Rajnish Ohri, managing director, IMEA, Hain Celestial Group, a leading organic and natural products company with operations in North America, Middle East, Europe, and India tells us about the company’s expansion plans.
Tell us about your company
Our Purpose is to create and inspire A Healthier Way of Life and our mission is to be the leading marketer, manufacturer, and seller of organic and natural better-for-you products.
We are committed to growing sustainably while continuing to implement environmentally sound business practices and manufacturing processes.
Tell us about your business in the ME
Hain Celestial has been involved in providing healthy, sustainable food and personal care products long before consumers became wary of healthier lifestyle trends. We can proudly say that 99% of our products are natural with more than 40% certified organic.
We service the market by meeting the growing trends with our brands like Tilda – Organic & natural Rice, ready-to-heat, Rice bran oil, oats etc.; TERRA vegetable chips; Sensible Portions – Veggie snacks; Garden of Eatin – Organic corn tortilla chips; Dream – Plan and grain based beverages; Earth’s Best – Organic baby food; Live Clean – Natural (atleast 97% plant derived) baby personal care and Avalon Organics – Organic personal care, to name a few.
Our success is being measured with the acceptance of our offering to the consumer. The consumer’s feedback shows that products we have introduced are as per market trends.
Consumer preference is of high importance to us than just the market share value. Our measure of success is also defined by making sure we are the leader of the latest trends in the food and personal care segments. The smiles that we bring upon our consumers when they use our products is the ultimate satisfaction for us.
What new products are you launching here
We are expanding our Middle East portfolio to refine the categories of organic and natural products, notably baby nutrition and care, in the UAE. The organisation, which is a subsidiary of Tilda Hain, recently introduced a number of brands to cater to eco-conscious consumers, further enriching its existing selection of certified products across popular hypermarkets across the UAE.
What are your expansion plans?
Our headquarters are based in Dubai, and boast a market presence in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Oman. The group is currently setting up a facility in India in order to serve the MENA region with more variants. While the UAE is nowhere compared to the US markets in terms of development stage, these are signs that show positive growth. This is further demonstrated by the increase in supermarket shelves dedicated to healthy food. How do we fit in? We aim to declutter the category and execute plans, such that a consumer can be empowered to buy what he really needs straight from the shelf.
