Posted by Menachem Lubinsky on September 20, 2010 under New Product Showcase, Uncategorized | 
New Product Showcase
by Tova Ross
A new, all-natural line of hummus has been introduced to the kosher market by Tribe, a Boston-based company that was among the first to introduce the United States to one of the Mediterranean’s most popular snacks. Called Tribe Origins Hummus, the line includes several flavors – such as Classic; Spicy Red Pepper; Tomato and Veggie, and Zesty Spice and Garlic. The hummus is creamy with hand-crafted toppings, just the way hummus devotees and purists like it. The products, free of artificial flavors, preservatives, and high-fructose corn syrup, are vegan and certified kosher by the OU. The hummus can be found in stores such as Shop Rite, Stop & Shop, and many all-natural and organic food shops. Visit Tribe Hummus for more information.
Posted by Menachem Lubinsky on September 19, 2010 under Sixth Sense |
My Sixth Sense…by Menachem Lubinsky
On a recent Transatlantic flight, a major international carrier served a passenger in Business Class a kosher dairy meal with grilled chicken as the hot dish. After complaining to the airline, the carrier offered a 15% discount on future flights, acknowledging only that it failed to provide the kosher meal rather than admitting its mistake. The European kosher caterer who supplied the meal simply ignored the passenger’s complaint. Several other passengers on international flights complained that their meals were “half-frozen” and one even told of a carrier that served him a Passover meal three weeks after the holiday had ended. There is the sense that despite the progress of kosher in the air, the airlines still have a way to go in training and execution. And why not? Orthodox Jews and kosher travelers are commonplace nowadays, far more prevalent than the many special meals that airlines offer without incident these days.
Perhaps the kosher caterers and the certification agencies should take the initiative and offer ongoing training to airline crews. There is no reason why so may travelers tell stories of frozen fruit cocktail and even little challah rolls that cannot be cut. What about the confusion that ensues as to whether to open the wrappers or not. Another complaint that simply does not make sense these days is that frequently kosher customers are denied upgrade privileges because the economy meals on board do not measure up to the class of travel. That would be fine if the airlines got it right in the upgraded class, but when they serve milk and meat on one tray, there is no reason why an upgraded passengers cannot chose to eat an economy kosher meal in business or first class. As grateful as travelers are for the accommodation of a kosher meal 35,000 feet in the air, they do expect the airline crews to be well grounded in how to serve the meals.
Posted by Menachem Lubinsky on September 17, 2010 under Kosher Wine |
Bayonne, NJ…A growing number of kosher consumers prefer new wines for the Jewish New Year (eve of September 8th). Royal Wines introduced new wines from Australia, Italy, France, Israel, and California. Amongst the new wines from Australia is Harkham Shiraz, new to the US market. Densely colored with rich fruit flavors and spice, keep your eye out for this bottle with the slick black and silver label.
From Italy comes the Ovadia line, including Chianti, Barbera d’Alba, and Morellino di Scansano. From the Rhone region of France comes the Beaumes de Venise Muscat, a white wine that adds complexity and food friendliness to your every day Moscato. Israel has been a prime player in the quality kosher wine revolution in recent years. But most of the best Israeli wines have been Cabernet Sauvignon based wines. Domaine Netofa is a new winery founded by the traveling kosher winemaker Pierre Miodownick. The first wine released by Netofa is a blend of Syrah and Mourvedre – a fruity, food friendly winner. Rose’ is a great Succos wine, given that is has the flavors to hold up to lots of food and is intended to be served chilled – perfect for an afternoon in the succah. From the Yogev line is the new Malbec/Carignan rose’ with its deep pink color and expressive notes of red berries and lavender. Barkan has released a new blend; the Barkan Classic Merlot/Argaman. Argaman is indigenous to Israel and Israeli vintners are figuring out the best way to use the grape. This is a medium bodied blend and a welcome addition to the well-priced Barkan Classic line. Finally Shiloh, a boutique winery that has previously released the cult favorite “Secret” Cabernet, come two new 100% varietal wines. The Shiloh Barbera has expressive fruit and a mouth-watering acidity while the Shiloh Petite Sirah is a dark wine with gripping tannins and a full body. Recently released wines from California include the Baron Herzog Pinot Grigio.
Posted by Menachem Lubinsky on September 16, 2010 under Kosher Technology |
To discover and share the availability and diversity of kosher certified products carried by Whole Foods Market, Lois Held and Roberta Scher, co-founders of KosherEye.com, went on a video shopping tour of the Briarcliff Road Whole Foods in Atlanta. This was not your usual shopping tour. The duo wanted to explore the availability of kosher products in the store, and demonstrate whether the kosher consumer could fill an entire shopping cart with the unique products carried by Whole Foods- not necessarily the typical brands.
With the cooperation of the corporate offices of Whole Foods Market, and along with their shopping cart, the pair walked the aisles and recorded their finds on video. The story of their kosher shopping excursion experience appears on their website, KosherEye.com, and the aisle by aisle videos are available for viewing on YouTube.com.
The KosherEye.com website was launched in November 2009. It has grown into a popular destination for the kosher consumer, retailer, manufacturer, chef and foodie seeking to “see all that’s new in kosher” including foods, wines, recipes, cookbooks, culinary gadgets and more. The pair is constantly on the lookout for unique new products for the kosher cook or food professional. They look forward to uncovering additional product introductions and networking with professionals in the industry when they attend KosherFest later this fall.
Posted by Menachem Lubinsky on under Kosher Technology |
Kosher cooking enthusiasts who wish to share the joys of kosher cooking now have their own web site, thanks to JoyofKosher.com. Launched in time for Rosh Hashanah. The website offers opportunities for recipe sharing along with social networking, allowing everyone from the serious foodie to amateur cooks to post their own recipes, comment on message boards, search a comprehensive database of recipes, and share recipes with one another while making new friends who share a similar passion. Users can also customize their own cookbooks, upload photos of their dishes and download coupons. Created by Tamar Genger, a registered dietician, the new online community for kosher cooks comes after years of popular mainstream cooking websites and cooking shows, even an entire network about food. But kosher chefs are often excluded from these options, as they do not take into account every sensitivity to kashrus. This new online community was “created to enable members to share their favorite Jewish recipes with food lovers all over the world, create new friendships and preserve our most sacred family traditions, from matzo balls to mandel bread,” says to Ms. Genger .
“After getting off to a very slow start, the kosher world is still playing catch-up online, but there is a lot to be hopeful about,” explained Ms. Genger. “There is an explosion of online kosher supermarkets and specialty stores, well-written kosher food and wine blogs and innovative mobile applications for all things kosher. By embracing Facebook, Twitter and emerging websites like JoyofKosher.com, companies can directly engage their audience with coupons and promotions, receive immediate feedback and build powerful brand loyalty.”
Posted by Menachem Lubinsky on September 14, 2010 under Kosher Market |
New York…by Tova Ross…Colleges and universities with traditionally large percentages of Jewish students, such as Columbia, NYU, CUNY colleges, and the University of Pennsylvania, have always offered kosher food to their students, but now smaller colleges with typically fewer Jewish students are trying to bolster their Jewish population by offering kosher food in their dining halls for the first time. Muhlenberg College in Allentown PA has seen an increasing number of Jewish students attend its school, despite the fact that it is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church and named for the patriarch of the Lutheran Church in America. To respond to the needs of kosher consumers, and to further push their growing reputation to the forefront of Jewish students, it recently opened The Noshery. Featuring two separate kitchens, Noshery North and Noshery South, meat or pareve/dairy meals are served to students and faculty at the college who keep kosher or have other dietary restrictions. The school plans to open the restaurant to the general public the following semester and to offer kosher catering. University spokesperson Mike Bruckner said, “Muhlenberg has an extremely active Jewish population, 37 percent of our student body is Jewish, and our college is very attractive to Jewish students from Maine to Virginia.” Rabbi David Wilensky, of Allentown’s Congregation Sons of Israel said that the restaurant will also be frequented by the community since there are no kosher restaurants in Allentown.
Also in Pennsylvania, Dickinson College’s new kosher vegan eatery, innovatively called The KOVE, serves dishes such as falafel chicken, spicy corn chili, and lentil and brown rice casserole, rather than the stereotypical matzah ball soup or potato kugel. All the food is certified by the Star-K. 10 percent of Dickinson’s student body is Jewish. Stephanie Balmer, Dickinson’s Dean of Admissions, stated: “Given Dickinson’s strong Judaic-studies program, Hebrew language and study abroad offerings in Israel and extraordinarily active Hillel chapter, we thought a certified-kosher dining option would further enrich Jewish life at the college.” West Virginia University (WVU) Dining Center started offering kosher food to students for the first time this semester, at the request of Sharon Sinay, the first student at the university to ever request this particular type of food. Sinay told WVU publication The Daily Athenaeum that “kosher is part of the Jewish religion…this is a big part of the American culture. I think it should be in every dining room and in every dorm so everyone will be able to eat.” Bradley University, in Peoria, Illinois, has also begun offering kosher food to students this semester. Rabbi Eli Langsam of Chabad, was enlisted to be the kosher supervisor at the two new kosher kitchens, one for meat and one for dairy. The food will also be available to the 700 Jews who reside in the city of Peoria.
Posted by Menachem Lubinsky on September 13, 2010 under Kosher Stores |
New York…FreshDirect, a highly successful home delivery food service, has stepped up its efforts to target kosher consumers. Now In its eighth year, FreshDirect opened its “kosher store” in 2003, according to spokesperson Melanie Banks. “Two years ago we stopped cutting kosher meat/poultry in house and transitioned to some of the most notable well known brands in the industry like Empire Kosher and Meal Mart.” She added: “We have since expanded our offerings to include Kosher Valley and Teva.” The latest initiative to advertise FreshDirect’s kosher offering in Jewish newspapers is to “educate” the community about FreshDirect’s broad kosher offering, available at everyday low prices. While FreshDirect offers a wide range of kosher meats and other kosher items, customers buying kosher products from FreshDirect can take advantage of their home delivery in convenient 2 hour delivery windows.
FreshDirect uses a direct distribution model with in-house, overnight production that cuts out the middleman and helps it offer farm-fresh food at everyday low prices. FreshDirect is an online shopping experience that is highly personalized with smart shopping features that help customers track their favorites, remember missed items, shop from previous orders and receive recommendations on new foods they might like. Thanks to expert daily ratings, FreshDirect customers can easily shop for best of the season produce and seafood as well as a full line of household products, health and beauty items. Kosher consumers can also avail themselves from similar delivery services from kosher.com.
Posted by Menachem Lubinsky on under Kosher Companies |
New York…The story of a pending PepsiCo – Osem Hummus war first broke in Kosher Today last June but the first shot was fired last week by Tribe with an ad in Jewish weeklies “Not all Hummus is all Natural.” Tribe was apparently challenging the highly successful Sabra brand by taking on the salad giant with the natural claim. A Brooklyn gourmet supermarket has also been highly successful in promoting its own brand of “natural” hummus as opposed to the Sabra brand which includes preservatives and enjoys a much longer shelf life. Sabra USA is owned by PepsiCo. Osem, 54% of which is owned by Nestle, acquired Tribe in 2008, which is now Osem’s brand of salads in the US. Although it acquired the Sabra brand in Israel, it does not own the US brand and apparently cannot use the name Sabra. The US Sabra is credited with expanding hummus to mainstream consumers with a marketing campaign that includes the use of television. A spokesman for a major supermarket chain told Kosher Today that “hummus is hot and for the moment Sabra owns the category.” Tribe is obviously hoping that by playing the natural card, they will be able to cut into Sabra’s steadily growing dominance in the national hummus market. While Sabra seems to be devoting most of its attention outside of the kosher market, Tribe seems anxious to first carve out a strong niche in the kosher market.
Posted by Menachem Lubinsky on September 12, 2010 under Rosh Hashana |
Chicago…Who’s on First? What’s on Second? The old Abbott and Costello routine could very well apply to many meat shelves on the eve of Rosh Hashanah that begins September 8th. While many supermarkets scrambled to showcase kosher meat and poultry in the past two years, this year’s lineup includes a resurging AgriStar with its Aaron’s Best brand. At Jewel-Osco here, an 8 piece cut up Aaron’s Best chicken went for $1.69 a lb. while an Alle’s kosher fresh shoulder roast went for $5.99. A 12oz. pack of Aaron’s sliced beef was advertised at $4.99. The reappearance of Aaron’s in both beef and poultry appears to have cut into some traditional competitors. While Empire was available in most stores, it had to compete with the Aaron’s poultry in many stores. In New Jersey’s Acme market, it was all Empire in the promotional ads with $1.99 a lb. for turkey and $2.99 for turkey breast. In addition to the supermarkets, Aaron’s was also being sold in many independent kosher stores. Hershey Friedman, the Canadian Jewish magnate who bought Agri is touting his Canadian roots in producing American quality products as part of an aggressive marketing effort. In markets like New York, the key players also include KJ Poultry, a rapidly rising kosher poultry producer in Monroe, NY. Industry sources say that there is absolutely no shortage of kosher meat and poultry in any major kosher market in the US this Rosh Hashanah.
Posted by Menachem Lubinsky on September 11, 2010 under Kosher Franchises |
Monsey, NY…by Menachem Lubinsky…There was a tinge of sadness in the voice of Kevin O’Brien, Vice President of Sales at Manischewitz, when he learned that the Pathmark on Route 59 in Airmont would close in mid-October. It will be one of 25 locations to be closed by A&P, the parent company of such brand stores as Pathmark, Waldbaum’s and Foodtown. O’Brien, the Brooklyn born Irish-American, is credited by the kosher food industry as being a pioneer in designing large supermarkets that catered to kosher consumers of all kinds, including Chasidic Jews. O’Brien was no stranger to servicing niche markets. Before coming to the Pathmark store that served the large Jewish community there, he had managed stores in the Bronx and Westchester, each with diverse ethnic populations. Kosher food industry officials credit O’Brien with being a “quick study,” so much so that he quickly recognized that he would have to go beyond the kosher set that was common in those days, namely candles, matzoth, jars of gefilte fish, grape juice and some other items that barely took up a few linear feet of shelf space. His only competition in Monsey was several small mom and pops, a far cry from the large independent kosher grocers of today like Rockland Kosher and Wesley Kosher.
Nathan Herzog of the Royal Wine Company (Kedem) recalls that O’Brien came to pick up hot off the production line grape juice. “I told him to let it cool for a day before selling.” But O’Brien quickly turned it into a merchandizing bonanza, telling customers that the store’s kosher products were so fresh that the juice was still warm. Herzog appreciated the instant up tick in business due to O’Brien’s creative and aggressive program. He would leave a thank you note each week with the cashier to be handed to O’Brien for the business. O’Brien used to kid Herzog’s wife by pointing her to the aisle where she could “buy” the grape juice. To fill the needs of his customers, he had to find small purveyors who could supply him with Cholov Yisroel dairy products and even Belz chickens with a Badatz certification. Many purveyors recall how O’Brien literally taught them how to do business with a large chain like Pathmark. To their credit Supermarket General, the parent company of Pathmark did not stand in his way and virtually gave O’Brien carte blanche in building what became the first model kosher store within a supermarket. At one point 60% of the store’s customers were kosher consumers. He would be the only store manager in the chain whose busiest day was Thursday and the quietest Shabbos. In addition to stocking every section of the store with kosher products, including refrigerated and frozen, O’Brien made sure to have plenty of diapers on hand for the large families in the community and even flowers for Shabbos. He covered and ultimately removed magazines that were offensive to his clientele. He learned to understand that the Jewish calendar was different every year and planned accordingly for the busy Jewish holiday season, especially Passover. Word of the store’s considerable kosher offerings spread throughout the Northeast, attracting customers from all over North Jersey and even Connecticut. The corporate heads of Supermarket General referred to O’Brien as their “Irish-Jewish nephew.”
O’Brien had left the Monsey store but returned after a short hiatus. He used his considerable knowledge of kosher in senior positions in the corporate offices of Supermarket General and then with Wakefern, the parent company of ShopRite. He is credited with moving ShopRite into a leadership position in kosher. Said Herzog: “Kevin had the foresight to recognize the opportunities in kosher and became the architect of history in the making.” So it is no wonder that even as he helps a resurging Manischewitz, there is a tear that rolls down his face at the news of the Monsey closing for a past that the kosher community will be eternally grateful to. After all, it is not only part of the history of kosher, it is his legacy.
