What Is Kosher for Passover?
Every year, OU Kosher certifies thousands of products with a special OU-P (P for Passover). The OU-P symbol indicates that all the ingredients have been approved for their Passover status, the production equipment has been inspected and is Passover-compliant, and an OU inspector was present for a special Passover production.
The Expanding Kosher for Passover Market
The market for Kosher for Passover products is experiencing significant growth and diversification. According to Impact Group News, over 90 percent of American Jews purchase Passover items and/or participate in a Seder (Passover meal). The Passover shopping season accounts for $1.3 billion of the $12 billion Kosher food market. OU’s websites see consumer traffic increase by over 300% during Passover season. It is no wonder, therefore, that research shows that Kosher for Passover products can significantly increase revenues. There is a continued effort by manufacturers and an interest from retailers to expand Passover options.
From the Impact Group News website:
“The increased demand for product differentiation has led grocers to expand their kosher for Passover product space while stocking shelves with a variety of new and interesting food options. Substitutes for pizza, bread and noodles that were once unheard of are now finding their way onto dinner tables next to more traditional dishes. Items like wheat-free lasagna noodles, banana flour and cauliflower rice are now accompanying thousands of other creative and delicious items in grocery stores across the country.”
Broader Appeal Beyond Religious Observance
As with standard OU Kosher certification, there are reasons beyond the religious for which consumers may prefer an OU-P product. Many of the millions of Americans who suffer from Celiac disease, and those who generally prefer gluten-free foods, trust the OU-P symbol to guide them in their gluten-free shopping, stocking up on the OU-P products during Passover season for the rest of the year.
With the surge in plant-based diets, many products in this category are inherently suitable for Passover certification. This compatibility presents a significant opportunity for manufacturers to tap into the expanding Kosher for Passover market.
Passover shopping begins about 6 weeks in advance so initiating the process to obtain Passover certification will put you in a solid position to be prepared.
Over the years, companies have revolutionized kosher for Passover products with increasingly sophisticated technology and creativity. Often, a product becomes so recognized during Passover, it is used year-round.
Built in Audience Through OU Kosher Publications and Web
OU Kosher is unique amongst other kosher certification agencies in that it speaks directly to kosher consumers through it many programs and websites. Information about OU Kosher certified kosher for Passover products is in very high demand during the weeks leading up to this important holiday. And in general, the kosher consumer is highly engaged particularly around new and novel Passover products.
Here are some of the statistics from the April 2022 Passover season:
830 Average daily calls the week before Passover
10,943 Total Passover season phone calls
3,389 Total Passover email information requests
352,000 Unique visitors on OUKosher.org
78,000 printed copies of OU Kosher’s Guide to Passover distributed
22,000 digital downloads of OU Kosher’s Guide to Passover
Is Your Product Ready for Passover Certification?
The Passover diet excludes almost all products containing wheat, rye, spelt, oats, and barley. Additionally, most Passover diets have the custom of excluding beans and legumes, and their derivatives, including items such as soy lecithin. Gluten-free products are already close to the requirements for Passover products.
So if you’re interested in exploring kosher for Passover certification the OU can help with marketing your new product through our various channels.
And OU Kosher has a Passover department that can review your ingredients and help evaluate whether your raw materials can qualify for OU-P certification. They can even sometime help find substitutions for ingredients that lack the proper Passover status. To get more information, contact your Rabbinic Coordinator (RC) or you can email newapps@ou.org
What Is Kosher for Passover?
Every year, OU Kosher certifies thousands of products with a special OU-P (P for Passover). The OU-P symbol indicates that all the ingredients have been approved for their Passover status, the production equipment has been judged to be Passover-compliant which means that no non-passover products were produced on them or the equipment was cleaned and an OU inspector was present for a special Passover production.