The kosher food market encompasses almost every segment of the food industry, from raw ingredients (meat, poultry, and baking products, for example) to processed foods and beverages. Any food product that is prepared under the laws of kashrut (the Jewish laws governing food products, see terms, below) is considered kosher; only rabbinical law, therefore, limits the market.

Almost all major manufacturers produce at least some food products that bear the kosher symbol, including Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, Frito Lay, Kraft, Nabisco, and General Mills. According to Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC), a New York-based marketing firm serving the kosher market, in 2002 some 75,000 CPG products in the U.S. were kosher certified, up from 60,000 in 2000.

Some of the products that gain certification each year are mainstays of the food industry, and their certification adds dollar value to the "mainstream kosher" market while having little overall bearing on product sales themselves. For example, Nabisco Oreo cookies attained kosher certification in 1997, giving the kosher food market a $300 million boost (based on IRI data for sales of Oreos through food, drug, and mass merchandisers, calendar year 1997). However, Oreo cookie sales showed no significant dollar increase between 1996 and 1997.

The kosher market can be considered as two separate markets: "mainstream and kosher" and "ethnic kosher." The former, "mainstream and kosher products," are those foods that are certified kosher but have little relevance or bearing on traditional kosher foodways. These kosher certified products are as much at home on the shelves of consumers who have no interest in kosher foods as they are on the shelves of those consumers for whom the kosher symbol is important. "Ethnic kosher foods," on the other hand, are products that are "kosher by design"-such items as gefilte fish, matzo, schav and borscht (both types of soup), and other traditional ethnic Jewish food products.

While the "mainstream and kosher" market enjoys more than $100 billion in sales, these sales may not be indicative of the "market" for kosher foods, since a minority of consumers buy these products because they are kosher, but for some other reason. On the other hand, sales of some "ethnic kosher" foods are so low that it is impossible to track them through the usual means (IRI or other scanner services). While ethnic kosher foods may be purchased by any consumer interested in Jewish food traditions, it is undeniable that the major market for these products is the consumer looking for a kosher product. In any case, it is difficult to arrive at a dollar figure that represents the "true" kosher market.

As a way of highlighting the difference between the "mainstream and kosher" market and the "ethnic kosher" market, this report examines a representative sample of segments in which kosher and non-kosher products can be found. Segments in which kosher certification is likely to be absent or extremely limited (e.g. meat snacks) are not included.

For each of the five segments analyzed in this report (cookies, chocolate confectionery, snacks, sugar confectionery, and crackers), both total dollar sales and dollar sales of the kosher component are given. Top manufacturers in each segment and their top-selling products are also itemized, and efforts are made to estimate the total kosher sales of each top manufacturer. The report also highlights (when possible) sales by small, "ethnic kosher" manufacturers in each segment. Even if sales figures are not available for these smaller manufacturers, their brands are discussed in as much detail as possible.

Sales of kosher products in Mintel's five segments increased 16.4% between 1997 and 2002 and are projected to increase 14% through 2007. The Jewish population in the U.S. remains relatively stable, and although the Islamic population continues to grow, it still constitutes only a small percentage of the U.S. population (see Market Drivers, below). Vegetarians and other concerned consumers, therefore, will drive the kosher market to a greater degree than those who choose kosher foods for religious reasons.

The report focuses primarily on sales through food, drug, and mass merchandisers (excluding Wal-Mart and warehouse clubs). Detailed sales through specialty kosher supermarkets are not given, although estimates of their share are included where possible.

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