Posted by Menachem Lubinsky on January 21, 2011 under Kosher Industry | 
San Francisco…While recognizing that this was a trade show that is far from being a show that focuses on kosher, visitors to the NASFT’s (The National Association for the Specialty Food Trade) Winter Fancy Food Show (Jan 17-19) found that kosher was very prevalent. One trend that is certain to carry over into kosher is the growing number of gluten-free products that were on display. “Gluten-Free” was named one of the top five food trends by the NASFT and visitors say they saw many new kosher certified gluten-free products, including such brands as Earth Source Organics Chocolate, Goody Good Stuff Candy and Health Flavors from Australia. Gluten-Free was already a noticeable growth category at Kosherfest last October and given its prominence here is likely to expand even further at the 2011 edition of Kosherfest. But kosher was prevalent in almost every aisle, including the gourmet cheese (Chalav Yisrael) line by Anderson, many new rugelach and hamentashen products from Chewys Rugulach, Soy Voy sauces, and a relative new kosher Jelly Belly with its many new flavors.
Posted by Menachem Lubinsky on July 15, 2010 under Kosher Industry, Kosherfest |
By Menachem Lubinsky
The Summer Fancy Food Show last week at New York’s Javits Center was yet another opportunity to keep in touch with the many people I know in the food industry. In some ways, I found the show pretty much a mirror of the way I came to know the event nearly 25 years ago with some exceptions, of course. There were some distinct differences, particularly when it comes to kosher, yet another indication of the strides that kosher has made in just the last quarter of a century. The number of booths that touted their kosher symbol was unprecedented, as was the listing in the Directory (some 350 booths) under the “kosher” category and the sheer number of new products in the Focused Kosher Showcase. There were several booths from the larger kosher food companies that are at the center of Kosherfest but only another booth at the Fancy Food Show. But most impressive were the number of exhibitors and visitors who were clearly from the kosher community and the booths that posted their kosher certification.
Gil Marks, a close friend and author of several kosher cookbooks, pointed out some of the new trends that he witnessed at the show. On the verge of completing an unprecedented Encyclopedia on Jewish Food, Gil pointed to the many booths showcasing Greek Yogurt and the significant increase of natural and organic products. I noticed that “new” does not necessarily mean new, just tweaked. It might be the shape of a bottle for honey or olive oil or a fusion of flavors that was not classical. The blend of flavors was also very much apparent in the gourmet sauces. But then there were the traditional pastries, cheeses, confectionary and even gift baskets. You could always wash down the oodles of samples that were offered with a new flavored natural passion fruit drink. A buyer from a specialty store who recognized me from Kosherfest said: “This is huge and interesting but no show offers the buzz that Kosherfest does.”
