Phyllis Koegel

As the Marketing Director for OU Kosher, the world’s leading Kosher certifying agency, Phyllis is responsible for the marketing and new business development by assisting food producers worldwide obtain OU Kosher certification for their products. Phyllis developed an early passion for consumer behavior and marketing. She joined the Orthodox Union in 2006 after serving as Marketing Manager for Sabra Hummus. At Sabra Hummus, she helped launch the hummus category to the American market. Hummus became a staple in American households and grew to a billion-dollar food category. Sabra Hummus was purchased by Pepsico in 2008 and has grown to over $1 billion in annual sales. Prior to joining Sabra, Phyllis was involved in the development and success of the International Kosherfest Trade show. As Show Director from 1989 – 2002, she worked with thousands of Kosher food manufacturers and oversaw the strategic planning and execution of the show. Phyllis was born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y. She obtained an MBA in Marketing from Pace University in 1988. She now lives in Woodmere, N.Y. and has three children and sixteen grandchildren.

Expo East

Every year in downtown Baltimore, just off of the harbor, executives and marketers from across the natural food industry gather their organic cotton bags and pack quinoa-kale lunches for two days of health food nirvana. Expo East brings together food and health product companies who line up in hundreds of booths, creating an opportunity for […]

OUDirect Update

OUDirect continues to support the operations of the 5500+ certified companies in our family with its newly updated customer platform. OUDirect’s fresh look offers innovative features that simplify your day to day Kosher certification operations. With increased efficiency and greater customization, OUDirect provides 24-hour access to your OU Kosher program in a secure online environment. […]

Textures Trending in Food Products

The other night I was craving pasta. It was like an obsession had hijacked my brain and I couldn’t focus on anything else. If I didn’t have pasta I felt as if I’d go insane. Crazy, but I know you know that feeling, when you desire a specific food, not because you’re hungry, but because […]

Kosherfest, Still Amazing 30 Years Later: OU Kosher’s Marketing Director Looks Back on the Growth of a Show and an Industry

Thirty years ago, when I was a much younger version of myself, I remember sitting in a staff meeting at Lubicom Marketing Consulting, discussing Menachem Lubinsky’s vision for a kosher food tradeshow. In 1988 I was the Show Coordinator for the International Jewish Life Expo for which Lubicom provided public relations and advertising services. The […]

OUKosher Visits the Thaifex World of Food Show 2018

For the last 15 years, the Thaifex World of Food show in Bangkok has been the ultimate food show for innovation. Vendors and visitors travel from across the globe to show off their food and beverage products or to sample some of the products that may not have even hit the market. Some of the […]

Kosher Around the Globe

What do Paris, New York and Mexico have in common? Answer – kosher certification! Kosher certification has had steady growth over the past twenty years, by an average rate of 15 percent a year internationally. With thousands of products becoming kosher each year, the kosher consumer has choices that were not available to our parents and grandparents fifty years ago.