Kosher Converts
 
By Lisa Marsh - THE NEW YORK POST
 

November 7, 2002 -- The mention of kosher food once meant matzoh, gefilte fish and sweet wine - not Pepsi, Oreos and Ritz crackers.

Some of the nation's largest food companies, however, have recognized that consumers have growing concerns about the purity of food - and are striving to reach the kosher standards more often.

And as a result, the kosher food category is growing by leaps and bounds.

Annual sales of kosher foods in the United States reached $6.7 billion last year and are expected to grow another 15 percent this year.

"The biggest reason there's been an increase in the sales of kosher foods is that supermarkets have recognized the value of kosher foods, and have exposed more people to kosher foods," said Menachem Lubinsky, president and CEO of Integrated Marketing Communications, a company that specializes in kosher and Jewish products.

Some 40 percent of these sales come from the New York metropolitan area, said Lubinsky, whose firm produces Kosherfest, a trade show featuring kosher products.

"The average supermarket carries 65,000 products and 25,000 have the kosher symbol," he said.

"There are groups - Jews, Muslims, Seventh Day Adventists, vegans, those who are lactose intolerant - who are more interested in kosher foods," he said.

"Food is the most important thing we put in our bodies, but there's no Good Housekeeping seal of approval for it," he added. "The kosher seal signifies that there are standards."

Brands like Nabisco, Kellogg's, Post, Pepsi and Sara Lee are going the extra yard to get kosher certification marks on their packaging. And manufacturers are taking steps to create new kosher products in nontraditional categories.

"People are shocked when they see the choices," Lubinsky said. "It used to be the traditional fish and stuffed cabbage dishes that were kosher. Now there are Asian sauces and sushi. The kosher community is catering to the younger consumers, who are looking for better foods."

Non-food products are also following this trend. Pfizer, maker of the Listerine Pocketpak oral care strips, made a special effort to get kosher certification this product.

"It it's feasible, it's something that we make the effort to do," said Meghan Marschall, company spokesman for Pfizer consumer products. The kosher mark is also carried on the company's Celestial Seasonings teas and cough drops.