Why it matters:
- Legacy brand Manischewitz, which launched in 1888, wanted to attract new, younger and “culturally curious” consumers to infuse longevity into the brand.
- One entry point was the $83.5 billion U.S. frozen food market, which has seen robust growth due to the heightened demand for ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat meals among time-pressed, dual-income households.
- In an early sign of success, retailers are making space in freezers for Manischewitz’s expanded product mix, marking “a new place for people to discover the brand,” says Shani Seidman, CMO of parent company Kayco.
For generations of Jewish families, Manischewitz’s line of kosher products remains a sentimental staple of holidays, milestone events, and traditions, from the matzos sold in the business’s iconic orange box to the sweet blackberry and concord grape wines sipped on Passover and Shabbat.
The Manischewitz Company launched in 1888 when Rabbi Dov Behr Manischewitz founded a small matzo bakery in Cincinnati, Ohio. Over the years, his heirs added wine and the company’s signature Tam Tam crackers, plus gefilte fish, chicken soup, and borscht. Starting in the 1990s, Manischewitz passed through a series of owners outside the family before Kayco Kosher Foods, the leading kosher food distributor in the United States, acquired it in 2019. The purchase sparked a major rebrand.
Interested in a small business membership?
Find out how the U.S. Chamber of Commerce can help your company grow and thrive in today's rapidly-evolving business environment. Connect with our team to learn how a small business membership can benefit your bottom line and help you achieve your goals.
Manischewitz as a brand has weight, said Kayco Chief Marketing Officer Shani Seidman, but it needed a significant refresh. The company serves over 2,000 stores nationally. To connect with younger, growing families and to expand the brand’s reach to “culturally curious” shoppers who aren’t Jewish, but enjoy Jewish foods, Manischewitz unveiled engaging packaging that tells stories about American Jewish culture, heritage, and community.
Its new chicken soup label, for example, features a sketch of a grandmother sipping coffee and perusing a newspaper. The label reads, “Bubby Knows Best. But We’re a Close Second.” At the same time, Manischewitz also launched an ambitious roster of new products that expand its reach beyond the kosher products aisle.
Seidman hopes the brand will become a true gateway to Jewish culture, attracting loyal customers who choose Manischewitz’s ready-to-eat frozen gluten-free matzo balls or chocolate babka in addition to the frozen burritos or dumplings in their shopping cart.
“Before the rebrand there was brand awareness, but there was a staleness to the [business],” said Seidman, who led the effort. “We wanted to make sure there was a longevity to the brand and to bring in new consumers. Manischewitz needed a step into the modern world.”
Manischewitz preserves nostalgic branding elements while modernizing and amplifying its cultural DNA: ‘There’s whimsy to it’
Rebrand planning and design kicked off in 2021 and took a full year to complete. Seidman and her team interviewed creative agencies and ran focus groups. They talked to consumers, chefs, grocery store owners, and long-time employees to learn what the brand meant to stakeholders, from both a culinary and cultural perspective.
“We wanted to do right by this brand, we owed it to the brand, so we figured one year of research was okay,” she said. From interviews, they learned people felt nostalgic about Manischewitz. People also wanted more ready-to-eat, delicious iconic Jewish dishes. For example, a consumer who enjoys eating a bowl of matzo ball soup at their local Jewish deli wanted to be able to easily replicate that experience at home.
Ultimately, Manischewitz decided to hire global branding agency JKR for the rebrand. The agency has worked on major, high-profile campaigns for companies like Dunkin’ and Budweiser. “We really took it to the big leagues for this,” Seidman said. “We invested. We wanted to get outside of our own echo chamber.”
JKR brought a diverse team of both Jewish and non-Jewish brand strategists and designers. Manischewitz’s archives of images reflecting past packaging proved invaluable. “It was like candy for these designers,” said Seidman.
The new packaging design, which rolled out in 2023, leans into the brand’s iconic orange color, making it even more vibrant. New are a more modern font, engaging and original illustrations, and text that includes Yiddish words and phrases like “Delicious Food Has Always Been Our Schtick” and “Cooking My Tuchus Off.”
“There’s this discovery moment now when you pick up a package off the shelf,” Seidman said. “It’s unlayering years of history, there’s whimsy to it.”
[Read more: How Companies Are Monetizing Consumer Demand for Street Food From Around the World]
Before the rebrand there was brand awareness, but there was a staleness to the [business]. We wanted to make sure there was a longevity to the brand and to bring in new consumers. Manischewitz needed a step into the modern world.
Shani Seidman, Chief Marketing Officer of Kayco Kosher Foods
With new products, the company breaks out of the kosher shelf-stable aisle and into the frozen food market to woo a broader customer base
The rebrand also included a series of brand-new products. Seidman and team created a target consumer persona to help with product development. A customer segment Manischewitz wanted to reach were non-Jewish consumers who reside in Jewish-heavy communities and appreciate Jewish culture. “Jessica from Long Island,” for example, was “Jewish adjacent”—not Jewish herself, but she had plenty of Jewish friends growing up and she liked eating at Jewish delis.
Central to Manischewitz’s new products were items that could live outside the shelf stable kosher food section, where they’d hopefully get more traction. “The growing frozen foods market is a new place for people to discover the brand,” Seidman said.
In 2024, the size of the U.S. frozen food market was an estimated $83.5 billion, with expectations for a compound annual growth rate of 8.1% from 2025 to 2030. Fueling the growth of ready-to-eat, ready-to-cook meals that people heat and serve have been the rise in dual-income households and busier lifestyles.
Among the more than a dozen new offerings launched in time for Passover last year were gluten-free and kosher for Passover frozen knishes and frozen matzo balls. Other products include premade babka and rugelach, rise-and-bake challah, and a new line of frozen hors d'oeuvres like cocktail beef franks wrapped in puff pastry.
“We wanted to make sure all products were culturally Jewish or influenced,” said Seidman. “We were a little nervous about introducing so many products because freezer space is limited case-wise,” she added. “But we were pleasantly surprised to see stores dedicate freezer space for us. They’re seeing that the brand has longevity.”
[Read more: How Food Giants Like Whole Foods and DoorDash Find Innovative Brands by Running Accelerators]
A first-ever sports sponsorship deal brings brand awareness to college football fans and students
To announce the rebrand, Manischewitz placed ads on billboards, buses, and social media, and redesigned its website. It also secured its first ever sports sponsorship deal with Brigham Young University star quarterback Jake Retzlaff, one of three Jewish students at the Mormon school in Utah.
As part of the deal, which ran from Chanukah through Passover, Retzlaff’s image appears on a limited run of matzo boxes only distributed through a giveaway. The football star with the nickname “the BYJew” promoted the brand with social media posts and video content. In one video, he signs matzos.
“The Manischewitz brand is very rooted in American culture, and there’s something very Americana about this partnership with college football,” Seidman said. “Partnerships and collaborations are popular now. Brands recognize the crossover opportunities for their audiences.” Seidman is open to continued partnerships with people who feel proud of their Jewish identity.
In 2025, Manischewitz will continue to roll out new products. It’s working on more soup options to complement its matzo ball and chicken soups, which Seidman says customers insist tastes like their grandmother’s recipe.
“There’s more to come, we’re not stopping,” Seidman said. “For us, it’s a long game.”
CO— aims to bring you inspiration from leading respected experts. However, before making any business decision, you should consult a professional who can advise you based on your individual situation.
CO—is committed to helping you start, run and grow your small business. Learn more about the benefits of small business membership in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, here.
