Leading organic and natural products company Hain Celestial Group Inc. has acquired Tilda Ltd., a leading premium 100 percent branded basmati and specialty rice products company.
The Tilda brand has more than 60 dry rice and ready-to-heat branded products under the names Tilda, Akash Basmati and Abu Shmagh in more than 40 countries, principally in the United Kingdom, the Middle East and North Africa, continental Europe, North America and India.
In 2013, Tilda generated approximately $190 million in net sales and is expected to be accretive to Hain Celestial’s adjusted earnings in the second half of fiscal 2014.
Tilda, which was founded by the Thakrar family in 1972, has been credited with being the first company to bring basmati rice to the Western world. Basmati rice can only be grown in the Himalayan foothills and is known for its unique aroma and distinctive nutty taste. Tilda basmati rice is rich in nutrients and natural fiber, gluten-free, and does not contain genetically modified organisms (GMO).
“We are very excited by the strategic acquisition of Tilda, which expands our worldwide better-for-you product portfolio into the premium basmati rice category along with other specialty rice products,” said Irwin D. Simon, founder, president and CEO of Hain Celestial, based in Lake Success, N.Y. “We plan to grow the Tilda brand further using our existing solid distribution platform in the United States, Canada and Europe with basmati and ready-to-heat rice product offerings.
“Additionally, Tilda’s existing, fast-growing markets in the Middle East, North Africa and India provide us with new markets for expansion of our global brands, including Earth’s Best, Ella’s Kitchen, Celestial Seasonings, Terra, Rice Dream and Almond Dream, to name a few.”
Shilen Thakrar of the founding family said: “The global market for basmati rice has grown strongly over the last several years. At the same time, the growth in the ready-to-heat market has also been strong. We believed Tilda needed to align with a company with the full resources, size and scale of Hain Celestial and its global platform of products in order to realize the full worldwide potential of our rice brands.”
