J&J Snack Foods acquires the Thinsters cookie brand

MOUNTAIN LAUREL, NJ. – J&J Snack Foods Corp. has acquired the Thinsters cookie brand from The Hain Celestial Group, Inc., Hoboken, NJ. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Thinsters are thin, bite-sized cookies formulated with ingredients that are perceived as clean. The brand was introduced in 2014 as Mrs. Thinsters, and was acquired by Clearlake Capital Group, LP in 2016 as part of the private equity firm’s purchase of That’s How We Roll, LLC. The brand was rebranded as Thinsters in 2019 and two years later it was acquired along with Parmcrisps by the Hain Celestial Group for $259 million.

“This acquisition is a perfect fit for us and complements our already extensive cookie and baked goods offering,” said Dan Fachner, president and CEO of J&J Snack Foods. “Thinsters’ commitment to using high-quality, healthy ingredients is a perfect fit for our growing customer base. We look forward to leveraging our strengths to expand distribution and introduce Thinsters cookies to a broader audience.”

Other snack brands owned by J&J Snack Foods include SuperPretzel, Hola Churros and Funnel Cake.

“Divesting Thinsters further streamlines our supply chain network and strengthens our ability to focus our efforts on expanding the reach and scale of our core better-for-you brands in our focus categories,” said Wendy Davidson, president and CEO from Hain Celestial. “We are pleased to reach this agreement with J&J Snack Foods and are confident the company will thrive under their leadership.”

The acquisition of Thinsters and Parmcrisps was not positive for The Hain Celestial Group. Just over a year after the acquisition, the company recorded a non-cash pre-tax impairment charge of $156 million related to the brands, reflecting a significant distribution loss, the company said.

“I think the thinking was that the pace of channel expansion would happen faster than the potential risk of channel concentration, and those two things were actually opposing,” Davidson said during a conference call on May 9, 2023, while discussing the impairment charge. “So what you’re seeing now is kind of a recognition of where the brand is today.”