US organic food group Hain Celestial has moved to increase its presence in Europe through two acquisitions – French organic business Danival and Norway cracker maker GG UniqueFiber.

The deals, announced yesterday (3 February), were struck for an undisclosed sum. Hain Celestial said the acquisitions would be “neutral” to earnings in its current fiscal year but “accretive” the following year.

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Danival, a subsidiary of European healthcare company Viva Sante Group, has production facilities in France and sells organic sweet and salted grocery products, plus fruits, vegetables and deli products in that market – and five others across Europe, including the UK. It generated around US$20m in sales in 2010.

Hain Celestial president and CEO Irwin Simon said the acquisition of Danival presented opportunities for both businesses.

“The strategic acquisition of the Danival branded organic product line complements the organic food line of our Lima brand in Europe where organic products have experienced double digit growth in recent years,” Simon said. 

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“We’re excited about the opportunity to grow our global brands, including Lima, Celestial Seasonings teas and Terra chips in France by leveraging the manufacturing, marketing and sales infrastructure of Danival. We expect to expand Danival’s product lines into other channels of distribution in the European Union, the United States and Asia.”

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Danival CEO Thomas Breuzet, who will join Hain Celestial, said combining with the US group’s organic business Lima would strengthen the French firm “in our historical market, organic food shops in France, while allowing us to develop sales of our products in other organic markets in Europe and abroad”. He added: “It’s very positive for Danival.”

Further north in Norway, Hain Celestial has acquired cracker maker GG UniqueFiber, a business that turned over around $2m in sales in 2010.

GG UniqueFiber makes branded grain products that are distributed in the US and the EU, Hain Celestial said, as well as in the Norwegian firm’s domestic market.

Simon pointed to GG crackers, which he described as a “truly unique brand product that’s an excellent source of dietary fibre”. The Hain Celestial chief said the Norwegian business as a whole was “a strategic addition” to the company’s existing whole-grain and high-fibre products.

Atle Johannessen, GG UniqueFiber’s general manager, will stay on with Hain Celestial and said: “We look forward to expanding the reach of our product distribution by partnering with Hain Celestial. Aligning our company and its products with Hain Celestial should allow us to achieve growth and success we could not have achieved as a standalone business.”