Natural products maker Hain Celestial relocating to New Jersey after leaving Long Island

Natural and organic products maker Hain Celestial is headed to New Jersey, officially ending its status as one of Long Island’s largest publicly traded companies.

The international company, which closed its headquarters in Lake Success in March, recently announced plans to open a headquarters in Hoboken in the fall.

Hain will occupy the 12th floor of the Waterfront Corporate Center, at 221 River St., downsizing to a space less than half the size of its former Long Island headquarters.

The Hoboken site will serve as the hub of the company’s global operations, while its offices and manufacturing facilities in the United States, Europe and elsewhere "will serve as the ‘spokes’ for team members to come together and collaborate for moments that matter," the company announced in a statement Thursday.

“Hain’s hub and spoke work model enables broader team collaboration and greater connectivity as a global enterprise,” Hain’s chief executive officer, Wendy Davidson, said in the statement. “It also provides us the ability to recruit the very best talent, regardless of where they are located.”

The number of people who will work in the approximately 40,000-square-foot space will vary because of the flexible working model, said Jen Davis, Hain's spokeswoman.

The company chose the Hoboken space after soliciting feedback from employees in January about what they wanted in a headquarters, and the location meets Hain's evolving business needs, she said.

The location is close to walking paths, green spaces, gyms and yoga studios, restaurants and shops, and a variety of public transportation options to the office and New York City, Hain said.

Deal off, profits down

Founded in 1993, The Hain Celestial Group Inc. manufactures and sells food and beverages under dozens of brands, including Celestial Seasonings, Earth’s Best and Terra. Its personal care brands include Alba Botanica, Avalon Organics and Queen Helene.

In March, Hain vacated its headquarters in Lake Success, where it was leasing an 86,000-square-foot building at 1111 Marcus Ave. The company told Newsday then that the building was too large because of the shift to remote work over the past three years. 

This week, Hain declined to disclose how many of its employees live on Long Island or the cost savings associated with relocating to Hoboken.

But the company had 231 full-time equivalent employees in Lake Success as of Dec. 31, 2022, down from 302 in 2019, according to reports it filed with the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency.

The company had been in Lake Success since 2012, after it relocated from Melville under a tax-break deal with the IDA that called for Hain to lease and renovate the Marcus Avenue building and boost employment from 250 to 300 full-time positions.

After vacating the building in March, Hain had to repay nearly $1.3 million in tax breaks because it broke an agreement with the IDA to stay on the property until at least 2030.

The company’s size and profits have been on the decline for years.

Hain’s number of employees worldwide fell 43% to 3,078 people between June 2019 and June 2022, according to the company’s annual reports. 

In the third quarter that ended March 31, Hain had a net loss of $115.7 million, compared to net income of $24.5 million in the same period a year earlier.

The company's shares closed Monday at $11.61, down 49.7% from $23.07 a year earlier. 

By Tory N. Parrish

tory.parrish@newsday.comToryParrish1

Tory N. Parrish covers retail and small business for Newsday. She has worked at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Observer-Dispatch in Utica, N.Y.