Tnuva, Osem and the Shupersol (Supersol) ‘Yesh’ supermarket chain are the most identifiable brand names among Charedi orthodox households. There are some 125,000 of these households in Israel and the community is growing at a rate of 6.7% a year making it a very desirable market for food manufacturers.
The Hebrew language Globes business news website reports on marketing research carried out by the ‘Hamevaser’. A senior advertising executive whose agency caters to the observant community said that most of Israel’s major manufacturers understand that the Orthodox sector is the country’s fastest growing community and will continue that way for the next ten years.
The independent study carried out among 538 respondents found that the most recognizable brand in the community is Tnuva dairies, followed by Osem and in third place ‘Yesh’ a subsidiary of Supersol.
The authors of the study attributed Tnuva and Osem’s familiarity to their many years in the food industry.
The ‘Yesh’ chain, a relative newcomer, they said, has outlets in most Charedi communities.
Also in the findings is the fact that the charedi consumer is loyal to the known brands and trusts their stricter mehadrin kashrus even if products are more expensive. For example, Coca Cola is a favorite soft drink among those who were asked. Some 36 percent expressed their preference for Coke over other soft drink bands which are less expensive.
Sociologist Professor Oz Almog, who studies the consumer behavior of the religious community, said that their shopping habits and their image have changed. They no longer buy the least expensive brands. He said that they prefer the brand names even for basic foodstuffs like dairy products and breakfast cereals. Almog added that the Hared newspapers in Israel are full of ads for quality goods. He found a 25 percent increase in sales of high end wines and a 35 percent increase in the sales of beer indicting a growing middle class amongst the Charedi community.
{Kosher Today/Noam Amdurski-Matzav.com Newscenter}
