Hain Celestial Group rolls out heavenly entrees

03/26/2005

The Hain Celestial Group, Inc., Melville, N.Y., announced March 24 the launch of several new frozen and refrigerated products under the Hain Pure Foods and Ethnic Gourmet brands. The new items were recently featured at the Natural Products Expo, the largest natural products tradeshow in the United States.

"We continue to be the innovator in the natural and organic sector of the food industry in meeting the needs of health conscious consumers," commented Irwin Simon, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Hain Celestial Group. "We are entering into two of the fastest growing food categories with the launch of our European Recipes frozen vegetable medleys and soups, and we continue to introduce great tasting, restaurant quality frozen meals from our fast growing Ethnic Gourmet line."

With a 75-year history of providing all natural goodness, Hain Pure Foodsserves up the full flavor nature intended with two innovations:

• Frozen European vegetable medleys and soups are frozen within only three hours of harvesting;
  
  
• Refrigerated prepared meat entrees are all-natural from animals raised with no antibiotics or hormones on an all-vegetable diet.

Combining the freshness of the vegetables with the innovative self-steaming serving bowl technology provides naturally higher nutrients than most other vegetables available to consumers.

Hain Pure Foods European Recipes introduces frozen vegetable medleys with delicate seasonings to complement any meal in convenient microwaveable bowls:

• Green Fields
• Country Garden
• Spring Harvest
• Gourmet Beans
• French Harvest
• Tuscan Farm

All natural with no artificial or genetically engineered ingredients or trans fat, Hain Pure Foods European Recipes introduces frozen, healthy, and fresh from the garden, home-style taste soups in convenient microwaveable bowls:

• Minestrone Soup
• Carrot Soup with Coriander
• Mediterranean Soup
• Onion Soup with Grana Padano Cheese

Both Hain Pure Foods European Recipes vegetable medleys and soups are packed in innovative self-steaming bowls for maximum retention of vitamins, nutrients and flavor. They will be available in the frozen section of your supermarkets this Spring.

Hain Pure Foods also has launched a line of all-natural, refrigerated Prepared Meat Entrees, ready to eat in just a few minutes. Blending wholesome, American-grown ingredients with animals raised on all-vegetable diets without antibiotics or hormones from family-owned farms and ranches committed to sustainable agriculture, the recipes feature:

• Beef Meatloaf
• Pork Roast Au Jus
• Pork Carnitas
• Pulled Pork in BBQ Sauce

Hain Pure Foods Prepared Meat Entrees may be found in the refrigerated section of supermarkets nationwide.

Another Hain Celestial brand, Ethnic Gourmet, has expanded its repertoire of frozen dishes with traditional Italian and Southwestern offerings under its Taste of Italy and Taste of Santa Fe lines.

Ethnic Gourmet Taste of Italy features bowls and entrees:

• Chicken Arrabiate
• Vegetarian Osso Buco
• Trofie Pasta with Pesto
• Butternut Squash Ravioli with Gorgonzola Cheese Sauce

Ethnic Gourmet Taste of Santa Fe features the following bowls and entrees:

• Zesty Chicken with Garlic Mashed Potatoes
• Chipotle Vegetarian Chili with Lime Crema
• Lime Chicken with Ancho Chile Sauce
• Relleno Ravioli with Mango Chipotle Salsa

All natural with no artificial or genetically engineered ingredients or trans fat, the chicken in Ethnic Gourmet's recipes is antibiotic- and hormone-free, fed an all-natural diet and raised humanely in a free-to-roam environment. Selected Hain Celestial natural and organic products are available through natural food stores, supermarkets, club stores, mass retailers, drug stores, convenience stores and foodservice.