Manischewitz reaches for non Jews

Company tries to appeal to consumers looking for 'cleaner, dairy-free options.'

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
matza 298 (photo credit: AP)
matza 298
(photo credit: AP)
Four months before the holiday, the Passover season has already begun at Manischewitz, the 118-year-old brand known around the world for matzo, gefilte fish, chicken soup and sweet wine. But as its matzo factory annually churns out 75.6 million sheets of unleavened bread in 14 flavors for its core Jewish customers, company leaders are creating a new strategy: turning a staid brand into more of a contemporary, perhaps even trendy, one. The country's largest manufacturer of processed kosher foods is trying to grow by offering kosher options in line with gourmet trends - flavored olive oil, wasabi horseradish sauce and whole grain noodles - as well as appealing to non-Jewish consumers who buy kosher food because they believe it is cleaner or like the dairy-free options. "It's not your bubbe's matzo and gefilte fish anymore," said Jeremy Fingerman, president and chief executive officer of the privately held R.A.B. Food Group of Secaucus, New Jersey, which acquired the Manischewitz brand in 1998. Non-Jews represent one of the fastest-growing sectors in the kosher market. They are looking for healthier food options, similar to growth in the organic or natural foods market. All of Manischewitz's factories are overseen by rabbis, who regularly inspect food, ingredients and machinery to ensure they meet all kosher specifications. "Kosher is perceived as being cleaner, better, purer," Fingerman said. However, he does not promise healthier. In addition to new products at Manischewitz, R.A.B. Food Group's growth comes from acquiring smaller kosher labels and the consolidation of operations at a renovated, more modern plant in Newark. This May, it acquired the 136-year-old Rokeach brand, whose holdings include Mother's, Mrs. Adler's and Mishpacha, adding to R.A.B.'s other kosher lines of Goodman's and Horowitz Margareten. It is also working to gain a foothold in the "specialty food market" by buying or creating more ethnic and gourmet brands, such as Guiltless Gourmet, Asian Harvest and Season, a line of canned fish. Company chairman Richard A. Bernstein said R.A.B. is working on a deal to acquire the US rights to import and distribute an upscale tea brand in North America. Manischewitz, the premium brand of the kosher conglomerate, will continue to offer more products with appeal to the broader market, he said. The wasabi horseradish sauce, on the shelves for only two years, is already outselling its traditional horseradish sauce, a Passover staple. "Americans are much more adventurous in what they're willing to try and eat," Bernstein said. "We're trying to be more contemporary both for the core consumer but also be attractive to the non-Jewish consumer." R.A.B. Food Group gross sales are up, from $68 million five years ago to about $100 million now, company officials said. The Manischewitz brand makes up about 54 percent of the R.A.B. sales, and about 15 percent of all sales come from matzo, distributed to more than 20 countries. Manischewitz's foray into other areas of the supermarket besides the kosher aisle won't be easy, said Marcia Mogelonsky, a senior analyst at Mintel, a market research firm in Chicago which estimates the market of certified kosher foods in the US to be $40 billion. She said the company has to sell itself as more than an ethnic company, yet not alienate its traditional customers. "Manischewitz has such a strong identity as an ethnic Jewish food company, and even more so as a 'Jewish holiday' company," she said. "If it wants to transition into the 'specialty food' world or even the mainstream supermarket it has to downplay part of that heritage."