Kosher Vending Industries

If two young Orthodox businessmen have their way, the days of going hungry because there is no kosher food easily available, will soon be over. Right after Passover this year, consumers can expect to start finding specialized vending machines dispensing "Hot Nosh" kosher meals and snacks everywhere from casinos to airports to amusement parks throughout the country.

Alan Cohnen, 30, of Teaneck, and Doron Fetman, 31, of Monsey say their Rockland County-based company, Kosher Vending Industries, is being regarded favorably by colleges and universities, hospitals and corporate offices, and hotels in every price range.

"With our vending machines in place, commercial enterprises and service agencies will be able to offer their workers, customers, and clients on-the-spot kosher food, allowing everyone to stay on the premises," said Mr. Cohnen.

45 Seconds

The first "Hot Nosh" brand sold in vending machines will offer consumers in the tri-state area of New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut, a choice of moderately priced, Kof-K certified-kosher Sicilian-style pizza, mozzarella sticks, potato knishes, onion rings, or vegetarian cutlets. The machines will keep the meals frozen until a customer’s cash or credit card selection triggers the mechanism which will then heat and deliver the food piping hot in between 45 and 90 seconds, depending on the choice.

During a trial last month, a 45-second wait resulted in a generous portion of cheese sticks which were meltingly smooth on the inside, covered by a hot crunchy coating.

The patented vending machine is made by KRh Thermal Systems, Inc., which has, thus far, licensed only three companies to buy and stock them. Kraft Foods and Tyson sell non-kosher products, and Kosher Vending Industries with its "Hot Nosh" brand is the only company allowed to use the machines for kosher food.

Mini Kosher Café

Messrs Cohnen and Fetman foresee their Hot Nosh brand being sold globally, reducing problems for kosher travelers and allowing hotels, military installations, and other venues to offer what will essentially be a mini kosher café.

"We expect the machines very quickly to be in every Hillel House throughout the country," said Mr. Fetman. "Yeshivas and day schools may not need the machines for lunch, but Hot Nosh will be a great way to offer students, faculty, and visitors snacks, especially in the evening or for sports events."

For the present, Hot Nosh will feature other companies’ certified kosher products in the vending machines, but Messrs Cohnen and Fetman are already equipping their own commissary, with separate dairy and meat kitchens, in which their own brands of certified-kosher food will be prepared.

The food will then be trucked or shipped frozen to the machines, which, according to Messrs Cohnen and Fetman, will be constantly serviced. They expect to offer live, 24-hour (six-day a week) customer service to help with any problems the vending machines may have.

Different Requirements

Thus far, they said, they have had no difficulty convincing prospective site managers of the benefits of offering kosher food in their vending machines. But different sites have different requirements. Some venues are happy to have the vending machines simply as a service; others may require a fee or a percentage of the take.

For Messrs Cohnen and Fetman, the idea behind Hot Nosh was their own experience growing up and going to school in New Jersey and New York. Mr. Cohnen, who grew up in Paramus, attended the Torah Academy in Teaneck before going on to study business at Ramapo College. Mr. Fetman grew up in Elizabeth and attended JEC before studying business at Yeshiva University’s Sy Syms School.

Now that they are married and raising families of their own, Messrs. Cohnen and Fetman said they expect the availability of kosher food in their vending machines to make airport travel, sports events, or any occasion easier than they had it.

Stuck at the Airport

Mr. Cohnen said he could recall being stuck in an airport and watching enviously as other passengers used the time to sidle up to fast food establishments to order lunch and snacks.

"All I could do was wait for the flight to take off so that maybe I could have my kosher meal. When our vending machines are in every airport, all kosher consumers will enjoy the same benefits as everyone else," he said.

In fact, studies indicate that observant Jews may not be the only ones to appreciate the new kosher vending machines. While Orthodox Jews have long been seen as the "engine" behind the kosher food industry, it is well established that many other consumers buy kosher products for a variety of reasons. Some think kosher is healthier; others like that there is a supervision process in place.

Messrs Cohnen and Fetman are betting that Hot Nosh and Kosher Vending Industries is an idea whose time has come.

The Jewish Voice and Opinion is a politically conservative Jewish publication which present news and feature articles not generally available elsewhere in the Jewish or secular media. Articles may be reprinted in their entirety with attribution.

FINALLY- KOSHER HOT FOOD IN A VENDING MACHINE

Eat and run: Kosher vending to create new options
By Josh Lipowsky | Published 03/1/2007 | Community |

Josh Lipowsky

Alan Cohnen was hungry. Last year, he sat in an airport lounge munching on a bag of chips from a vending machine. Around him, people enjoyed pizza, hamburgers, and other noshes unavailable to Cohnen because kosher food could only be found in the vending machine, which meant only potato chips and pretzels. Cohnen, of Teaneck, and his business partner Doron Fetman, of Monsey, N.Y., came up with the idea of a kosher automat and set to work in September to make it a reality. They self-financed and formed Kosher Vending Industries LLC and partnered with KRh Thermal Systems Inc., which owns the patent on the automated system. KRh’s HOT CHOICE Automated Diner uses
40-mile-per-hour jets of hot air to heat the food. Two possible designs for Kosher Vending’s new
machines, which will serve hot kosher foods in 25 locations in New Jersey and New York. “It’s more like a convection oven” than a microwave, Cohnen said. “Not only is the product getting hot, it’s getting crispier.” KRh partners with companies such as Kraft, Tyson, and Tombstone Pizza, but did not previously offer any kosher options. Cohnen and Fetman were impressed by
the machine’s ability to serve warm food in any location, especially in airports, schools, hotels, casinos, and hospitals, where Cohnen and Fetman want to place the machines. “The non-Jews can eat anywhere, but for us there’s nothing,” said Cohnen, who is also co-owner of Esme Bistro in Teaneck. “This machine was made for us.” This month, they will unveil 25 machines serving kosher dairy items for a trial run. The first machines will serve pizza, mozzarella sticks, onion rings, vegetable cutlets, potato knishes, and French fries, at a cost of $3 to $4 per item. The food, all certified by the Kof-K, will come frozen from various suppliers and Kosher Vending will repackage it for its machines. Eventually, Cohnen would like to expand to separate meat machines. For now, the food is supplied to Kosher Vending’s office and warehouse in Valley Cottage, N.Y. Cohnen said he and Fetman plan to build a commissary in their warehouse and hire cooks to produce food, instead of just repackaging food from other suppliers. Kosher Vending’s trial was scheduled to begin March 1 for an undetermined length of time. Its Website, www.koshervendingindustries.com, also was scheduled to go live that day as well. The site will list the 25 locations in the New York/New Jersey metro areas where the company plans to install machines. Although the product has not hit the market yet, Cohnen said he has received very positive feedback, especially from KRh.“They think we’re going to be bigger than Kraft because of our niche market,” he said. A Mintel market research report earlier this year stated that kosher foods have grown into a $14.6 billion industry and that 7.5 million people in the United States buy kosher foods for religious reasons or because they believe them to be more healthful. Cohnen expects the kosher vending machines to be a success and spread not just across the country, but also across the world. “Anywhere is a potential market for us,” Cohnen said.