OK Kosher 2022 Year-End Wrap-Up

Published: December 30, 2022 Author: Ilana Klein Reading time: 6 minutes

As we close the calendar year, we’re gifting you with a recap of Kosher in 2022.

Valuing our Employees

First off, a moment of gratitude. This year, we all saw the economy take a downward turn, leading to mass layoffs at many companies, and destabilizing the workforce all over. That’s why we’re especially grateful to have been able to support, and even grown, our workforce in 2022. Committed to our mission of increasing the number of high-standard kosher products worldwide, we hired some crucial new employees in the Data Entry, Administrative, Trip Planning, and Certification Renewal departments. We’re proud to have these fantastic new team members on staff at OK Kosher in 2022.

OK Kosher 2022 International Conference

In November, we held our annual OK Kosher International Conference, attended by OK staff from all over the world. It was a beautiful experience to come together as a company and reconnect. A major focus of the conference this year was on the enhancements we’ve recently made to our kosher standards for food service establishments. This is in addition to emphasizing the established standards we uphold in manufacturing facilities. All the more reasons why consumers trust OK Kosher to be at the forefront in this arena.

Serving the Community

These hard times also highlight why we’re so proud of the ways in which we’ve been serving the community for decades. The free resources and services we provide the consumer public are no secret. The OK Kosher Product app, Vegetable Checking Guide, Restaurant Search, Product Search, School Workshops and Tours of the OK Kosher HQ are just a few.

Appreciating Our Clients

We recognize that our clients’ dedication to their kosher programs despite this recession was a major contributor to our ability to grow and to give. We believe we’re blessed from Above, and thankful to our incredible staff and clients who kept production happening and kosher food increasing the world over.

Now, let’s take a look at what all that production amounts to.

2022 OK Kosher by the Numbers

25,598 inspections conducted
99 Countries visited
155 new companies and 214 private labels certified
569,771 certified products in 2022

Just a note on Private Labels with OK Kosher. This year, we certified 214 new private label brands. It’s tempting to list them all, but suffice to say that some of the world’s most well-known brands are OK Kosher Private Label clients.

A Year in Trade Shows

Trade shows are one of our favorite ways to connect with companies and learn about news in the industry.

Rabbi Yaakov Wilschanski at the 2022 Summer Fancy Foods Show in New York

This year we were proud to have one of our reps exhibit at Natural Products Expo West in California, both SFA Summer & Winter Fancy Food Shows, in New York and Las Vegas respectively, as well as KosherFest in New Jersey.

We also roamed the floors of Natural Products Expo East in Philadelphia, Supply Side West in Las Vegas, Internoga in Hamburg, GulFoods in Dubai, ISM Sweets & Snacks in Dubai, and the PLMA Private Label Show in Chicago.

We got to meet some of the wonderful people behind some incredible products and brands, as well as OK Kosher clients both present and future. Our reps would love to meet you at a trade show sometime – be in touch to schedule a chat or simply ask a question!

Fresh Kosher Content

Recognizing the need for kosher companies and kosher-prospective companies to become increasingly informed, we’ve churned our loads of great content for you this year. Here’s a look at what we published, in case you missed any of it in 2022:

Blog Posts

Now in our second year of the KosherCertainly blog, we’re proud of all the knowledge, history, industry news and kosher certification resources we’ve been able to bring you, such as:

Why Do I Need Kosher Certification for My Brand?

We Won’t Approve Most Kosher Collagen (or Gelatin). Yes, Even When it Says it’s Kosher

Why Maxwell House’s Ad Executive Pushed Kosher-for-Passover Certification

What’s the Problem with Palm Oil?

Is There Any ROI in Kosher Certification?

Is the Letter K Really a Trademark? Can They Do That? – Part 1 and Part 2,

Spanish Content

We’ve been translating and publishing some of our core articles from ok.org to our dedicated Spanish site, es.ok.org, in support of our growing Latin American clientele. More of that to come in the new year. So far, they’ve included:

Los Símbolos OK Kosher Aclarados – The Kosher Symbols Clarified

and

Solicite su acuerdo de marca privada con OK Kosher – Private Label with OK Kosher

Be sure to get in touch with our Latin America rep if you’d like to chat about getting certified in the region.

Cybersecurity and User Experience

As the industry gets increasingly digital and more complex, we’ve turned much of our focus toward cybersecurity. That’s why we’ve recently moved to a newer, more secure hosting service in an abundance of caution, to protect our clients and ourselves.

Additionally, we have exciting new developments to come in the areas of user experience (UX) on our website. That’s all we can say on that for now, so stay tuned!

Let’s Hear from You!

Now that you’ve heard from us, we want to hear from you. If you have 1 extra minute, do us a favor and tell us what you’d like more of by email. (Don’t worry – it’s multiple choice.)

From the OK family to your company, we wish you a happy conclusion to 2022, and the best of Success in 2023 and beyond.

The information presented in this blog post is based on research, general knowledge, and/or the author’s understanding of the subject matter. This blog is provided for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon by the reader or considered as professional advice. For specific guidance on any given topic, the reader should consult a qualified professional in the given field. OK KOSHER DISCLAIMS ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGES RESULTING FROM RELIANCE ON THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS ARTICLE.