Benefits

Why Go Kosher?

What are the benefits and advantages of a company going kosher?

Most Americans and Canadians eat some kosher food every day, but chances are they're not aware of it. Take a walk down the aisles of any supermarket and you will see that certification appears on over 65% of American and Canadian produced foods that are certified kosher, from the coveted Oreo to the thirst-quenching Coca-Cola. More and more companies in the food industry are following an industry trend of having their products certified as Kosher. Products bearing kosher certification are sought after by many groups of consumers including observant Jews, vegetarians, Muslims, the lactose intolerant, and others. The kosher market volume in 2006 in the United States and Canada was 200 billion dollars with 65% of all ingredients used in food productions kosher certified; an increase of 15% from 2005.

The kosher symbol has become an increasingly important marketing device which generates additional revenues by expanding the size of the market. Supermarkets favor brands with certification because it gives the product a competitive edge that makes it sell faster. That also means that certification can lead to an increase in a company's private label business.

There is clear evidence that a kosher symbol boosts market share, that a kosher product can win more favorable shelf space, and that positioned next to a competing non-kosher brand, a kosher product will do better by 20%. This data has remained constant even in the smaller cities, far from heavier concentrations of kosher Jews. (Source: Integrated Marketing Communications.)

Of Canadian consumers who purchase kosher products, it is estimated that approximately:

• 45 per cent are Jewish
• 25 per cent believe kosher is safer or better
• 20 per cent are Muslims
• 10 per percent buy for philosophical (vegetarian), health (lactose intolerant) or religious (Jehovah's Witness, Seventh Day Adventist) reasons. (Faye Clark Marketing & Communications, Inc., 2002)

As the demand for kosher products increases so does the demand for kosher supervision. Traditionally, kashrus agencies had a hard time selling their services to companies because it was difficult to convince them that the investment in a kosher plant would yield them a return on their investment. With a surging demand for kosher products, most companies when approached see it as a necessary cost of doing business.

Our organization specializes in advising manufacturers, producers, and importers, on how to successfully sell their products internationally in the Jewish/Kosher markets of Israel, Canada, United States and Europe.

You can find our Badatz Toronto symbol on the following independent third party websites, which list reliable Kosher certifying agencies.

• Kosher Quest - Click here to visit www.kosherquest.org > reliable kosher symbols.

• Kashrut.com - Click here to visit www.kashrut.com > consumers > kosher certifying agencies