Natural and Organic Foods Fuel the Taste for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games

TORONTO (Map) - TORONTO, July 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Vancouver 2010 will be the first-ever Games to feature a distinctly organic flavour with today's announcement that the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) has welcomed Hain Celestial Canada as the Official Supplier of natural and organic packaged grocery products for the 2010 Winter Games.

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Hain Celestial Canada -- known for popular healthy foods such as Yves Veggie Cuisine, Terra Chips, Earth's Best baby food and Imagine organic soups -- has received exclusive Official Supplier sponsorship rights in the natural and organic packaged grocery products category for the 2010 Winter Games. The agreement also includes sponsorship rights for the Canadian Olympic team for Beijing 2008, Vancouver 2010 and London 2012. The agreement enables Hain Celestial Canada to use 2010 Winter Games marks for promotional purposes.

"As a Canadian company that operates in the Vancouver community, Hain Celestial Canada is delighted to now be officially involved with an iconic sport event that complements our values and brings worldwide attention to this great province and to Canada," said Beena Goldenberg, General Manager, Hain Celestial Canada. "We are dedicated to the spirit of the Games and providing A Healthy Way of Life(TM); therefore, we jumped at the opportunity to showcase healthy, sustainable living at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games through Hain Celestial Canada's natural and organic products."

"Hain Celestial Canada's natural and organic food products are well known around the world," said John Furlong, VANOC Chief Executive Officer. "As a leader in using organic ingredients and recyclable packaging, Hain Celestial and VANOC share a common commitment to minimizing their environmental impact. We're pleased to have another sustainable and creative partner on board as we work together to stage Canada's Games in 2010."

Today's announcement was publicly celebrated by Hain Celestial Canada through street events in downtown Toronto and Vancouver. In both cities, teams of Hain Celestial Canada performers enacted a slow-motion pantomime of some of the most popular summer and winter Olympic sports. Propelled by stirring Aboriginal drummers, this event synthesized the key values of the 2010 Winter Games -- sport, culture and sustainability -- into a striking visual spectacle that highlighted Hain Celestial Canada's commitment to these same values.

About Hain Celestial Canada

Hain Celestial Canada is a subsidiary of The Hain Celestial Group, Inc., (Nasdaq: HAIN). The Hain Celestial Group is a leading natural and organic food company in North America and Europe. Hain Celestial Canada participates in several natural food categories including brands such as Terra Chips(R), Garden of Eatin'(R), Earth's Best(R), Casbah(R), Imagine(R), Yves Veggie Cuisine(R), and Spectrum(R). For more information, visit: www.hain-celestial.ca .

About VANOC

VANOC is responsible for the planning, organizing, financing and staging of the XXI Olympic Winter Games and the X Paralympic Winter Games in 2010. The 2010 Olympic Winter Games will be staged in Vancouver and Whistler from February 12 to 28, 2010. Vancouver and Whistler will host the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games from March 12 to 21, 2010. Visit www.vancouver2010.com.

VANOC's marketing program is focused on securing mutually rewarding partnerships with shared values to generate sufficient revenue to host successful Winter Games in 2010 and to leave a financial legacy for sport. VANOC's Worldwide TOP Partners include Coca-Cola, Atos Origin, GE, McDonald's, Omega, Panasonic, Samsung and Visa. VANOC's National Partners are Bell Canada, Hbc, RBC Financial Group, GM Canada, Petro-Canada and RONA.

VANOC's Official Supporters include Air Canada, BC Hydro, Bombardier Inc, the British Columbia Lottery Corporation, Canadian Pacific, the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, Jet Set Sports, Ricoh Canada Inc., the Royal Canadian Mint and Teck Cominco Limited. VANOC's Official Suppliers are 3M, Aggreko, Aquilini Investment Group, Birks, Britco, Canada Post, Canwest Publishing Inc., Dow Canada, EPCOR, Garrett Metal Detectors, General Mills, Hain Celestial Canada, Haworth Canada, Millennium Development Corporation, Nortel, Purolator, Saputo, Sleep Country Canada, Sun Microsystems of Canada, The Globe and Mail, Tickets.com, TransCanada, Vancouver Airport Authority, Vincor Canada, Weston Bakeries and Workopolis.