Hain Celestial Expands Its Asian Alliance With Yeo Hiap Seng Limited

MELVILLE, N.Y., April 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. ("Hain Celestial") (NASDAQ: HAIN) , a leading natural and organic food and personal care products company, today announced the expansion of the investment agreements between Hain Celestial and Yeo Hiap Seng Limited and its subsidiary ("YHS"), a Singapore-based natural food and beverage company listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange.

In September 2005, the companies exchanged $2 million in equity investments in each other resulting in the issuance of 100,482 shares of Hain Celestial's stock to YHS and the issuance of 1,326,938 ordinary shares of YHS (representing less than 1% of the outstanding shares) to Hain Celestial. At the time of the initial investment, each of the companies granted the other an option to acquire up to $6 million of additional equity.

The companies plan to exchange $6 million in equity investments in each other resulting in the issuance of 196,464 shares of Hain Celestial's stock to YHS and the issuance of 4,044,800 ordinary shares of YHS (representing less than 1% of the outstanding shares) to Hain Celestial. Additionally, YHS has granted Hain Celestial an option to acquire up to 5% of its issued and outstanding shares, and Hain Celestial has granted to YHS an option to acquire a number of shares equal in value to the investment made by Hain Celestial. Each of the companies has the right of first refusal on the sale of its shares. The transactions are subject to customary closing conditions including the listing approval for additional YHS shares.

"After extensive research and development, Hain Celestial expects to launch several co-branded products with Yeo's later this year as part of our global strategic expansion," said Irwin D. Simon, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hain Celestial. "Although this is a complex marketplace, we expect that our investments in YHS will provide us with a strong foothold in Asia through Yeo's infrastructure, as we expand our natural and organic products in the world's largest and most populous continent. We believe that these investments provide tremendous growth opportunities for both YHS and Hain Celestial," concluded Irwin Simon.

Mr. Simon serves as an independent non-executive director of YHS.

The companies have been exploring the expansion of distribution channels and geographical markets as well as cross-selling, spanning Asia including Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and China and in the United States, Canada and Europe. Additionally, the companies plan to establish two joint ventures (i) to pursue joint interests in marketing and distribution of food and beverages and product development and (ii) to provide investments in natural and organic food and personal care product companies in Asia.

The Hain Celestial Group

The Hain Celestial Group (NASDAQ: HAIN) , headquartered in Melville, NY, is a leading natural and organic food and personal care products company in North America and Europe. Hain Celestial participates in almost all natural food categories with well-known brands that include Celestial Seasonings(R), Terra(R), Garden of Eatin'(R), Health Valley(R), WestSoy(R), Earth's Best(R), Arrowhead Mills(R), DeBoles(R), Hain Pure Foods(R), FreeBird(TM), Hollywood(R), Spectrum Naturals(R), Spectrum Essentials(R), Walnut Acres Organic(TM), Imagine Foods(TM), Rice Dream(R), Soy Dream(R), Rosetto(R), Ethnic Gourmet(R), Yves Veggie Cuisine(R), Linda McCartney(R), Realeat(R), Lima(R), Grains Noirs(R), Natumi(R), JASON(R), Zia(R) Natural Skincare, Avalon Organics(R), Alba Botanica(R) and Queen Helene(R). For more information, visit http://www.hain-celestial.com/ .

Yeo Hiap Seng Limited

YHS, with a history dating back to 1900, is a leading food and beverage manufacturer and distributor of 30 beverages and a range of Asian food products and sauces under its Yeo's brand. A household name in Singapore and Malaysia, YHS distributes its in-house and external brands to several global markets including China, Australia, Europe and North America. Known for their natural goodness, Yeo's products can be found in more than 100 countries worldwide. YHS is a publicly-listed arm of Far East Organization (http://www.fareast.com.sg/), Singapore's largest privately-owned property developer. For more information visit http://www.yeos.com.sg/ .

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements within and constitutes a "Safe Harbor" statement under the Private Securities Litigation Act of 1995. Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements that involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause our actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward- looking statements. These risks include but are not limited to general economic and business conditions; the ability to implement business and acquisition strategies and integrate acquisitions; competition; retention of key personnel; compliance with government regulations and other risks detailed from time-to-time in the Company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2006. The forward-looking statements made in this press release are current as of the date of this press release, and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements.