Prices of home kosher products soar, with COVID-19 "playing a key part"

According to book distributors, sales of kosher cookbooks have been surging since the COVID-19 outbreak. Because of the pandemic, many families are either quarantined, forced to work from home, or need to care for children periodically out of school, so more and more families are choosing to cook at home, which has also driven up demand for many ingredients on kosher shelves. In the latest cookbook published by ArtScroll, Leah Schapiro and Victoria Dwek of the famous website "Between Carpools" collaborated again to produce "Dinner Done" - 150 quick-to-prepare family dishes. It includes a whole chapter of ultra-fast, convenient, straightforward recipes prepared in just a few minutes right in the pot. Other websites, such as kosher.com, have also seen a significant increase in clicks. As the trend of online shopping keeps climbing, the quantity of kosher ingredients sold online has increased markedly.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought people back to home cooking, and has also caused supply shortages in overseas home-appliance markets. Imagine how disappointed you would be when your refrigerator at home breaks down and you don''t have many options to buy! Susie, like everyone else, has been hiding at home - cooking at home, baking at home. Life seems frozen, while it also drains her refrigerator... Appliance dealers in San Antonio said that during the spread of COVID-19, all kinds of appliances - dishwashers, dryers, dehumidifiers, and even microwaves - were in short supply, so their sales also soared, with new stock not arriving until 2021.

"We sold more refrigerators in two days than in all of last year," said Steve Sheinkopf, who runs Yale Appliance outside Boston. "People are stockpiling, because we think it''s the end of the world and we need food." In the Jewish community, people are ordering and replacing appliances at a record pace, while supply cannot keep up. Kosher supermarkets say they have felt the surge in home-cooking demand. Cooking and baking seem to have become family activities, and demand for flour, baking supplies, and even almonds, vanilla, and food coloring can barely be met.

Meanwhile, daily pandemic-prevention products such as antibacterial cleaners and high-chlorine disinfectants are also in short supply. Mayer Gold, VP of operations of a chain kosher supermarket, said, "Paper towels, cleaning supplies, and any antibacterial cleaners are still in short supply." He noted that although gloves, masks, and hand sanitizer are everywhere, they have become very expensive compared with pre-outbreak prices. Howard Klagsbrun of Gourmet Glatt noted that any Lysol-brand disinfectant is still in short supply, and some high-chlorine disinfectants are also hard to get.

Amid the pandemic, prevention is especially crucial. To help manufacturers greatly capture the pandemic-prevention and relief product market internationally, SINOQUAL has set up an online audit green channel, through which all kinds of pandemic-prevention and relief products - wet wipes, disinfectant, antibacterial hand sanitizer, masks, protective suits, etc. - can successfully obtain KOSHER Jewish kosher certification/HALAL Halal certification in as fast as five working days. Although SINOQUAL cannot charge to the front line of fighting the pandemic, it is also willing to contribute its modest part - helping domestic pandemic-prevention supplies be successfully sold overseas!

FAQ

Why did COVID-19 make demand for home kosher products soar?
During the pandemic, many families were quarantined, working from home, or caring for children out of school, so more people chose to cook and bake at home, driving up demand for ingredients on kosher shelves; sales of kosher cookbooks surged, clicks on sites such as kosher.com soared, and flour, baking supplies, almonds, vanilla, food coloring, and even refrigerators and other appliances were in short supply.
Which pandemic-prevention and daily-use products were in short supply during the pandemic?
Antibacterial cleaners, high-chlorine disinfectants, paper towels, and cleaning supplies were generally in short supply; Lysol-brand disinfectant and some high-chlorine disinfectants were especially hard to buy, with prices markedly higher than before the pandemic; appliances such as dishwashers, dryers, dehumidifiers, and microwaves were also in short supply.
What convenience did SINOQUAL provide in certifying pandemic-prevention products?
SINOQUAL set up an online audit green channel for all kinds of pandemic-prevention and relief products such as wet wipes, disinfectant, antibacterial hand sanitizer, masks, and protective suits, through which KOSHER Jewish kosher certification/HALAL Halal certification can be obtained in as fast as five working days, helping domestic pandemic-prevention supplies be sold overseas.