Posted by Menachem Lubinsky on April 30, 2010 under Uncategorized | 
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By Menachem Lubinsky
New York…A new kosher dairy restaurant opened within earshot of the Israeli Consulate on Second Avenue as part of a number of interesting changes. Koshertopia, a blog that tracks kosher restaurants, reported that Lunchbox opened last week at 844 Second Avenue (corner of 45th St.). The dairy take-out offers fresh salads, hot lunch options, sushi and a variety of take-out options. The restaurant is under the supervision of the OK. The blog also reports that My Most Favorite Food moved to 247 West 72nd Street. The original location on 45th St. closed it doors permanently after over a decade of business. The popular Prime Grill restaurant which already has Solo, an Asian themed kosher restaurant, has opened a fusion restaurant of modern and southern Japanese cuisine at a moderate price point. Prime KO is located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Prime KO Executive Chef Makato Kameyama, previously of Prime Grill, has created an authentic Japanese menu of steak, fish, and sushi dishes. Prime KO was designed by Warren Ashworth, the man behind Union Square Café and BLT Market, among other notable restaurants. Finally, Shalom Bombay is set to open at a new Manhattan location at 344 Lexington Avenue.
Posted by Menachem Lubinsky on April 29, 2010 under Kosherfest |
By Menachem Lubinsky
Portland, ME…With six months to go, the 2010 edition of Kosherfest is already shaping up as a show with many innovations and new products. With each passing year, the annual kosher food trade show emerges as the international showcase for the latest products to be introduced to the industry. To be held on October 26-27 at the Meadowlands Exposition Center, this year’s show will include many interesting trends. The number of exhibitors displaying spelt and gluten-free items is expected to grow. Traditional Greek yogurt, which is all the rage right now, will be at Kosherfest. Unlike traditional yogurts, which generally don’t exceed 3.5 percent milk fat, Greek yogurt is a strained yogurt made with cow or goat milk and has up to ten percent milk fat. This higher percentage allows for a smoother and creamier texture and taste. Greek Gods Yogurt can be used as a healthy base ingredient in dips and salads dressings; as a delicious garnish for soups; and as a tasty and wholesome breakfast parfait, mixed with nuts, granola, or fresh fruit. Different and unique breads will be presented by Rotella’s Italian Bakery, a family company based in Omaha, NB since 1921. Certified kosher by the Orthodox Union (OU), the products include wheat, rye, and pumpernickel bread loaves; hamburger buns; hoagies; ciabetta; dinner rolls and breadsticks; and specialty breads such as garlic bread, bread bowls, and flatbread. Guttenplan’s Frozen Dough is a frozen dough specialty company with a complete line of products that promises to bring many Kof-K certified products to household kitchens. Products include dough for Kaiser rolls; apple turnovers; cinnamon swirl bread; coffee rings; cinnamon pretzels; bagels in a variety of flavors such as jalapeño, apple cinnamon, and cranberry orange; and pizza dough. Kosherfest organizers say that this year’s show will also include a record number of international exhibitors with many new products.
Posted by Menachem Lubinsky on April 28, 2010 under Kosher |
By Menachem Lubinsky
New York…Georgia became the latest state to adopt the disclosure model of legislation to protect kosher consumers after New York’s century-old kosher protect bill was ruled unconstitutional in 2003. With only two days left to the session, the Georgia House of Representatives joined the Senate in passing the Georgia Kosher Food Consumer Protection Act, which replaces the current kosher labeling laws. The new law is modeled after the New Jersey law (replaced law ruled unconstitutional in 1992), that was later adopted by New York and several other states in requiring the posting of standards used when making representations of kosher. The current law in Georgia faced a First Amendment challenge brought by the ACLU and a Conservative rabbi.
While some critics have sought to discredit the disclosure model as “irrelevant” in an era of customer awareness, the reality is that the law does protect kosher consumers. In New York alone, sources say that inspectors of the New York State Kosher Law Enforcement Bureau routinely discover instances of where unsuspecting kosher consumers are duped. They say that during the just concluded Passover holiday many items that are kosher but not kosher for Passover were placed on shelves that were marked Kosher for Passover. A prominent rabbi said: “I am flabbergasted that the same people who go through hoops to protect the ordinary consumer deny that right to people who wish to eat kosher.”
Posted by Menachem Lubinsky on April 27, 2010 under Passover |
By Menachem Lubinsky
New York… While some stores were still restocking their shelves after Passover, SuperValu was already promoting Israeli products in advance of Yom Haatzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day, marking the 62nd anniversary of the founding of the Jewish state. Yakov M. Yarmove of SuperValu noted: “In addition to continuing the support of Israeli products, it always helps to have another sales program coming out of Pesach, when traditionally kosher sales slow down.” In a promotion with Osem, SuperValu launched an ad campaign for many of its affiliated stores throughout the country. Other grocers are gearing up for the upcoming holiday of Shavuos (eve of May 18th through the 20th) when in addition to the usual mix of holiday products, dairy items are highlighted. Some retailers say that the post-Passover period is a time for discounting many items and “keeping customers interested,” as one Midwest grocer said.
Passover 2010 will also be remembered for its unprecedented advertising. The number of full page ads in Jewish print media before the holiday was unprecedented. Some called it the “Pomegranate syndrome,” referring to the high-end Flatbush grocer that almost from its inception in August 2008 has been promoting the store through weekly full-page ads. It prompted many other kosher food purveyors and retailers to also go the full page route in the belief that the Pomegranate use of the large ads was a major reason for its success. But as it turned out, even Pomegranate went dark in the two weeks after Passover, although sources say it is expected to resume its advertising this week. One retailer said “I’ll be doing a great deal of advertising for Shavuos,” but then he joked: “My next Jewish holiday after that is barbecue.”
Posted by Menachem Lubinsky on April 26, 2010 under Sixth Sense |
By Menachem Lubinsky
In just two days, Sholom Rubashkin, the former CEO of the failed Agriprocessor will be sentenced for bank fraud, not for the large number of illegal immigrants he allegedly employed, not for employing minors, not for allegedly denying his workers the right to unionize and not even for animal cruelty, the charge that PETA leveled against the company that many blame for the trigger that caused Rubashkin’s downfall. As one who has in the past represented Rubashkin (in PR and marketing) and who has known the Rubashkins for many years as a result of my involvement in the kosher food industry, the treatment of Mr. Rubashkin is hard to fathom. Why is it that he was denied bail and is facing a prospect of a near-life sentence in much the same way as someone convicted of first-degree murder?
While I am not suggesting that Mr. Rubashkin should not be punished for his crime, he certainly does not deserve this unusually and totally disproportionate harsh treatment and punishment. It is hard to believe that the America I love and cherish would do this to a man with a large family and a special needs child and to someone who is the epitome of benevolence which may best be summarized with the following story: Arriving home one evening, I found a man in my driveway asking for a donation to help pay for open heart surgery for his child. As an Israeli citizen without insurance, he needed to raise the money for the costly surgery. His wife was home caring for his 6 other children and he had come to the US to work as a shochet at Agri. When I asked him if he was still working for Agri, he answered: “When I told Sholom Rubashkin of my plight, he immediately ordered me to leave the plant and to devote myself to caring for my son. He said that he would pay me until I returned after my son was well and back with his family in Israel.” Is this the behavior of a criminal who should be put away for life? I purposely chose not to recount some of the e-mails I still receive from Orthodox Jews in small Jewish communities who tell me that they no longer get the deliveries of kosher meat they used to receive from the Rubashkins at an enormous loss to the company. I hope and pray that the criminal justice system in America will not let me, his supporters and his family down on April 28th!
Posted by Menachem Lubinsky on under Kosher Companies, Recession |
By Menachem Lubinsky
New York…The recession continues to have a significant impact on kosher food sales despite a perception that kosher food is “recession-proof,” Kosher Today has learned. In dozens of interviews with industry officials, it became clear that the buying habits of kosher consumers was markedly different this past Passover than it was just two or three years ago. “People are being squeezed on all sides” said a Boro Park retailer, “and they are more price conscious than ever.” He said that he observed that more customers were buying from lists rather than just impulse buying or walking up and down the aisles and picking up items. In nearby Flatbush where Pomegranate has set a new standard in shopping for kosher foods, there were many customers who now shop in multiple stores. A kosher blogger wrote: “I have learned to buy items at Pomegranate that cost about the same everywhere (i.e. many dairy products) and to save by buying at places like COSTCO, Paperific and the Kolel store.” The retailers say they are constantly reminded by customers of a breadwinner that has lost their job. Stores that recorded double-digit growth in 2008, said they only did 2% – 3% better on sales during Passover 2010 than they did in 2009. The same seemed to be true in kosher wines where many customers shunned the more expensive wines they routinely bought in 2008. The number of people relying on help from such charities as Met Council on Jewish Poverty, Tomchei Shabbos and Keren Aniyim as well as similar organizations in cities outside of New York also increased significantly.
Despite this disturbing development for the kosher food industry, sources say, the industry as a whole seems to have weathered the “pockets of downturns” well. They pointed to making up some of the slack with volume. “Natural growth has always helped the industry even in a down economy,” said one kosher food manufacturer. New items also continue to drive sales as younger kosher customers continue to show a strong desire to try new and interesting foods. While there is talk of a recovery, in the kosher food industry the recession still continues to take its toll.
Posted by Menachem Lubinsky on April 15, 2010 under Kosher, Passover |
By Menachem Lubinsky
New York…A blogger in Santa Cruz found regular matzoh on a Kosher for Passover shelf but “not a single box of Passover matzoh.” An inspector for the New York State Kosher Law Enforcement Bureau found many Passover shelves with kosher products that are not kosher for Passover. In New Jersey, a Kosher for Passover aisle featured non-Passover croutons. In Queens, there was confusion about cans of mushrooms on the shelves, some with the P designation and others without. Sources blamed the turnover of store personnel as a primary reason, particularly those stores that do not rely on distributors to set up the Passover shelves. “It’s really a case of the blind leading the blind,” said one distributor who described a store where a new manager with little experience in kosher giving instructions to a worker about stocking the shelves. In the New Jersey case, the daughter of a local rabbi complained to the manager who then asked her to go through all the products on the shelf to find any items that were not kosher for Passover. Distributors found it ironic that the stores would invest into a Passover program but then not go to the trouble of setting it up properly.
Posted by Menachem Lubinsky on under Kosher, Kosher Wine |
Bayonne, NJ…by Staff Reporters…Jay Buchsbaum spent his Pesach with the Chevra (an upscale Passover program) at the Wigwam Golf Resort and Spa in Litchfield Park, Arizona, educating Jews about fine kosher wines. He was taken aback when one of the participants wagged his finger in an apparent gesture of J’accuse: “You cost me $10,000!” When Jay recovered, he realized that the man had learned to appreciate an assortment of some of the most expensive wines which he skillfully mixed in with the haute Pesach cuisine at the resort and that the whole incident was rather a striking compliment to someone who has emerged as an iconic kosher wine educator. Jay predicts that this new appreciation for a maturing kosher wine industry whose products compare favorably with non-kosher wines will not only gain it acceptance amongst kosher consumers but will extend to the general population as well. When he first began his impressive career at Royal Wine Corp. (Kedem), a wine tasting meant responding to such basic questions as to what makes a wine kosher. Today he is preaching to a younger generation that is not only knowledgeable but is increasingly associating fine kosher wines with upscale dining or as Jay puts it “alongside the Sushi bar.”
When Jay turns back the clock to his early years at Kedem, he reminisces about trying to convert Jews who were used to the sweet sacramental wines. The two best known wines in those days, he points out, were Concord and Malaga. Today, Bartenura Mascato is a basic staple in most kosher households, so much so that the kosher version is the best-selling Mascato wine imported from Italy and that includes many non-traditional kosher consumers. Compared to the newer exotic kosher wines that are available today, even Mascato seems to be dated. To prove his point of just how far kosher wine has come in these last two decades, Mr. Buchsbaum mentions the Baron Herzog line which has received high praise from formidable wine critics as being of equal or better quality to comparable nonkosher wines. The addition of the attractive and luxurious Herzog Winery in Oxnard CA was yet another turning point in what Jay routinely refers to as “the evolution of kosher wine.” Israel’s emergence as a relatively new center of some of the best wines in the world is another major development in that evolution. In fact, wine producing countries now consider Israel a formidable competitor. “Kosher wines have been a centerpiece of lifestyle changes amongst young Orthodox Jews,” Jay emphasizes. “It is no longer a case of just having a good bottle of wine at the Shabbat dinner ore at an upscale kosher restaurant; it’s having good wine every night for dinner.” Despite these obvious changes, Jews are still well behind the general population in per capita wine consumption. And he is very careful to point out that having a great kosher wine experience is not synonymous with consuming an excessive amount of alcohol. Even when Jay’s wine demonstration at the Chevra included pairing great dishes with fine wines including champagne, lighter wine, richer red, and sweet dessert wine, “it still need not add up to excessive consumption of alcohol.” Jay recently lectured a group of restaurateurs on how to effectively promote their wine program, beginning with a cocktail while waiting for a table. For Jay no matter how sophisticated his market becomes, when it comes to kosher wines, he will always be the consummate educator.
Posted by Menachem Lubinsky on April 13, 2010 under Uncategorized |
By Menachem Lubinsky
New York…The decision by Gatorade to secure the kosher certification of the Orthodox Union (OU) was due to the brand’s recognition of new opportunities with younger kosher consumers. Nearly six months after Kosher Today (October 13, 2009) broke the story that both Gatorade and Tootsie Roll would soon add kosher certification, Gatorade itself broke the news in full page ads and press releases in Jewish publications. In fact, in its ad, Gatorade addresses the emergence of a younger more health conscious kosher consumer. Gatorade noted that its new OU symbol on the label “means the athletes in your family can now have the same advantage the pros have had since 1965.” Gatorade’s kosher certification also puts its parent company PepsiCo on a more level playing field with Coca Cola whose PowerAde brand has had OU certification for years. Gatorade has for years dominate the energy beverage category which it hopes to retain with its new kosher certification. Carbonated soft drinks have in recent years lost ground to the energy drinks. The retail dollar value of U.S. carbonated soft drink sales was up about 2.7 percent to $72 billion due to the popularity of higher-priced energy drinks and price increases of traditional soft drinks. The kosher beverage market is estimated at $1.5 billion, about 10% of the overall kosher market.
Posted by Menachem Lubinsky on under Marketing, Out of the Box |
By Menachem Lubinsky
It occurred to me that some businesses may actually be making a choice of sales over marketing. They believe that marketing may be too abstract, certainly when compared to sales that have a more immediate result. Hire a salesman, the reasoning goes, and you will soon count the successful “hits.” Invest in marketing and you may end up throwing “bad” money after “bad” money. This is particularly true when a company works with limited funds.
A food company client looking to boost sales was engaged in just such an exercise. The president of the company was being pulled from both sides. A senior marketing consultant opined that his company would be far better off investing in long term branding and marketing while a fiscal advisor retorted that he “always had time to risk money in marketing.”
Continue reading “Marketing and Sales: Perfect Together” on Lubicom’s Marketing Blog.
