Manischewitz Merger with Kayco Spells New Era for Kosher Food

By: Ezra Ashkenazi

Manischewitz is kosher food company that has been providing the Jewish world with food for ages. Jews all over the world enjoy their wine, their Passover matzo, and many more amazing products that this company makes. Samantha Corbin, a writer for a web magazine called Brokelyn one said, “For me, putting Manischewitz on the Seder table is like using Yiddish slang in everyday conversation…It’s a celebration of cultural Judaism, a Judaism that can be observant but liberated from religious gravitas.” Many people feel the same, as Manischewitz has been a Jewish staple for different sects of Jews all over the world. However, the company has been changed many times, and it is going to undergo a number of changes in the near future. In 1987, the company sold its wine division to a company that is now named Constellation Brands. Manischewitz has seen its competitor, Kayco take over a lot of ground in the Kosher food market. Kayco manufactures Kedem grape juice and wine, as well as many other kosher wines.

It also makes a plethora of kosher foods that compete with Manischewitz. The company has also lost a lot of customers to the American food companies who now get their foods checked and certified by rabbis who give the food a kosher stamp. After all the harsh competition that Manischewitz has faced, the company plans to merge with its main competitor, Kayco. Kayco has acquired all of Manischewitz’s products, including their matzos, which are the best-selling matzos in the country by a mile, and other foods. Kayco also has access to Manischewitz’s famous labels, like Rokeach and Mother’s. According to a New York Times article, “The company’s portfolio will be trimmed down to its Season brand, known for sardines that are popular with nonkosher consumers.” After this deal is done the kosher supermarkets will never look the same, their shelves won’t be filled with the products that have filled the shelves of supermarkets all over the country for decades. Manischewitz is a company that has gone through a lot of competition and diversity and they finally had to throw in the towel, and allow Kayco to acquire its panoply of products. You know the saying, “If you can’t beat ‘em join ‘em.”