Hummus Sales Soar,

An Orthodox Jewish traveler rushing to catch his flight quickly scours the concessions in the La Guardia terminal and is surprised to find Sabra To Go! an attractively packaged cup of hummus with Pretzel Crisps on top. He grabs the snack and runs to his gate, assured that he has a delicious, convenient and certified kosher snack to satisfy his hunger.

Hummus is increasingly being marketed as the "new food" of the kosher connoisseur and is popular on the Shabbos table as well as for a snack. Hummus today comes in a variety of flavors, ranging from Classic Hummus, perhaps the most popular in Israel and elsewhere in the Middle East, to more exotic flavors like Roasted Red Pepper, Spicy Hummus, Greek Olive Hummus, and more.

While Sabra introduced its version of the hummus snack in 2005, Tribe Mediterranean Foods introduced Tribe Hummus & Crackers at the recent International Deli-Dairy-Bakery Association (IDDBA) Show in Anaheim, California. Both Sabra and Tribe were responding to the growing appetite among consumers for Mediterranean salads and the search by Americans for more variety in snack foods.

IDDBA estimates that nearly 90% of Americans indulge in a snack on any given day, compared with only 75% who eat breakfast and 88% who eat lunch. For most people, the major barrier to sit down meals and healthy eating is lack of time. Hummus has become a basic staple of the kosher set in supermarkets all over the country and sales have sky-rocketed, say the retailers. It is an example of a food, they say, with great historical significance becoming a new, "in" food with consumers.

(www.koshertoday.com)

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