Kosher Food on the Rise

In an era of concern over food contamination, allergies and the origin of ingredients, the market for kosher food among non-Jewish is setting records. A 2009 Mintel consumer survey shows that the primary reason people buy kosher is for food quality (62%), followed by “general healthfulness” (51%). The third reason is for food safety (34%), which contrasts sharply to the 14% of respondents who claim they buy kosher food because they follow kosher religious rules.


According to the kosher and halal food initiative, a research project at Cornell University, the non-Jewish kosher market has been growing in rapidly since the 1990s. Today, 40 percent of the food sold at grocery stores has a kosher imprint. Due to the large number of products marked as kosher, many customers do not even realize they are purchasing a kosher product. According to Packaged Facts, a research company, kosher spending could reach $260 billion by 2013.

Many major manufacturers are kosher-certified, offering kosher products under popular house-hold brands such Nestle, Coca-Cola, Oreo, Kraft, Lay’s potato chips, Crisco, Lipton and Heinz Ketchup. As the number of companies seeking kosher-certification rises, kosher is becoming the standard for food ingredients. In general, there is demand for a greater diversity of mainstream kosher food products. This year, for the first time, glatt kosher food will be sold at the Super Bowl.