New York – In recent years, Jews who keep kosher rejoiced when popular foods that had been off-limits gained kosher certification, from Oreo cookies in 1997 to the Tootsie Roll in 2009.
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According to Mintel, the market research firm, the growth in sales of kosher products – up 41 percent from 2003 to 2010 and projected to grow an additional 23 percent by 2013 – owes less to the popularity of keeping kosher or to new products than to existing products becoming certified.
Now, as mainstream brands increasingly pitch to kosher consumers, Manischewitz, the 123-year-old kosher brand, is doing the opposite: creating kosher products that also appeal to gentiles.
While Manischewitz items like matzo are popular Passover fare stocked in a supermarket’s kosher sections, new products have no such association.
“Instead of taking the older products we have out of the kosher aisle and forcing them into the main aisle, we’re creating new products that have a place in the main aisle,” said Alain Bankier, who along with Paul Bensabat became co-chief executive of the company in 2008.
A new line of broths, for example, is being shelved in many supermarkets not with most Manischewitz items but rather in the soup aisle alongside such popular mainstream broths as Swanson and College Inn (Campbell Soup Company and Del Monte Foods brands). A new line of Manischewitz gravies also will be stocked with other mainstream brands. Manischewitz ads traditionally have emphasized Judaism, showing yarmulke-wearing celebrants at, say, a Seder. But new ads, by Joseph Jacobs Advertising in New York, the Manischewitz agency for more than three decades, take a decidedly more secular approach.
“Don’t miss the boat,” says a print ad for beef gravy, which shows it being poured from a sauce boat onto mashed potatoes – no shofar or Star of David in sight.
Will be great for Jews living outside of NY etc to have more kosher foods
Sammy Davis Jr. Was pitching their wine to Blacks 40 years ago.
This creates a real sakanah for frum yidden who might believe that the other treif products in the main aisles around the Manischewitz products also have hasgacha. This would not be allowed if they were under Badatz hashgacha.
There was a restaurant in the fourth district in Paris. It had at least 8 Jewish stars in the windows and it was not kosher. I know this cause I saw the place and today it ceases to exist. It was bombed in 1982 by terrorist
I see that non-kosher companies like Swanson are promoting these little sacks of CHEMICALS they call “flavor enhancers” which is normally sold to the food industry, directly to consumers and now Maneschewitz is selling this dreck. Stay away, far away, from this toxic poison! Put actual SPICES into your food and it will taste great. These “flavor sacks” are just a bunch of chemicals, like, ammonia.
nice for the frum travler and also let the buyer beware