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Goodbye, Kosherfest: A Trade Show
Swap Reveals a Changing Industry
Jackie Hajdenberg | JTA.org
18 JUNE 8, 2023 | JEWISH EXPONENT
Julia Gergely via JTA.org
A fter more than three decades,
an annual trade show of kosher
foods that saw the evolution of
the cuisine in America grow from gefilte
fish and pastrami to “facon,” gluten-free
cookies and CBD gum is no more.

“Exhibitors feel Kosherfest has run its
course,” the company that organized
the two-day event, Diversified Business
Communications, announced on May 31.

The company’s statement attributed
the decision to shifts in the supermarket
industry and in how stores display and
purchase kosher products. Buyers for
Visitors check out a booth at Kosherfest.

supermarkets, it said, are increasingly
likely to buy kosher products at general
trade shows rather than events specific to kosher food.

with wine tastings, blind taste tests and cooking demonstrations taking place along-
“As this buyer is responsible for sourcing and purchasing a wide array of products, side displays of new products.

they are more likely to attend food events displaying items not just exclusive to
“You (and your appetite) are invited to a massive celebration of all things kosher
kosher,” the company said. “A certified kosher only food show such as Kosherfest is with hundreds of food brands, cookbook authors, influencers, and experts, all under
too niche for their attendance.”
one roof,” announced a press release for the event distributed last month.

The decision to cancel Kosherfest — which has included more than 325 exhibitors
Among the companies highlighted on Kosher-Palooza’s website is KosherCatch, a
displaying their products and has drawn as many as 6,000 attendees each fall — New England-based fresh fish company. Its founder, Jeffrey Ingber, said he had been
comes as kosher food has gone mainstream. As of 2018, according to the Boston a longtime Kosherfest attendee but thought the show had waned recently.

Globe, some 40% of packaged food and drink sold in the United States was certified
“Over the past 10 years there was nothing new to see, which is a surprise because
kosher. Last year, Rabbi Eli Lando, the executive manager of OK Kosher, a certification there are emerging products and new products and creative products coming out
agency, said Jews make up just 20% of kosher products’ consumer base, according every year by manufacturers,” he said.

to the publication Food Dive.

Apfelbaum said she had seen the same thing. “Definitely Kosherfest in the last
At the same time, supermarkets and other pillars of the kosher marketplace have couple of years has been very disappointing for anyone that’s in the industry,” she
been joined by social media influencers in promoting new food products to Jews said. “I just found there weren’t that many vendors anymore. It really had slowed down.”
who keep kosher. That shift was accelerated during the pandemic when Kosherfest
The demise coincided with a rapid explosion of accessible kosher products — in
was suspended for a year before returning to muted crowds in 2021. Recently, it some ways making the show a victim of the success of its field.

showed signs of strain. Last year, the fair was still recruiting vendors just days before
“This year we’re celebrating the centennial of American kosher certification, and
its opening. Vendors who had reserved booths for this year will have their payments efforts by certifiers during that century have left the kosher industry in an excellent
refunded, the company said.

position,” said David Zvi Kalman, a scholar at the Shalom Hartman Institute of North
Some longstanding Kosherfest attendees thought the show had shifted to cater America who studies trends in Jewish life.

too much to influencers, while some influencers said the show never felt totally
“The fact that there are kosher products up and down the supply chain means that
accessible to them.

manufacturers can easily source kosher ingredients, and ingredient manufacturers
“The food industry has evolved and social media influencers definitely have a have an incentive to certify to stay competitive,” Kalman added. “While effective
voice and a presence and they get products in front of consumers,” said Chanie marketing has been important to the industry’s growth — it saved the [Orthodox
Apfelbaum, a kosher cookbook author and social media personality under the Union] from a period of stagnation in the 1950s — there are now strong network
moniker “Busy in Brooklyn.” “So, it’s definitely something that was necessary that effects that encourage companies to certify even without the help of events like
they weren’t really ready to bring to the table.”
Kosherfest.” Apfelbaum, who said she was introduced to Korean cuisine after meeting a chef at
With kosher products readily available in many places, observers said kosher-keep-
Kosherfest, will host a cooking competition at Kosher-Palooza, a new event that will ing consumers are increasingly looking for unique or boundary-pushing food experi-
take place later this month at the same New Jersey convention center that previously ences — a niche promoted by Fleishigs Magazine, a lead sponsor of Kosher-Palooza.

hosted Kosherfest.

“Kosher consumers are demanding fresh, new products that we want to see on the
Kosher-Palooza is geared toward individual consumers, according to its website, market and that’s what we want,” Apfelbaum said. “That’s what we’re looking for.” ■