The Sixth Sense
LUBICOM Kosher CEO 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. The views expressed in this column do not represent the opinions of KosherToday’s publishers and are those of the author alone.
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My Sixth Sense is released on alternating weeks with Eye on Kosher, which can be found at http://www.lubicomkosher.com/eyeonkosher.
Passover ‘06 Set to Debut with Many New Products
Passover ’06 Set to Debut with Many New Products
(New York) With many Passover aisles set to open in less than a month, kosher industry sources are already predicting a “robust” season. Like in recent years, consumers will find many new products on shelves packed with thousands of items. In many areas customers have become accustomed to special Passover stores and in a growing number of supermarkets the Passover aisle has been steadily growing, as have selections in refrigerated and frozen items. New products have driven sales in the past few years to double-digit growth as customers look to expand their choices of what were once slim pickings.
Passover continues to represent nearly 40% of annual kosher food sales and the most widely observed Jewish holiday. Distributors explain that the “new” label can last for more than one year as some food and wine products that were rolled out in one market last year will be expanding to other markets as well. One good example was Kedem’s dark colored Light Grape Juice (with its broad appeal to people who must restrict their intake of sugar), which did extremely well in the Northeast and will this year be available in most other large Passover markets. Kedem will also be adding a white grape juice in addition to several new wines from around the world. The selection of wines for Passover is already staggering given the advances that were made in the last decade. Dalton Winery is introducing a Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Rosé, and Shiraz. Like Kedem, many of the new choices are targeting the health conscious, including many gluten free products. Shabtai Gourmet is introducing such gluten free (wheat allergies) products as Bell Ring Cake-chocolate devils cake, Strawberry Shortcake, Fudge Brownie Chocolate Pecan Pie, Dipped Banana, and Dipped Marshmallow. Klein’s Kosher Ice Cream is unveiling Hoo-lachmu Flats gluten free “flat bread.” It’s Mango Sorbet, which won the Best in Show at the Kosherfest 2005 New Products Competition is also kosher for Passover. Neshama Gourmet Kosher Sausages will be available in Smoked Andouille and Country Apple.
A sampling of other new products for Passover, which begins on the eve of April 12th and ends on April 20th include: Rue LaFayette (French gourmet products) Black Truffle Olive Oil, Foie Gras, Payard Chocolate, Payard Flourless chocolate cookie; Shahaf Bakery (Israel) with a line of cookies and cakes that “taste like year-round”; Macabbe Kosher Foods - Passover Pizza (gluten free); Gefen/HKS – a full line of cake mixes, Pancake Syrups, spices, La Jolla Orange Blossom Honey, La Jolla Wildflower Honey, La Jolla Blueberry Honey, Lj Chilean Style Olives (Spiced Green Olives), Lj Mediterranean Style Olives (W/ Basil), Lj Mexican Style, Noodles, Ziti, Savion Matzo Stix And Crackers, Onion & Garlic Matzo Stix, Whole Wheat Crackers, Sweet Crackers; Kedem - Cooking Wines, Bartenura Balsamic Blaze - Balsamic Glaze; Kojel Instant Hot Chocolate, Pudding, Diet Chocolate Pudding, Diet Vanilla Pudding; Manhattan Chocolates -Chocolate Pops, Gedilla Passover Taffy; Yehuda Matzo - Chocolate Covered Matzo, Matzo Ball Mix, Matzo Ball & Soup Mix; Kineret – full line of cakes and cookies, Mandel Bread, Potato Latke Mix, Potato Latke Mix , Soup Nuts; Kineret – Frozen: Potato Latkes, Light & Tasty Eggs, Coffee Whitener, Amaretto Coffee Whitener, Cappuccino Coffee Whitener, Whipped Topping, and Baked Macaroni & Cheese. The listing of these products (received by Kosher Today) represent only a small sample of an estimated 500 new Kosher for Passover items in 2006.
Resignation of Empire’s Chief Highlights Challenges for Kosher Poultry Giant
(Mifflintown, PA) The abrupt resignation of Robert Van Naarden, president & CEO of Empire Kosher Poultry, has put a huge spotlight on the world’s largest producer of kosher poultry. Kosher food sources say that Empire’s continued struggle to recapture its dominance of yesteryear has been made more difficult by a radically changed environment in the industry. The company has faced increased competition from such domestic producers as Agri, but has also had to cope with rising imports from Canada as well as Israel. One industry source told Kosher Today that “a generation of loyal Empire customers has passed on without being replaced by the next generation.” Van Naarden’s attempts to capture more of the growing Orthodox market may also have run into stiff competition from other producers and from reluctance by the Orthodox to change brands. Van Naarden was Empire’s President and CEO since February, 2004, after Palisades Associates purchased the company from J. W. Childs. Mr. Van Naarden said in his statement to Empire’s board of directors that after his 2 years at Empire “it was time to move on, as he has contributed to the company to the extent of his abilities and felt comfortable that he is leaving it in a much better state than when he arrived.” He will remain a consultant to Empire during the next twelve months. Greg Rosenbaum, President of Palisades Associates and Chairman of Empire’s Board of Directors, will assume the role of acting CEO as a nationwide search begins for a new Chief Executive. Rabbi Israel Weiss was named Vice President of Rabbinical and Kashrus Affairs. Rabbi Weiss has been with Empire over 20 years and was most recently Director of Rabbinical Affairs.
ConAgra’s To Shed Meat Businesses but Not Kosher and Healthy Brands
(Chicago) The Conagra Food Company is shedding most of its meat businesses, but not its Hebrew National brand or for that matter such brands as Healthy Choice, Brown 'N Serve or Slim Jim. Analysts believe that the Conagra move is further evidence of the strength of kosher amongst all segments of the American public, although Hebrew National is not accepted by most consumers who eat glatt kosher meats. It is also keeping many of its “health” related brands that like kosher have done extremely well in recent years. Conagra is putting up for sale its meat businesses with combined sales of $1.9 billion.
Pepsi and Coke Pull the Plug on Flavored Soft Drinks in Israel
(Tel Aviv) by Idelle Ross… Pepsi Israel produced by Tempo Beverages has decided to take Pepsi Twist off the shelves only a year and a half after it was introduced to the Israeli market. Tempo had invested $2.5 million in promoting the lemon-flavored soft drink. Tempo officials told Yediot Achronot that the market for Pepsi Twist was very small so it decided to discontinue the brand and invest efforts in the other Pepsi brands such as the diet cola marketed under the Pepsi Max label. Pepsi Twist competed with Coke’s Lemon Cola and with the RC Cola brand produced by Yaffora Tavori in Israel. Unlike the other two, Pepsi Twist was not available in a diet drink and the company thought that this would make their beverage unique. It captured a 7% share of the lemon cola sales while Coke’s lemon had 56% and RC Cola a 37% share of the market. Lemon flavored cola sales are 12 percent of cola sales in Israel valued at $70 million annually. Coca Cola Israel has a 64% share, RC Cola 20.5 and Pepsi 10.5%. In the diet beverages, Coke leads with 62%, RC 20 and Pepsi Max 18%.
Is Whiskey Kosher? Some Israeli Rabbis Say No
(Bnei Brak) Several popular brands of whiskey, including the coveted Johnny Walker brand, are not kosher, at least according to several leading rabbinic authorities here. The Bnai Brak Rabbinate under Rabbi Moshe Landau recently published an article noting that whiskey is aged in oak barrels, which may have been previously used to produce wine. The aging in old barrels gives the whiskey a different taste than that steeped in newer barrels. The rabbis claimed that since the wine produced in the barrels is not kosher then neither is the whiskey. Among the brands that age whiskey in this way are Johnny Walker, Chivas and Grant’s. Rabbinical authorities had assumed that whiskey was brewed differently than wine and therefore had no concern the two were being mixed. Rabbi Landau’s kashrut certification, which includes Coca Cola Israel, is considered one of the most stringent. The issue was also widely discussed at a recent conference on kosher held in Brussels. Rabbi Akiva Padwa from the London Beth Din's kashrut division ruled that most of the whiskey brands are kosher, but that some brands undergo a special "finish" in barrels previously used to produce wine. The taste of the wine can still be felt in the drink, thus making it non-kosher, the rabbi said. Rabbi Padwa added that the whiskey's label indicates whether it had undergone an additional finish, using the words "two wood," "special finish" or "double matured." In the US, several rabbis claimed that they had thoroughly investigated the issue and discovered that the oak barrels undergo a process of fire and vaporization, which removes the wine taste. Other rabbis wrote that aging in barrels of non-kosher wines does not disqualify the whiskey. Many Orthodox Jews are for the moment refraining from using whiskey until its kosher status is clear.
Supersol Takes on Suppliers by Removing Them from Shelf
(Tel Aviv) Super-Sol, Israel’s largest supermarket chain, is confronting suppliers by removing some of their products from shelves. The supermarket chain, which recently swallowed rival Clubmarket for a billion shekels, is yanking a whole range of Unilever products from branch shelves as a negotiating tactic, to wrest better terms of trade from the manufacturer. Super-Sol, which belongs to Nochi Dankner's IDB group, has also remained stoic at the notion of not selling Nutella spreads and Ferrero Rocher chocolates as it battles over terms with supplier Leiman-Schlussel. Unilever, its big brands include Bagel & Bagel pretzels, Click chocolates, and Telma mayonnaise. Market sources say Super-Sol is careful not to ban favorites among customers, who might rebel at the thought of losing Telma cereals or Kinder "surprise eggs" for the kiddies. Sources near Super-Sol say the chain does not mean to get into the kind of brawl it had with Strauss two years ago. But neither does its management seem willing to bend on demands for sweeter terms from suppliers, even at the cost of reducing the range on the shelves. ACNielsen says Supersol's market share has reached 40.5% after its purchase of Clubmarket.