Posted by Menachem Lubinsky on August 27, 2010 under Kosher Market | 
Copenhagen…by Menachem Lubinsky…Although Denmark is not a particularly leading European destination, you wouldn’t know it from the crowds the Chabad of Copenhagen draws on a typical Shabbat in the summer for some real homemade kosher meals. Rabbi Yitzi Lowenthal and wife Rochel were hosts to some 220 people, nearly 150 waiting to embark on a kosher cruise on Sunday. The cruise crowd was served in a large dining room and courtyard on the main level while other guests enjoyed good Shabbos food and traditional songs on the upper floor. Rabbi Lowenthal says that the Shabbat meals often attract many notables. On this particularly Shabbat, it included Jewish Week publisher Gary Rosenblatt and his wife. Nearby, the small Orthodox Machzikei Hadas Synagogue also welcomes some of the visitors as does the Great Synangogue, under Chief Rabbi Brent Lexner, about a mile from the Chabad center. Rabbi Lexner certifies an impressive number of food establishments in the country assisted by Mr. Gershwald, a producer of gourmet Havarati kosher cheese. Although the community does offer some kosher food for sale, Gershwald often travels 10 hours to Antwerp to fill up his car with kosher goodies. The country is said to include about 8,000 Jews including some more recent Russian émigrés, but the number of people who eat kosher is relatively small. Still the main synagogue averages about 150 people on a typical Shabbat and makes arrangements to sell kosher food.
In other countries on the Baltic Sea, kosher is available but sparingly. In Tallinn, Estonia, kosher food is available in the main synagogue. Few of the estimated 2500 Jews who live there eat kosher but the synagogue has attracted many tourists in recent years. In Helsinki, Finland, a small kosher deli is situated right near the main synagogue. Tourists often load up on the few Israeli goodies that are on sale, including chocolate covered pretzels and halvah. In a remarkable story of accommodation, a new Radisson Hotel built right in front of the synagogue was built in two wings with a ground level bridge so that the dome of the shul can be seen from far. Stockholm too has its share of kosher food, again associated with the Jewish community center in the city. In St. Petersburg, Russia, there are some choices that include the Le’Chaim Restaurant in the Choral Synagogue. Manager Alex says that the summer has been good for business. On this summer day, LeChaim served more than 250 meals with homemade chicken and potatoes, a basic staple on the menu. He has also been called on to do a “growing number of catering jobs.” The new Shalom Restaurant is also a key attraction for many tourists who visit the beautiful city. Chief Rabbi of St. Petersburg Menachem Mendel Pewzner also certifies a growing number of plants with many of the products slated for export.
Posted by Menachem Lubinsky on August 9, 2010 under Recession |
A young 30-ish couple recently recounted what they called their “horror” story of a business and a livelihood that was about to collapse. After studying in a yeshiva for 5 years, David and his wife Molly opened a small retail store with money from in-laws and an older brother. The business appeared to be doing well during the first two years, enough so that they decided to expand the business to an on-line operation.
David admitted that he got “carried away” with the on-line, so much so that he apparently neglected the retail establishment. He used whatever profits he made in the store to prop up the on-line business. Within two years, he found himself with a mounting debt, insufficient take home funds, and a business that was on the verge of collapse. You guessed it; he blamed much of his troubles on a business slowdown due to the recession but a closer look showed that the economic downturn was only a minor factor.
Doing some forensics on the business, I found that it had potential and that it would be a shame to close it down. That’s when I recommended that the business retain a consultant to help restructure the business, or as I sometime believe is to restructure the “thinking” on the business.
The consultant divided the tasks at hand to include debt restructuring, infrastructure, and future business model. Although there were some bitter pills to swallow, David recognized that the alternative was to shut down the business altogether, something he shuddered to think about. He admitted that one of his hires was doing tasks he did in the beginning, but when he got busy with the e-commerce, he retained the help. The consultant forced him to lay off the “expensive” worker, to resume doing those tasks himself and to suspend further investment into the on-line business.
Molly, who had been led to believe that the business was doing extremely well, simply withdrew to care for her home and the children. She was very instrumental in the early success of the business. She seemed to have an excellent rapport with customers and did the buying very well. The obvious recommendation was for her to return to rebuild the retail establishment.
The debt restructuring went much better than expected as most of the creditors were only too happy to have the business continue in a recession. Some insisted on COD but most even granted the business better credit terms than before. A few were adamant that David share his plans for the future, to simply make them more comfortable that there is a future in the business.
One of the biggest challenges was getting David to reposition his thinking of the business. It seems that in the past he lost focus on his core business and “jumped” to other ventures. This caused him to perhaps overlook opportunities that he had with his original business.
Restructuring has become a necessity for many businesses dealing with the reality of doing business in a down economy. There is no cookie cutter model that applies to all businesses, but I have found that there are some common denominators, most of which David and Molly had to deal with. For example, many people allow debt to pile up simply because they are somehow convinced that better days lie ahead. When the sun does not shine, as expected, the roof can cave in.
I strongly believe that many businesses end up in trouble simply because they do not reach out for professional help. One business consultant remarked that not reaching out for professional help is like “talking to yourself.” It is really important to include someone who is not emotionally attached to the business and who can offer objective advice.
Reconstructing, say business experts, can sometimes simply mean retooling. They recommend that every business take stock of their status and re-evaluate the way they do business. What worked a decade ago may no longer be applicable in today’s rapidly changing business environment. There should be no fear of making a business “leaner and meaner,” the experts say.
David and Molly seem to be on their way to recovery even as uncertainty remains whether the economy as a whole is in recovery. They now understand the value of being focused on the profit center before venturing on to other enterprises. As it turns out, David has not given up on the on-line business and was at this writing negotiating with another entity to merge the sites. One of the benefits would be that the other entity has strong on-line management. Restructuring may not be for everyone, but then again, maybe it just is!
Posted by admin on July 18, 2010 under Market Share, Out of the Box |
By Menachem Lubinsky
Marketers use the term winning when it comes to market share as if it were some kind of competition like sports. By the same token, there is the possibility of “loosing” market share which is often as devastating as losing a major competitive event. Market share is that significant!
Kellogg’s recently recalled some 28 million boxes of cereal because of an odor in its packaging. Marketing analysts were immediately assessing whether the recall would affect its market share, concluding that its world wide positioning would help carry the icon brand beyond the recall without any loss in market share.
Cereals is one of those categories where market share was always a key factor in the fight for the coveted # 1 position with such competitors as Post and General Mills. Market share directly relates to the positioning of a brand. Having the largest market share means leadership. It is the best evidence that a product is the leader in its category, which in turn can affect many other important variables: stock prices, profits, sales, valuation, and future mergers and acquisitions.
Market share in many companies is like winning a presidential election. The country is divided into regions and staff working for a candidate in each region is expected to win the lion’s share of votes (market share). The whole issue of market share for large businesses is in a way much like the electoral college in a presidential bid. The companies make a concerted effort to be the leader in the large cities because cumulatively they add up to the largest concentrations of consumers. How companies fare in large markets is also important in the overall positioning of a company.
The battle for having leading market share occurs daily in communications, food, technology, and in so many other categories. When a company actually “wins” market share, it usually means that it has successfully deposed a competitor. At that point a key imperative is to stay in the leadership position. For the dethroned entity, it becomes a challenge to recapture its former position. This was always the case not only with the cereals companies, but with the highly heralded Coke -Pepsi wars and also with the automobile manufacturers. At first it was the US manufacturers fighting for market share amongst themselves and then it was the Europeans who muscled their way into the leadership position in the US.
The US auto manufacturers are one of the bright stories to emerge from the recent recession. On the brink of bankruptcy and bailed out by Uncle Sam, they are in the throes of an unprecedented comeback. While leader Toyota was embroiled in a myriad of quality issues, the US manufacturers actually are producing a much better product and it is not going unnoticed. It will be awhile until they are once again locked in a battle for the leadership in market share with the Europeans, but many observers say that it is in sight.
While market share is most often associated with major brands, marketers say that it can be applied to almost any business situation, even for the local cleaners or restaurant. The upshot is that having the largest market share most often spells being the leader.
Being the leader with significant market shared directly relates to many characteristics of the brand, first and foremost is quality. When the majority of people in a given market prefer a certain brand, they are reaffirming that they consider the product the best value for their money. They are attesting to the fact that the product has an edge over competitors and that is worth its weight in gold.
But not always is winning market share synonymous with being number one. Cutting into the market share of a leader is considered to be a major coup for brands trying to compete in a given category. Gaining percentage points of share from a leader is considered to be a formidable achievement for a product or brand.
Many readers will remember when Avis and Hertz were vying for market share. While Hertz claimed that it was the leader, Avis came up with a slogan “We Try Harder.” In essence Avis was conceding the Number One slot but pointing out its formidable position in market share. Being second in market share or even third may for some brands be as important as it is for some brands to be the leader. Marketers say that Avis was actually hoping that its honest We Try Harder would catapult them to Number One.
I recently read about a number of power drink companies that are cutting into market share of the large beverage companies in an age when the power drinks are preferred by many young customers. The marketing director of one of the brands wrote: “Every customer that we wean off Coke and Pepsi is a major shift in market share. The battle for market share is with every purchase.”
The quest for market share is so vital in the marketing arena that almost every brand ultimately defines its success or failure by looking at its market share. A shift of even a percentage point or two can have major implications for the bottom line of a brand.
Out of the Box is a collection of strategic marketing articles that Menachem Lubinsky has published on various topics, trends and ideas in the marketing world. The articles have been published in the Hamodia weekly newspaper circulated on three continents to a readership of well over 100,000.
The name, “Out of the Box” is a term used frequently in business nowadays to describe creative thinking that is not the norm. It is meant to help a business pull away from the pack or separate oneself from the competition. It is to some extent fraught with risk, simply because it is not the run of the mill thinking, but it is at the same time the key to reaching the next opportunity.
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.”
Posted by Menachem Lubinsky on July 14, 2010 under Out of the Box, Recession |
By Menachem Lubinsky
Miriam, an office manager with seven years of experience, was laid off nearly six months ago when her company made some drastic cutbacks in the face of the continuing recession. The company consolidated her position with another key job to save one salary. At first she thought that her experience would help her land a job quickly but that has not happened. Miriam, like so many other unemployed workers has been hearing that the recession may be winding down, but for some reason she is still out of her job. She has stayed in touch with her former employer “just in case” he is hiring again, but that has not happened as yet, and she may just not be able to wait too much longer. The few interviews she did receive were more suitable for entry-level with a severe cut in salary.
Each month, when some of the key economic indicators are released, it seems that the number of jobs continue to decline, but a closer look at the jobs picture in June might offer a glimmer of hope. The nation is said to have lost 125,000 jobs in June, but the unemployment rate actually dropped to 9.5%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But many of those jobs were temporary employees working on Census 2010. The private-sector payroll employment actually increased by 83,000.
If the most recent data holds up, Miriam should soon be back either at her former employer’s business or somewhere else. Perhaps seasonal, employment rose by 28,000 in amusements and recreation. Approximately 21,000 jobs were added in temporary help services. There were also additions in professional and business services, management and technical consulting (+11,000), business support services (+7,000), transportation and warehousing (+15,000), health care employment (+9,000), and manufacturing employment (+9,000).
For people like Miriam, a temporary solution might be a temporary job. Many forms who are still not sure about rehiring full-time employees are instead hiring people for projects or on a temporary basis. There is evidence to suggest that many of these temporary jobs are indeed turning into full-time jobs as many businesses continue to experience an improved business climate.
The added jobs in various sectors is noteworthy for a variety of reasons. For one, it gives a job seeker an idea just where the jobs might be. Clearly, there are various industries that are in a recovery mode while others are not. While health care is one of the growing categories, for example, the hospitality industry is not. There may always be an opportunity for temporary jobs such as the Census workers, the clean-up crews for the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and perhaps with the midterm elections around the corner, there will be many temporary jobs helping governors, senators and congressmen get elected.
In speaking with several job counselors, it seems that becoming disillusioned about finding a job is one of the worst problems they face with job seekers. One told me of a young man who had been looking for a year and out of sheer frustration said: “I will give this one more week and then I will have to consider an alternate course.” He found a good job within the week. The counselors say that timing is everything in a job search. Just because someone has failed to get an interview for weeks on end does not mean that it cannot happen and often revisiting an earlier potential employer can work out as well.
Many people like Miriam have found success in looking for employment with competitors who may just cherish the idea of hiring an experienced employee who knows the industry and the business. It seems that the recovery may not be on a level playing field in that while some businesses in an industry are indeed recovering, others may still be mired in the recession. This appears to be the case in retail as several chains have recovered nicely while others are still in the throes of the recession.
“Looking for a job,” said one of the counselors, “requires a bit of common sense and a bit of research.” The commons sense, he pointed out, was to approach potential employers who might have shown an interest in the past or in fact going back to past employers. The research is to know exactly what is happening in the industry you’ve been involved with before.
For job seekers this period might be a bit confusing because of the mixed signals that one gets reading the press these days. Perhaps the good news is that the signals are mixed as opposed to the “One Way” downward direction of just a year ago. It might make it a bit more difficult to negotiate, but there is activity and there is hope. The fact that the private sector has added 83,000 jobs in just one month is encouraging. If the July numbers, due out in August, continue that trend, it will be a clear signal that the economy has turned the corner and more jobs may be on the horizon.
Out of the Box is a collection of strategic marketing articles that Menachem Lubinsky has published on various topics, trends and ideas in the marketing world. The articles have been published in the Hamodia weekly newspaper circulated on three continents to a readership of well over 100,000.
The name, “Out of the Box” is a term used frequently in business nowadays to describe creative thinking that is not the norm. It is meant to help a business pull away from the pack or separate oneself from the competition. It is to some extent fraught with risk, simply because it is not the run of the mill thinking, but it is at the same time the key to reaching the next opportunity.
Posted by Menachem Lubinsky on June 28, 2010 under Sixth Sense |
He was portrayed as a vicious person, one who employs minors and thinks nothing of children handling knives. Even in his federal conviction for bank fraud, he was portrayed as a monster; one that prosecutors argued deserves life imprisonment, a disproportionate sentence for the crimes that he was accused of. After all, who could forget the unprecedented government raid of hundreds of armed law enforcement officials that led to the eventual bankruptcy of Agriprocessor. Shalom Rubashkin was according to a coalition of unions, liberal rabbis, extremist animal rights advocates, and even Church officials nothing short of a villain who perpetrated vicious crimes. Crimes? Not one of the charges made against Mr. Rubashkin in the raid stuck and a jury last week acquitted him of the remaining 68 charges of child labor. The raid, it turns out, was an unbelievable blemish on overzealous law enforcement.
As I look back on this case (and yes I did represent Shalom Rubashkin for a period of time, as it turns out for a just cause), the saddest part of this tragedy is that so many people denied Shalom Rubashkin of a fundamental right: a day in court. He was prejudged, convicted and even hung before evidence was ever presented in court. It behooves me that people who spoke in the name of justice saw nothing wrong with destroying a man, a family, and a business. They were so sure of their cause that they cast aspersions on the ability of government and kashrus organizations to care for animals and laborers. They indeed got their pound of flesh but in the end of the day there should be no question about their destroyed credibility. My hope is that we learned a valuable lesson of never rushing to judgment before a man or woman has had their day in court.
Posted by Menachem Lubinsky on June 25, 2010 under Kosher Companies |
Galilee…by Menachem Lubinsky…Avi Zithershpieler is by no means a physician, but yet thousands of Israelis have come to rely on his unusual collection of herbs and spices to stay healthy. It has been a half century that Avi founded “The Spice Farm” in what is known Bethlehem of the Galilee. As you approach the large atrium like store just in front of the farm, the aroma of some of the most unusual blends of spices from Israel and obverses will instantly identify your location. If it does not, driving up “Spicy Way” will. Of the 600 products, there are many grown in farms throughout Israel but other products are imported from places like Thailand and Turkey. So popular has the farm become that it now has 10 small outlets throughout Israel and of late an outpost in London. There were blends of herbs and spices to treat almost every medical condition but even more importantly for many Israelis was the benefit of adding the products to their ordinary diets as a means of wellbeing. Gourmet chefs and housewives come to the farm to buy just the right spice, herb, grain, or dried fruit that will enhance a salad, soup, meat and poultry and, of course, desserts. While one of the Farm’s main objectives is to satisfy the Israeli palate, the Middle Eastern touch is very much in evidence in such products as Syrian or Yemenite Za’atar. There are also a variety of granola flavors that almost every visitor seems to want to taste. On most days, Avi offers lectures about the farm and the health and wellness benefits of his products. It has become a leading tourist destination for Israelis and even for the many Christian tourists who frequent the area. While one of the staff people stresses that so much of what is displayed is natural, she also points out that the entire Visitor Center is certified kosher by the Rabbanut of Emek Yizrael.
Posted by Menachem Lubinsky on June 17, 2010 under Recession |
By Menachem Lubinsky
There was actually some good news on the economic front recently as a new report indicated that the average credit card debt of American consumers has come down somewhat. I am sure that you have heard ads that promise to significantly reduce your credit card debt. They are obviously playing on a well known fact: Americans are trying to creep out from under a crushing credit card debt even as the credit card has emerged as the key method of payment for consumer goods and services. While there are many dimensions to the credit card issue, there is no escaping the fact that credit cards are directly related to the recession and to an eventual recovery.
While no one should feel bad for the credit card companies with their exorbitant interest rates and astronomical profits, this has not been an easy time for them. They have had to face an increasing number of personal bankruptcies and are beseeched with requests to renegotiate debt. Recognizing the difficult economic climate, they were also forced to adjust credit limits downward out of fear that growing insolvency by people affected by the recession may end up in default. A customer who owed a credit card over $25,000 received notice from the company that their $30,000 credit limit had been reduced to $10,000. But within a month after the card was cleared up, the company wrote to invite them to increase their limit to $40,000. Said the customer: “When I needed them most, they reduced my limit and when I needed them least, they increased my limit.”
Americans clearly recognize the dangers of accumulating debt on credit cards but may be helpless in the face of a growing dependency. Technology (namely on-line) has made the credit card the major method of payment. Incentive like accumulating points for free travel and other amenities has created a generation of what one financial expert calls “the points generation.” Financial advisors advise that the best way of dealing with credit cards is to treat them like bills, meaning that they are paid in full as soon as the bill arrives. What forces many consumers into an untenable financial position is when they use the credit cards as a lending bank. Many financial experts say that the current credit crunch has forced more Americans to use the maximum credit available to them on credit cards.
A bankruptcy lawyer relates that he recently filed for a Chapter 11bankruptcy on behalf of a business with debt of $347,000, more than $145,000 owed on credit cards, most of it on personal credit cards. He says that in the last two years alone, the company accumulated more than $90,000 on the cards, particularly when the bank it has been doing business with for 25 years cut their line of credit by 70%. Business had dropped by more than 50%, causing the business to go into tailspin, which was directly related to the recession.
I recently read that the average credit card debt per household with credit card debt is $15,519. With an average APR of 14.67 percent (Federal Reserve, May 2010), you can imagine what affect interest payments are having on these households and why it has become so difficult for many families to climb out of debt. It was interesting to note that more Americans are using credit cards for such necessities as education and food, a sign of the economy but also in many ways a warning sign. The inability to borrow money through banks is why many families carry multiple credit cards with the average family carrying 3.5, as of yearend 2008, according to the Federal Reserve. The U.S. credit card 60-day delinquency rate is 4.18 percent and the default rate a staggering 11.17 percent (Source: Fitch Ratings, May 2010). It is because of this default rate and the increase in personal bankruptcies that credit card companies are now more inclined to negotiate. One financial advisor told me that he negotiated $43,000 in credit card debt to $11,500 in several installments.
A Brooklyn storeowner said that the recession had a direct affect on his sales with credit cards. “Many people who used to shop with cash or checks are instead buying with credit cards, causing me to lose a few percent on margins that I can ill afford to reduce.” In this economy, he pointed out, raising prices was not an option. He complained that some people challenge the sale later, causing an undue delay in payment by the credit card company. He recalled that his father, from whom he inherited the store, had not accepter credit cards. “Imagine if I did that today,” he said, “I would most likely loose many customers.” He said that the first question he frequently hears from new customers is whether he accepts credit cards.
Financial counselors say that one of the biggest risks in the overuse of credit cards is to lose perspective on what you can afford. They say that some people who fall victim to impulse buying have no idea on how they will be able to repay a purchase with a credit card other than to figure that “something will materialize.” It is this blind faith in the unforeseen that often sinks consumers into bigger debt. Obviously, a recovery will no doubt help many consumers either pay off their credit cards or at least renegotiate debt. That is why the report of reduced balances on many American credit cards was such a welcome sign, but as the statistics indicate, only a drop in the bucket.
*Picture Credit Andres Rueda
Posted by Menachem Lubinsky on June 14, 2010 under Sixth Sense |
By Menachem Lubinsky
A nursing home administrator recently joked that he served Sushi at a birthday party for a 100-year old patient. Sushi in a nursing home? Distributors are quietly whispering that even foodservice clients are demanding some of the new gourmet and upscale kosher products. A Yeshiva looking to replace a cook who had taken ill asked if I knew of a “quality chef” that could do the cooking for his boys school. A chef in a Yeshiva kitchen? In Boys Town Jerusalem, the “cook” is a master chef with 17 years of experience with the Dan Hotels in Israel. He even takes the time to teach some of the boys to cook.
It certainly seems that times are changing in that the menus at many institutions are going a notch or two higher than the traditional foods. In a Long Island nursing home, at least one meal a week includes foods that are grilled over an open fire. The chef used a variety of upscale sauces to douse the meats. There is most certainly a move to upgrade the foods served at institutions, which means that Foodservice distributors should take notice, and apparently they have. I can certainly see Sushi heading for some of the summer camps as youngsters today are amongst the major fans of Sushi. Israeli products like couscous and, of course, mini-mandels are now a basic staple at many institutions. Even hospitals are stepping up to the plate with more variety in their cafeterias for staff and even some new items for patients who do not have a restricted diet. At New York’s Citifield, the fare is also much improved including kebabs prepared over a grill. Kosher has most certainly leap-frogged into a new era of more exotic and upscale items. But who would have believed that even foodservice would not be too far behind.
Posted by Menachem Lubinsky on June 11, 2010 under Israel, Kosherfest |
Tel Aviv…Several Israeli exhibitors at Kosherfest will not be coming directly from home this coming October. They will have made a stop at SIAL, the huge international food show that takes place several days earlier in Paris every two years. They will be part of a new 24 booth Israel pavilion that will follow a similar presence at ANUGA last year, a show that is held every two years in Cologne. Both shows are firsts for the Israelis as an organized pavilion, sponsored by the Israel Export Institute. With its superior technology, ideal climate for growing food ingredients, and new world class packaging, the Israelis are on a mission to dramatically expand food exports throughout the world. Michal Ne’eman of the Food Division of the IEI, told Kosher Today that last year’s foray in Anuga was highly successful, with many of the companies finding distributors in different parts of the world. The kosher status of the products has not hurt either as buyers from the US, Europe, and even the Far East showed interest. The IEI recently responded to a chain of stores from Thailand looking to stock kosher products in Bangkok for Jews who live there and for the many business travelers and tourists who also make the city a key destination for customers looking for kosher. In fact, Israeli food sources say that they would not be surprised if the Israelis showed up at a key food show in the Far East in the unforeseeable future. For whatever reason, say the sources, the Israeli government has suddenly found money to tackle these markets. Unlike a decade ago, the Israelis seem to have the production capacity to meet the demands of a growing market. Despite the attempts to broaden its horizons, Israelis still have to face a hostile and often ambivalent world that sees Israeli military action as one-dimensional. In fact, many Israeli manufactures were somewhat unnerved by the flotilla incident which one manufacturer said plainly is “not good for business.” If security is what they seek, none is better than the kosher market in the US, as is represented by Kosherfest. Israeli food exports to the US have risen dramatically in the past decade. Now Israelis are hoping for a cordial reception on the world stage of food exhibitions. The new slogan soon to be released for Israelis foods is “A Taste of Israel: A World of Flavors.”
Menachem Lubinsky is the founder and co-producer of Kosherfest, the annual trade event for the kosher food & beverage industry and is the editor-in-chief of KosherToday. Menachem Lubinsky is also the President and CEO of LUBICOM Marketing Consulting a firm that specializes in strategic business and not-for-profit planning and implementation.
