Quaker Sells Nile Spice Soup and Meal Cup Business to Hain Food Group

The Hain Food Group, Inc. (Uniondale, NY) has acquired the Nile Spice Soup and Meal Cup business from The Quaker Oats Company.

The Nile Spice product line includes premium soups and meals packaged in cups that are sold under the Nile Spice and Near East brand names in the U.S. and Canada. In addition, Hain has licensed from Quaker the Near East brand name, with respect to soup and meal cups, for a two-year period.

Robert Morrison, chairman, president and CEO of Quaker Oats said, "This sale is the sixth in a series of small divestitures within our U.S. Foods portfolio this year. It is part of our plan to focus our resources on building Quaker's larger consumer brands."

The Hain Food Group is a natural, specialty and snack food company, with natural food product lines that include Hain Pure Foods, Westbrae Natural, Westsoy, Arrowhead Mills, Garden of Eatin', Terra Chips, DeBoles and Earth's Best.

The Quaker Oats Company, headquartered in Chicago, is an international marketer of foods and beverages. Its major brands include: Gatorade, Quaker cereals and grain-based snacks, Rice-A-Roni, Pasta Roni and Near East side dishes, and Aunt Jemima mixes and syrup.