Ralphs Honored for Kosher Marketing

Ralphs Grocery Co., the Southern California-based banner of The Kroger Co., will be honored for its kosher marketing efforts by the Orthodox Union.

The Orthodox Union West Coast Region will present Ralphs with its OU National Kashrut Leadership Award during its annual awards banquet on June 16 . Ralphs has been a partner with the OU for many years, selling a significant number of products certified by the OU. Recently, Ralphs has expanded its service to the kosher consumer by opening three "Kosher Experience" counters under OU supervision in the Los Angeles area, in addition to the original counter in the Ralphs La Jolla store. The Kosher Experience counters provide full-service deli and prepared foods.

Every year, before Passover, OU West Coast presents programs at a number of LA-area Ralphs stores to explain the rules of Kosher for Passover and which foods may and may not be consumed during the holiday.

"Knowing your customer is critical and we wanted to bring our level of quality and expertise to the kosher consumer," said Kendra Doyel, Ralphs VP of public relations and government affairs. “We know that in order to do that with the integrity we want to associate with the Ralphs family name, we had to do it with the greatest experience and the greatest knowledge. The icing on the cake for us is the OU supervision, which is the best in the industry, for our counters.”

Founded in 1873, Ralphs operates more than 200 supermarkets in California from its Los Angeles headquarters.