Hain Celestial buys Basmati rice expert Tilda

13-Jan-2014 - Last updated on 12-Feb-2014 at 15:00 GMT

Organic and natural products giant Hain Celestial Group has acquired UK-based specialty rice products company Tilda - known for its Basmati rice - for an undisclosed sum.

Tilda - which distributes dry rice and ready-to-heat products under the Tilda, Akash, Basmati and Abu Shmagh brands in over 40 countries - generated approximately $190m in net sales in 2013. Its UK-based management team will stay on.

Founded by the Thakrar family in 1972, Tilda has been credited with being the first company to bring Basmati rice - known for its unique aroma and nutty taste - to the western world, said Hain CEO Irwin D. Simon.

“We plan to grow the Tilda brand further using our existing solid distribution platform in the United States, Canada and Europe... Additionally, Tilda's existing, fast-growing markets in Middle East and 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."

tilda-pure-basmati-rice — Sales of Basmati rice have grown strongly in recent years in markets such as the UK as consumers buy into its delicate aroma and lighter fluffier texture

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.”

Sales of Basmati rice now account for 46% of the rice sold in the UK, according to Tilda.