Kosher Food Is A Big And Growing Business, Including For Certification Companies

Today’s global retail kosher market brings in more than $13 billion in sales annually, and, according to Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Lubicom, includes many non-traditional foods. Sue Fishkoff, author of Kosher Nation, adds that kosher food could represent as much as one-half of the food found in a typical United States supermarket. The United States is also home to 600 of the world’s 1,000-plus kosher certification organizations (30 years ago, there were only 18 globally)—making the certification industry worth $200 million a year. At the top of the heap, Manhattan’s OU Kosher covers more than 6,000 plants worldwide. Its closest competitor—Brooklyn’s OK Kosher—certifies 20 new companies a week, and is growing at close to 15 percent per year.