Kosherfest organizers announced this week that they would no longer host their annual exhibition in 2023. Launched in 1989 by Irving Silverman and marketed by Menachem Lubinsky of Lubicom Communications, Kosherfest was an annual, long-awaited event that celebrated new kosher products and producers entering the industry. The event was open to industry, trade and kashrut professionals as well as media representatives, which made it a go-to experience for grocery store buyers, company representatives, chefs, product and recipe developers, entrepreneurs and, in more recent years, social media influencers.

Known for its extensive samples of food and beverage items, attendees often looked most forward to seeing and tasting new products as well as networking with fellow industry professionals.

“After a very thorough analysis, we have made the difficult decision to discontinue Kosherfest for 2023,” wrote the organizers on Wednesday, May 31. “Due to today’s changing supermarket ecosystem and the consolidation of responsibilities in many major supermarket chains we feel we could not provide the value and experience that our audience has come to expect from Kosherfest. We thank our loyal attendees and exhibitors for many years of support.”

At Kosherfest’s inaugural event, staged at the New York Passenger Ship Terminal in 1989, there were 69 exhibitors and 700 attendees. By 2001, the show included 500 exhibitors and 12,000 buyers from across the United States and 29 countries at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. Since 2004, Diversified Communications began co-producing the event with Lubicom, though Lubinsky has continued to have a strong presence and advocate for the kosher food and production industry. In 2014, 330 exhibitors and 6,000 registered attendees participated, filling all 80,000 square feet of the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, New Jersey. It has been held there since 2014, except for a pause in 2020 due to pandemic restrictions.