The Kosher Consumer
The strength of today’s kosher retail market can be attributed to increased consumer demand and increased availability of kosher products. It is estimated that approximately 40 to 50 per cent of the products on grocery shelves in the USA are kosher. Manufacturers seek kosher certification to take advantage in marketing their product to another consumer base. Multinational brands such as Coca-Cola, Kraft, and Heinz have gained kosher certification. As more manufacturers enter the kosher market consumer choice has increased and at the same time retail prices for kosher products have fallen.
- Over 25 million Kosher consumers worldwide.
- Only a small part of these consumers are Jewish.
- A recent Mintel survey in 2008 showed the major reason for purchasing kosher food is for reasons of food quality (62%) or for general healthiness (51%). All told, 30% of those who buy kosher food do so for religious purposes; 14% follow kosher rules; 10% follow some other religious rules with eating restrictions similar to kosher; and 6% follow halal religious rules.
- Muslim, Buddhists, Seventh Day Adventists eat kosher food for religious reasons.
- Vegetarians & Vegans, Ecologically-minded groups and Allergy sufferers eat kosher food for food safety concerns as kosher certification is seen as an independent inspection on the standards in which the manufactured products are made.
- In a survey by the Mintel group in 2005- 55% of respondents who bought kosher foods said they thought these foods held a higher mark of health and safety than non-kosher items, 38% were vegetarians and 16% said they eat halal.
- The number of kosher consumers has risen from 6 million in 1988 to more than 16 million in 2002. It is projected that by 2009 there will be 30 million Kosher food consumers worldwide. (High Beam Research 2007 and Mintel Group 2008)