Manischewitz, a longtime staple name in kosher homes and on the shelves of stores that carry kosher items, has changed its product designs, a plan three years in the making. It comes in time for the 2024 Passover season, which begins at sundown on April 22 and culminates after nightfall on April 30.
Boxes and cans with the new look feature bright colors and banners. A matzah-ball mix shows two cartoon characters carrying a hot bowl of soup; the not-so-subtle look is of figures carrying a particular food item and reaching out to their audience. The feeling is of a Yiddish kitsch.
In fact, there will be merchandise featuring “Yiddishisms” like “Manischewitz, soup with chutzpah,” “Bubby knows best but we are a close second” and “I’m cooking my tuchus off,” according to Kayco, the parent company of Manischewitz.
Shani Seidman, chief marketing officer for Kayco, said in an article in the business section of The Washington Post, “We have authentically Jewish food, and we feel like there’s a lot of opportunity to invite everyone to come and explore the kosher aisle.”
She said kosher foods “should be a culinary destination” along the lines of “Taco Tuesdays” (anyone for “Matzah Ball Mondays?”). She envisioned the potential consumer “who doesn’t necessarily need to only buy foods that they’re used to.”
Seidman said the company was “inspired by the inclusivity seen in brands with other cuisines” and aspired “to become the emblematic gateway to Jewish culture, one delicious product at a time.”
Manischewitz has operated for 136 years and is a separate company from Manischewitz Wines.
