Kedem buys Kineret brand from Hain Celestial
Kosher Today reports this week that Kedem has bought the Kineret line of frozen kosher foods from Hain Celestial:
Kedem Identified as Buyer of Kineret from Hain Celestial
(Melville, LI) The buyer of the Kineret brand is Kedem Food Products International, it was announced last week. Kosher Today had reported the sale by the Hain Celestial Group (July 5, 2005) but did not disclose the buyer. Kineret produces such kosher ready-to-bake goods, frozen fish, latkes, and onion rings. Industry sources said that the sale made perfect sense as each company was moving in different directions. Hain Celestial was focusing on its core natural and organic brands while Kedem was steadily increasing its food lines and was now moving into frozen. The sources estimated Kineret’s annual sales at approximately $2.5 million, but the terms of the sale were not disclosed. “As we streamline our business with brand and SKU rationalizations, we are focusing on our core natural and organic brands and products. It is with mixed feelings that we sell the Kineret specialty kosher brand, even though the category is growing, since the Kineret brand was one of our first acquisitions,” commented Irwin D. Simon, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Hain Celestial Group. “I am pleased to see the Kineret brand sold to Kedem, an innovator in specialty brands, as they will bring Kineret and Kosherific to another level of success.” Kineret will be a major part of Kedem’s exhibit at Kosherfest.