S., Canada, the U.K, Ireland and Western Europe.

In Q1 FY 2024, Hain reported a 3.3% sales drop (versus a 2% drop in Q4 2023) as the impact of Hain Reimagined is being felt, Davidson said in a prepared statement. Within its North America segment, net and organic sales decreased by 9.8% and 9.3% respectively, which Davidson attributed to the impact of the baby formula crisis and declines in personal care sales.

Founded in 1971, New Jersey-based J&J Snack Foods has completed over 30 transactions and successfully scaled brands such as SuperPretzel, Icee, Luigi’s Italian Ice and, most recently, Dippin’ Dots, acquired in June 2022.

“This acquisition is a natural fit for us, complementing our already vast offering of cookies and baked goods,” said Dan Fachner, president and CEO at J&J Snack Foods, in a press release. “We look forward to leveraging our strengths to expand distribution and introduce Thinsters cookies to a wider audience.”