[INTERVIEW] Why more K-food brands need 'OU' for global markets

Steve Hong, a certification sales agent for OU Kosher, says Korean food companies should seek OU certification to gain broader distribution in North America and Europe. He said the label is widely used by major U.S. retailers and reaches many shoppers who do not follow kosher dietary laws. Hong said limited awareness among Korean small and medium-size firms has slowed adoption, while OU certification uses the same six-step assessment for facilities targeting North America or Europe.

OU Kosher has certified more than 1.3 million products made at 15,000 plants in 105 countries, representing over 70 percent of kosher products distributed worldwide.

According to OU Kosher, 71 percent of kosher products at 190 Ralph’s Supermarkets stores in California and 66 percent at Stop & Shop stores in the northeastern United States carry its certification.

As of this year, 87 Korean companies had passed OU Kosher standards, equal to 0.27 percent of the country’s food manufacturing industry.

Hong compared halal’s estimated $1.6 trillion to $2.5 trillion global market with kosher’s $22 billion market, while saying halal products face greater hurdles in reaching local consumers.

OU Kosher was established by the Orthodox Union in 1923, and Korean companies pay 30 percent of the certification administration fee with government subsidies, Hong said.

Published Nov 4, 2026 7:00 am KST

Orthodox Union's Seoul operation promotes kosher label

People wait in line to enter a Walmart store in Milton, Fla., Oct. 10. AP-Yonhap

Companies seeking to expand into global markets like North America and Europe should consider applying for OU certification, a kosher label approved by the Orthodox Union, according to an associate of the oldest Orthodox Jewish organization in the United States.

Orthodox Union Certification Sales Agent Steve Hong

Steve Hong, certification sales agent for the New York City-based group operating OU Kosher worldwide, said that to get mainstream distribution in the U.S., Canada and Europe, Korean food firms should seek to certify their products with OU, the most widespread kosher certification label in those regions.

He said over 1.3 million kosher products manufactured at 15,000 plants in 105 countries have been certified with OU. That is over 70 percent of all kosher products being distributed worldwide.

Hong said the majority of kosher food products at Costco and Walmart stores in the U.S. are OU-labeled. According to OU Kosher, 71 percent of kosher products at 190 Ralph’s Supermarkets stores in California and 66 percent of kosher products at Stop & Shop stores in the northeastern U.S. have been certified by OU Kosher, while the remainders are labeled with other kosher certifications like OK, Kof-K or Star-K.

OU’s presence goes beyond consumers who need to adhere to traditional Jewish dietary laws. According to a WAC Survey and Strategic Consulting’s report from 2016, nearly 80 percent of all kosher food sales worldwide were to non-kosher shoppers.

“Kosher products draw over 12 million shoppers in the U.S. each year and their sales are over $150 billion per year. Major distributors in the U.S. are recognizing OU as the de facto quality standard. That’s why OU-labelled products are directly connected to the American customers with strong consumption,” Hong said in his interview with The Korea Times.

OU Kosher's certification labels appear on food products available across the United States, Canada and Europe. Courtesy of Orthodox Union

The problem is that the majority of small- and medium-size firms (SMEs) in Korea, which constitute the bulk of the Korean food industry, do not know about OU, according to Hong. While large firms like Daesang, Nongshim, CJ, Pulmuone, Samyang Foods, Dongsuh Foods and Dongwon Systems have already had their manufacturing plants pass certification standards for the label, SMEs without enough production capacity for global markets have not yet prepared for it. As of this year, 87 companies in Korea passed standards for OU Kosher. That accounts for just 0.27 percent of the Korean food manufacturing industry.

“Many Korean firms misunderstand OU or other kosher labels as a Jewish requirement and don’t realize the labels’ market power. They also don’t know how critical the labels are to the local distributors like Costco or Walmart. Korean SMEs, unlike the large firms, mostly operate domestically. Lastly, OU Kosher hasn’t invested enough in reaching out to Korean firms,” Hong said.

Hong compared kosher labels to those for halal foods, breaking down the global markets for both certifications. He concluded products with halal labels have access to a worldwide market estimated between $1.6 trillion to $2.5 trillion, which overshadows kosher’s $22 billion market, but have higher hurdles to reach local consumer bases than kosher.

“We must understand that even K-food products with halal labels can only reach a portion of local consumers. They are the top-percentile consumer groups who can afford premium imports. Furthermore, not many Muslim nations have advanced retail chain systems like major cities in the U.S.,” Hong said.

Daesang's Jongga Kimchi bottle, left, and KwangCheonKim's sushi nori with OU Kosher's certification labels / Courtesy of Orthodox Union

“Many Korean firms began learning about halal certifications in 2016, but started with wrong information. They found their halal products exported to major economies around the world didn’t rack up as much as they anticipated in sales. They in turn learned about kosher certifications from local consultants and started gearing toward the kosher labels instead in 2020.”

OU Kosher, established by the Orthodox Union in 1923, dispatches a rabbinical field inspector to facilities of companies interested in OU certification. What each inspection focuses on is assessing sources of ingredients used, checking whether meat and dairy are properly separated and how long each pipeline has been in operation.

The six-step assessment procedure, whether the facilities’ export target countries are in North America or Europe, is the same. This is different from halal labels, which are issued by different authorities across more than 50 countries and have varying standards. The field inspector sends reports to the Orthodox Union’s headquarters which later issues a self-printable OU label online.

“The field inspector for Korea also covers India and Southeast Asian nations. Companies here, meanwhile, get subsidized by the government and pay just 30 percent of the administration fee for the certification,” Hong said.

“My goal is to list and manage K-food firms here and introduce them the OU certification and help them expand to broader markets outside Korea.”

OU Kosher认证销售代理Steve Hong表示，韩国食品公司应寻求OU认证，以拓展其在北美和欧洲的销售渠道。他指出，OU认证标签已被美国大型零售商广泛使用，并覆盖了许多不遵守犹太教饮食规定的消费者。Hong表示，韩国中小企业对该认证的认知度较低，导致其推广速度缓慢，而OU认证对面向北美或欧洲市场的工厂采用相同的六步评估流程。

OU Kosher 已认证了 105 个国家/地区 15,000 家工厂生产的超过 130 万种产品，占全球分销的犹太洁食产品的 70% 以上。

根据 OU Kosher 的说法，加利福尼亚州 190 家 Ralph's 超市的犹太洁食产品中有 71% 获得了其认证，美国东北部 Stop & Shop 超市的犹太洁食产品中有 66% 获得了其认证。

截至今年，已有 87 家韩国公司通过了 OU Kosher 标准认证，占该国食品制造业的 0.27%。

Hong 将清真食品估计 1.6 万亿至 2.5 万亿美元的全球市场与犹太食品 220 亿美元的市场进行了比较，同时表示清真产品在接触本地消费者方面面临着更大的障碍。

洪先生表示，OU Kosher是由正统犹太教联盟于1923年创立的，韩国公司通过政府补贴支付30%的认证管理费。

发布于2026年11月4日 上午7:00（韩国标准时间）

正统犹太教联盟首尔分部推广犹太洁食认证标签

10月10日，人们在佛罗里达州米尔顿市排队等候进入沃尔玛超市。（美联社-韩联社）

据美国历史最悠久的正统犹太教组织的一位成员称，希望拓展北美和欧洲等全球市场的公司应该考虑申请 OU 认证，这是由正统犹太教联盟批准的犹太洁食标签。

正统犹太教联盟认证销售代理 Steve Hong

总部位于纽约的 OU Kosher 全球运营集团的认证销售代理 Steve Hong 表示，为了在美国、加拿大和欧洲获得主流分销，韩国食品公司应该寻求用 OU 认证其产品，OU 是这些地区最广泛的犹太洁食认证标签。

他表示，来自105个国家15000家工厂生产的超过130万种犹太洁食产品已获得OU认证。这占全球犹太洁食产品总量的70%以上。

洪先生表示，美国Costco和沃尔玛超市销售的大部分犹太洁食产品都贴有OU认证标签。据OU Kosher统计，加州190家Ralph's超市中71%的犹太洁食产品以及美国东北部Stop & Shop超市中66%的犹太洁食产品已获得OU Kosher认证，其余产品则贴有其他犹太洁食认证标签，例如OK、Kof-K或Star-K。

OU的影响力远不止​​于需要遵守传统犹太饮食律法的消费者。根据WAC Survey and Strategic Consulting 2016年的一份报告，全球近80%的犹太洁食销售额都流向了非犹太洁食消费者。

“犹太洁食产品每年在美国吸引超过1200万消费者，年销售额超过1500亿美元。美国主要分销商已将OU认证视为事实上的质量标准。正因如此，贴有OU标签的产品才能直接触达消费能力强劲的美国消费者，”洪先生在接受《韩国时报》采访时表示。

OU Kosher的认证标签出现在美国、加拿大和欧洲各地销售的食品上。图片由正统犹太教联盟提供。

洪先生指出，问题在于韩国食品行业的主体——绝大多数中小企业（SME）并不了解OU认证。虽然像大相食品、农心食品、CJ集团、普姆食品、三养食品、东旭食品和东元系统等大型企业已经通过了OU认证，但那些产能不足以供应全球市场的中小企业尚未做好准备。截至今年，韩国仅有87家企业通过了OU犹太洁食认证，仅占韩国食品制造业的0.27%。

“许多韩国企业误以为OU或其他犹太洁食认证标签是犹太人的强制性要求，并没有意识到这些标签的市场影响力。他们也不清楚这些标签对Costco或沃尔玛等本地分销商的重要性。与大型企业不同，韩国中小企业大多在国内运营。最后，OU Kosher在与韩国企业的沟通方面投入不足，”洪先生说道。

洪将犹太洁食标签与清真食品标签进行了比较，并分析了两种认证的全球市场。他总结道，带有清真标签的产品可以进入一个估计规模在1.6万亿至2.5万亿美元之间的全球市场，远超犹太洁食220亿美元的市场规模，但清真产品在触达本地消费者群体方面面临的障碍比犹太洁食产品更大。

洪先生表示：“我们必须明白，即使是贴有清真标签的韩国食品，也只能触及部分本地消费者。他们是能够负担得起高端进口产品的顶层消费群体。此外，许多穆斯林国家不像美国大城市那样拥有完善的零售连锁体系。”

左图为Daesang的Jongga泡菜瓶，右图为KwangCheonKim的寿司海苔，均贴有OU Kosher认证标签 / 图片由正统犹太教联盟提供

“许多韩国企业从2016年开始了解清真认证，但一开始掌握的信息有误。他们发现，出口到世界主要经济体的清真产品销量并未达到预期。于是，他们从当地顾问那里了解到犹太洁食认证，并于2020年开始转向犹太洁食认证。”

OU Kosher是由正统犹太教联盟于1923年创立的，它会派遣一位拉比实地考察员前往有意申请OU认证的公司进行现场检查。每次检查的重点是评估所用原料的来源，检查肉类和奶制品是否正确分离，以及每条生产线的运营年限。

无论工厂的出口目标国家是北美还是欧洲，六步评估程序都相同。这与清真标签不同，清真标签由50多个国家的不同机构颁发，标准也各不相同。现场检查员将报告发送至正统犹太教联盟总部，总部随后在线颁发可自行打印的OU标签。

“韩国的现场检查员也负责印度和东南亚国家。与此同时，韩国企业可以获得政府补贴，只需支付认证管理费的30%。”洪先生说。

“我的目​​标是在这里对韩国食品公司进行登记和管理，向他们介绍OU认证，并帮助他们拓展韩国以外的更广阔市场。”