By Arlene Karan

In today’s rapidly evolving food industry, staying competitive requires more than just keeping up with trends; it demands a commitment to continuous innovation and collaboration. This is especially true in the better-for-you space, which is incredibly exciting right now, driven by a surge in consumer demand for healthier, sustainable, and innovative products.

With 82% of U.S. consumers prioritizing wellness into their everyday lives, and a similar trend in the UK at 73%, according to McKinsey & Company’s most recent Future of Wellness survey, it’s imperative that our Hain R&D, Innovation, Quality and Regulatory teams continue to come together and immerse themselves in the future of better-for-you.

The Grand Opening of Hain Celestial’s Innovation Experience Center (IEC) within our Global Headquarters in Hoboken, N.J. earlier this week, marks a significant milestone in this effort. The IEC is designed to be a hub for hands-on creativity and sensory exploration where Hain teams, customers, consumers, and vendor partners can come together to discover, design and develop. Here we won’t just ideate; we’re shaping the future of better-for-you products for consumers across the globe.

Our Hain team members are already leveraging it for product development, ingredient testing, quality reviews, competitive assessments, and to test the functionality and sustainability of product packaging of our snacks, baby/kids, beverages, meal prep and personal care brands.

We’re also already planning for customer and partner meetings at the center to learn about our approach to innovation – to see, taste and experience our latest creations and discover how we’re meeting evolving consumer preferences and trends.

Our new IEC gives us the space to bring everyone around our table to create great food and personal care products. This lab is intended to be a cross-functional, dynamic space where innovation thrives. Here, we can roll up our sleeves to touch, taste, see and smell to create, analyze and experience products all in one place. It’s our playground!

This integrated approach accelerates our journey from initial concept to refinement to a market-ready product, offering the capability we need to stay ahead and deliver exceptional better-for-you products to consumers.

The IEC truly represents an investment in our future and provides a collaborative space where our teams can push the boundaries of what’s possible, creating products that are not only healthy but also distinctive and sustainable.

At Hain Celestial, our purpose is to inspire healthier living through our better-for-you brands, and we are very excited to see the groundbreaking ideas and products that will emerge from this innovative environment.

By fostering a culture of collaboration and creativity, we are confident that we will continue to lead the way in the better-for-you space, meeting the high expectations of our customers and consumers.