Connecticut Jewish Ledger

Madonna didnt make an appearance, but Kabbalah Energy drink did. There were rumors that New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg would show up, but the thousands on hand had to settle for Kirk Rademaker, as he put the finishing touches on a hummus bust of the mayor. The Bloomberg sculpture was on display at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, right outside the Sabra Foods booth, and close to the Empire Kosher and Tnuva booths. Welcome to Kosherfest, 2005.

Each year, kosher food vendors, distributors, restaurateurs, caterers, certifying agencies, cooking and kitchen accessories manufacturers, chefs, summer camps, nursing homes and the media get together to view and sample whats new in the kosher food industry. Kosherfest 2005 is the 17th annual kosher food and foodservice trade show.

This year, Kosherfest was co-located with the International Hotel/Motel and Restaurant Show. More than 350 exhibitors from the United States and around the world displayed their products at Kosherfest 2005.

Statistics
According to Lubicon Marketing and Consulting, there are 1,100,000 year-round kosher Jewish consumers and a total of 10,500,000 kosher consumers in the U.S. People purchase kosher food for a variety of reasonsthey keep kosher regularly, they keep kosher occasionally, they think it is safer or healthier, they want to buy vegetarian or dairy-free products, or they want halal (food eaten by Muslims).

While 75,000 kosher-certified products were available in 2002, there are now between 86,000-88,000 kosher certified products. A recent report on the U.S. kosher market by Mintel Organization International, a global research organization, reports that 21% of all Americans buy kosher, and that kosher food is a $14.6 billion industry. The Mintel study also notes that younger consumers, those in the 18-34 age range, are the largest group who report that they keep kosher all the time.
Kosher for kids

Many companies are working to meet the needs of these younger consumers and their children. One session offered to Kosherfest attendees was entitled, Kosher for Kids: How to Broaden Your Market. Annie Faragher Bennett, a social worker by training and co-founder of My Family Farm, explained how her Kentucky company manufactures a healthy line of crackers and cookies (i.e. Captains Catch Baked Cheese Crackers and Field Friends Baked Wheat Crackers)partly in response to an increased interest by parents and children in the use of healthy ingredients.

Dr. Arvin Klein, a San Diego physician, described how his Macca Bee, a stuffed yellow and black bee which plays 10 Chanukah songs and the candle-lighting blessings, can serve as a nice gift for Jewish children who are inundated by Santas and reindeer during the holiday season.

Cindy Fern, owner of Shabtai Gourmet Bakery, which ships Kosher for Passover rainbow cake, pies, meltaway crumbs and many other baked goods world-wide, spoke about ways to make products appealing to children.

Use popular characters, collect-em all toysget your product endorsed by Spider Man!

The childrens market is so important that the 108-page Kosherfest 2005 Official Show Directory and Buyers Guide devoted an entire section to Kosher for Kids. Macabbee, a veteran provider of such kid-friendly items as mozzarella sticks, Macababies, grilled cheese sticks, and pizza bagels and Empire (cheese pizza and pizza bagel six-pack) was on hand, as well as newcomer pizza companies Betz Boys Kosher, and Gryfes Kosher Pizza.

Sabras To Go, a new product of the Blue & White Food Products Corporation, offers individual servings of hummus (seven flavors!) with crackers, as well as tuna salad, and sauted eggplant.

Sabras To-Go was selected Best New Package Design at Kosherfest.

Those interested in fleishig child-friendly options will be pleased to try Empire Koshers chicken breast nuggets and boneless chicken tenders, as well as Tnuvas Mama Of line of chicken rings, stars and nuggets, as well as sesame chicken tenders and grilled chicken fillets.

Healthy options include Healthy Times organic and soy-free baby food and cookies, Savtas Pesach Granola the Wunder Pop and Power Pop (by the Body Balance Nutrition Corporation) and Traditional Medicinals Just for Kids Herbal Teas which are described as comforting and organic and come in Tummy Comfort, Nighty Night (calming and relaxing tea), Throat Coat, and Cold Care.

Games for Kids from the Sunshine Israel Company were also on display, including the Hebrew Alphabet Wooden Puzzle Set and the Sodoku Cross Numbers Game, perfect for a long Shabbat afternoon.

Kosher Books
For attendees who may be new to kosher or have a friend back home who is clueless, having author Shimon Apsidorf on hand was a treat. Apsidorf, author of award-winning Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur Survival Kits and the Judaism (and Israel) in a Nutshell series, was signing copies of his new book, Kosher for the Clueless but Curious, which explains kosher in a clear and concise fashion and also contains recipes.

Susie Fishbein, author of the best selling cookbooks, Kosher by Design, Kosher by Design Entertains and Kosher by Design Kids in the Kitchen was sitting at the Manischewitz booth, talking to conference attendees and signing copies of her Kids in the Kitchen book.

My mother was always in the kitchen and was always entertaining relativeswe even had people sleeping under the dining room table! Fishbein explains. I have always had a passion for cooking. Her cookbooks feature magnificent color photos and instructions for creating these simple recipes at home. Her next book, Kosher by Design: Short on Time Quick and Easy will utilize ingredients made by companies like Manischewitz, to put out meals simply and quickly.

David Rossi, of the R.A.B. Food Group, representing Manischewitz at KosherFest, notes that Manischewitz, which has over 650 products, wants to be a contemporary company and create simple products. Fishbein uses many of their products in her reciped. She uses matzo ball mix to create spinach, tumeric and tomato (green, yellow and red) matzo balls, and she reports, I can take their albacore tuna in a packages and help families simply turn it into tuna nicoisse.

The conference also featured a session entitled, Chefs and Authors Perspectives: Whats Really Cooking in Kosher? Author Gil Marks and Chef/Restaurant owner, Jeffrey Nathan participated in the session.

Old Companies, New Companies
Old companies are still coming up with new products. Manischewitz will soon introduce a new line of pareve cake mixes in extra-moist yellow and extra-moist chocolate (some suggest that this is in response to Duncan Hines recently changing their cake mixes from pareve to dairy).

Empire Koshers President and CEO, Rob Van Naarden, was on hand to greet conference-goers and to introduce such new products as honey smoked deli turkey breast, London broil and turkey chops. Empire is the largest purveyor of kosher poultry and is available in all 50 states.

Seth Leavitt, co-president (with David Flamholz) of Abelles and Heymann, was showing passersby their Bronx companys salami garlic sticks, chipotle pepper franks (smoked jalapeno), wasabi franks, kishka and their new reduced fat salami (12 ounce).

The Kosher Seafood Company was on hand to tell potential customers about their kosher certified Alaska fresh-frozen salmon, halibut and sablefish. And the Zaloom Marketing Corporation was promoting their client, Asian Star (factories in Thailand), and their line of kosher imitation crab legs, and crab flakes.

Kohinoor offers a range of authentic Indian food products, from rice to curries to spices and seasonings.

And Yumtee Nuts offers nuts in cinnamon, pina colada and a range of other flavors.

My personal favorite? The chocolate fountain! Grab a marshmallow, grab a stick and wait in line for your turn to cover the marshmallow in chocolate before enjoying the delightful kosher taste!

A look at The Best
-Best in Show: Kleins Real Kosher Ice Cream - Premium Sorbet Mango

-Best New Baked Good, Bread, Grain or Cereal Item: MeMeMe, IncMarcys Croutons

-Best New Wine: Kedem Group - Herzog Special Reserve (Cabernet, Zinfandel, Syrah)

-Best New Non-Food Specialty Item: Alcoa Consumer Products-Reynolds Slow Cooker Liners

-Best New Israeli Item: Jerusalem Gourmet Products - Aunt Bertas Onion Spread

-Best New Passover Item: Rue LaFayette, Inc - Payard Flourless Cookies - pareve

-Best New Cookie or Cracker Item: Snack Factory, Inc. - Everything Pretzel Crisps

-Best New Cheese or Dairy Product: Tnuva USA Inc. - Emek Bis 5% Fat - Light

Manischewitz announced that the company will introduce a new line of Pareve (non-dairy) cake mixes. The announcement follows the recent news that Duncan Hines has discontinued its popular Pareve cake mix line.

Initially the line will consist of Extra Moist Yellow and Chocolate Pareve cake mixes, with other flavors to be added during the next few years.