Generation K
Here’s what drives me nuts about trend stories reporting a boom in the sale of kosher foods, most recently in the New York Times:
[Manischewitz] says there are now 86,000 kosher-certified products, the market is growing between 10 and 15 percent annually, and more than 14,000 new kosher products have been introduced in the United States and Canada over the last five years.
Do they really mean “14,000 new kosher products,” or “kosher certification has been extended to 14,000 new products”? It seems most of the major food companies seek a heksher for their products, which means they can sell to those who keep kosher in addition to their base customers (and perhaps a number of people who see the heksher as some sort of seal of purity). That’s an admirable story about American-style diversity, but that’s different than saying the nation’s customers are clamoring for thousands of new kosher qua kosher products. I think the stats include the vast majority of consumers who don’t even know they’re buying a “kosher” product — and don’t even notice if it carries an OU, Star-K, or the like.
Granted, the Kosher-for-Passover aisle at my supermarket is crammed with offerings and the kosher market has gotten ever more sophisticated and diverse. But until the day that sales for Kitov Cheese Swirls surpass sales for Cheetoh’s, let’s take it easy about a kosher boom.
JustASC is written by Andrew Silow-Carroll, Editor-in-Chief of the 