Fancy shopping for kosher fare at Woolies?

SUZANNE BELLING

The response was overwhelming, as many recall spotlessly clean Woolworth kosher chickens of yesteryear and long for them to reappear on the shelves. There was some scepticism as to the authenticity of the survey among a portion of the Jewish community. They were concerned that it was fake news.

However, the SA Jewish Report was reassured by Richard Stockley, head of innovation at Woolworths Food, “It is certainly not a hoax, but part of a method of assessing the market,” he said.

“Woolworths has a broad customer demographic and from time to time we conduct market research in the form of surveys and focus group discussions, in an effort to understand the needs of our customers.

“Some surveys may focus on specific customer groups and interests,” as with the survey on kosher products, he said.

The results of the survey have yet to be analysed and made public. However, Rabbi Dovi Goldstein, head of Kosher Partnerships at the South African Beth Din, was very happy with Woolworths doing the survey in the hope that they will indeed offer a wide kosher range.

When he got wind of the survey, he forwarded it to members of the community on the Beth Din’s e-mail list. Goldstein believes this is all part of “fulfilling the vision of the chief rabbi for more people to eat more kosher more often”.

Goldstein also made contact with Woolworths over it and is now awaiting Woolworths to act on the survey. The Beth Din also took up the cudgels of the survey on social media with their “platz-worthy” campaign.

Goldstein told the SA Jewish Report: “We have moved away from seeing kosher as limited. We never compromise on our very high kosher standards. We are here to facilitate, innovate and grow the kosher market substantially.”

The Beth Din is hands-on in providing a platform for retailers to connect with consumers and for manufacturers to connect with retailers, he explains.

“We see ourselves as serving the South African Jewish community by bringing great kosher opportunities to them.

“Also, we see kosher as a premium offering, with great products and great service. We are here to drive the chief rabbi’s vision and to be global leaders in the kosher space.”

Rabbi Goldstein said that retailers were viewing this service as great value for their businesses. Since the inception of this major kosher drive 15 months ago, the kosher department of the Beth Din has received between two and three new enquiries every week from companies wishing to become kosher.

Goldstein said he was not in a position to elaborate on which companies these were until it became a fait accompli. However, he says: “We are witnessing companies seeing huge value in becoming kosher.

“Our role is to promote iconic South African products and brands – for example Nando’s and Sally Williams – and give them the opportunity to sell their products on a global scale.”

To this end, Rabbi Goldstein, Rabbi Desmond Maizels, of the Cape Town Beth Din, and Jarred Abelson, head of finance and operations at the Beth Din, are in New Jersey, US, this week to take part in the annual international Kosherfest, “the biggest kosher food expo in the world”, where they have a stall.

This gives South Africa an opportunity to sell its kosher products internationally.

Rabbi Goldstein said they were “driving the promotion of local kosher products relentlessly.

“We are working hard with a fresh, innovative and dynamic team.”

There are many exciting projects in the pipeline that will be announced on social media when they come to fruition.