Shani Seidman, is the Chief Marketing Officer of KAYCO which is one of the largest producers and distributors of kosher foods and beverages. Brands under the Kayco Kosher Umbrella include Gefen; Heaven & Earth; Manischewitz; and Tuscanini, to name a few. As well as the network Kosher.com Kosher.com is the leading resource for all things Kosher, including recipes, products, and video content geared toward everyone from those keeping kosher to those who just want to learn more about the tradition. Kosher.com debuts two exciting new series: BreakingBread featuring Danielle Renov @peaslovencarrots with new episodes with new episodes running through February and Rosh Chodesh featuring Chef Gabe Garcia of Tierra Sur Restaurant celebrating Jewish Holidays each month. Kosher.com is constantly seeking exciting ways reach new audiences and break down barriers as exemplified in the two latest shows:
- ‘Breaking Bread’ features Danielle Renov (@peasloveandcarrots) food blogger and author from a multicultural Jewish background with parents who are from both Ashkenazi and Sephardic descent. The show takes viewers on a tasty tour of homes around Israel where she visits with people of different cultural backgrounds, while offering recipes, lifestyle tips, and other motherhood and family-related advice. Danielle was born and raised in Long Island, New York, but now lives in Israel with her husband and children. The Machane Yehuda Shuk in Jerusalem is where she spends her days, wandering the famous marketplace’s alleyways, chatting up vendors, and making new friends. Danielle has created a community where food is the medium, she uses to express her love to those around her. There are six episodes in total with past episodes including; Rudy Roschmann, a beloved young Jewish community activist who was held captive in Nigeria while filming his movie. Rudy joins Danielle and talks about experiencing antisemitism as a child and as an adult. He is joined by his friend, Eliran Ben Yair, an 18-year-old Jewish influencer and features Rabbi Harry Rozenberg, who is known for positive PR for the Jewish World. Episodes will air on February 22nd all at noon. These exciting new shows join the over 800 shows now available on Kosher.com.
- The other new show debuting is the Rosh Chodesh Club Featuring Gabe Garcia, the celebrated chef from the world-famous Tierra Sur restaurant in Oxnard, California who takes viewers on cook-along, in real time, as he breaks down components of restaurant-worthy dishes into something you can recreate in your own kitchen. Viewers need to gear up, gather ingredients and get ready! This show airs each month in celebration of each monthly Jewish holiday.
Kayco has announced an exciting lineup of both traditional and innovative Kosher-for-Passover products for you and your loved one ones to enjoy! Passover (Pesach in Hebrew), one of the most beloved holidays in the Jewish calendar commemorating the exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, begins at sundown on April 15th and lasts through sundown on April 23, 2022; Kayco, the most trusted name in quality Kosher products, expands their Kosher-for-Passover offerings just in time for the celebrations.
“Passover is one of the most widely celebrated Jewish holidays, with food playing a prominent role in the celebration,” says Shani Seidman, CMO of Kayco. “During the holiday, no bread or leavened grain can be eaten, so Passover food has special certification. Kayco is proud to offer the most robust portfolio of Kosher-for-Passover products that blend the traditional with the innovative.”
Tell us about your background in marketing.
I have been working in the CPG food space for 10 years, starting at a kosher cheese company, managing the branding and graphics for their 3 house brands. Eventually I managed their marketing efforts along with branding and product launch strategies there and moved the The Manischewitz Company as their Marketing Director in 2017. When Kayco Kosher Foods bought the family of Manischewitz brands in 2019, I relocated to Kayco’s office located in Bayonne, NJ. After 6 months of transitioning the business I was named CMO of the Kosher Food business at Kayco.
As CMO, I noticed that you bring a more modern way of thinking about Kosher Products – how has your innovation driven the new products of Kayco Kosher?
The kosher consumer is no longer lacking in products and versatility. There are more kosher products available now than ever before and over the past 5 years, and more so with the expansion of social media, kosher consumers are more adventurous and are looking for innovation. We see products on the shelf at trader joes and think “that should be kosher”. We know our consumer because we are our consumer. I use my own lifestyle and shopping behaviors to envision what a young kosher family is looking for. Kosher consumers will always have their tradition, but we see the delight they take in exploring new and innovating products. There is a rich kosher life in dining and travel. The expansion of kosher restaurants and kosher food availability only whets our appetite for more.
Kayco has many products in the New for Passover Line-up –tell us briefly about the innovation behind other products such as the Heaven & Earth; Gefen, and Tuscanni?
To understand the innovations we have to understand the brands. Kayco has a unique gift of microbranding, and building brands. This is very apparent in brands like Heaven & Earth and Tuscanini. Tuscanini is a brand all about authentically Italian food. All foods are sourced in Italy, we go and meet with our Italian manufacturers and let them guide us on what is in season, and unique to each region. All our products are premium Italian made products. Some amazing new products from Tuscanini this Passover are:
Freshly Squeezed shelf stable lemon juice, made from famous Sicilian Lemons.
Tomato Ketchup, rich Italian Tomato flavor, Freshly harvested Tuscan tomatoes apple cider vinegar and tab of herbs and spices for a gourmet kick to your fries.
Hot Calabrese Peppers from Calabria, famous for their pepper crop, premium glass bottle, preserved in Italian olive oil, authentic Italian antipasto.
Olives, Pitted green Castelvetrano, Green Cerignola, Pitted Kalamata
Heaven & Earth creates products for a better-for you lifestyle. We curate and build a brand around a promise that all products will be made without any artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, or MSG. New healthier products from Heaven & Earth:
Heaven & Earth Chocolate, No Sugar Added, Dark chocolate with 70% cocoa solids, no sugar added Milk chocolate, no sugar added Milk Chocolate with Hazelnuts.
First and only sugar free chocolate bar for Passover.
Due to the innovation behind the new products – do you think people who don’t keep Kosher will be interested in trying the products – similar to the way other seasons offer products at key times of year?
Absolutely! Our product procurement team sources products from around the world and works with best in class suppliers for all our products. By nature of the kosher restrictions, many products on Passover are naturally Gluten free and we have gotten really good at creating Gluten free products that taste incredible!
Tuscanini is a premium Italian brand and can be enjoyed by anyone who is interested in delighting in good quality authentic Italian cooking.
And lastly, Manischewitz. It is a brand synonymous with Jewish dishes but “you don’t have to be Jewish to enjoy the comfort of a bowl of Matzo Ball Soup”
What are your goals for 2022?
To continue to listen to our consumers, we are in service to them but also strive to discover new ways to innovate for anyone who wants to explore kosher. Keeping kosher should be an accessible and incredible experience, full of pleasurable tasty foods and experiences. I envision that through our new product introductions, new forms of kosher entertainment and partnerships with influential people in the kosher media, we expand what it means to keep kosher and invite anyone to join us at our table, weather you keep kosher or not.
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