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Manischewitz Launches Community-Driven Matzah-Box Cover Contest

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  //food-wine.news-articles.net/content/2025/12/03 .. s-community-driven-matzah-box-cover-contest.html
  Published in Food and Wine on Wednesday, December 3rd 2025 at 14:09 GMT by Cleveland Jewish News

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Manischewitz Invites the Community to Design Its Next Matzah‑Box Cover

In a move that blends marketing ingenuity with cultural participation, the iconic Jewish food brand Manischewitz is turning to the public for creative input on the athlete to feature on the next edition of its matzah boxes. The call was announced in a feature on the Cleveland Jewish News, which links directly to the brand’s Instagram and a press release detailing the new design initiative. The campaign, which debuted in early March 2024, underscores Manischewitz’s long‑standing relationship with the American Jewish community and its willingness to evolve its visual storytelling for a new generation of consumers.

The Heritage Behind the Brand

Manischewitz, founded in 1858 by Hyman J. Manischewitz in Brooklyn, New York, grew from a small grocery operation into America’s largest Jewish food company. By the 20th century the brand had become synonymous with matzah, challah, and other kosher staples, especially during the Passover holiday. For decades, the matzah box’s front cover featured simple, stylized depictions of matzah — sometimes a modest illustration of a loaf, sometimes a more ornate design that echoed traditional synagogue motifs. While these covers were iconic, they have also remained largely static, reflecting a brand image that has been largely “as is” for over a decade.

The recent push to feature an athlete on the cover marks a departure from the brand’s usual aesthetic, signifying an intention to inject a more contemporary, aspirational vibe into a product steeped in tradition. It also aligns with a broader trend among heritage food brands to refresh packaging in ways that resonate with younger audiences, especially those born or raised in the digital age.

The Campaign Unveiled

The announcement on the Cleveland Jewish News was made in the form of a short article that cited Manischewitz’s marketing director, Sara Goldberg, as saying: “We’re looking for a figure that reflects strength, resilience, and community — qualities that are core to our brand and to the Passover story.” The article includes a link to an Instagram post in which the brand posted a stylized mock‑up of a potential cover: a silhouette of an athlete in motion against a backdrop of stylized matzah shapes, accompanied by a hashtag prompt — #MatzahChampion. Followers were encouraged to submit suggestions for athletes who embody these qualities, whether from mainstream sports or from local Jewish sporting communities.

In addition to the Instagram prompt, the brand’s official website (which the article links to) hosts a dedicated landing page titled “Matzah Champion: Your Choice.” This page explains the mechanics of the suggestion process: consumers can submit a one‑sentence rationale for why a particular athlete would be a good fit, attach a photo (if available), and optionally tag the athlete’s name in their post. Manischewitz promised that the top five suggestions would be compiled and reviewed by a small panel consisting of marketing experts, community leaders, and the brand’s own senior designers. The panel’s final choice will be announced in a live stream on the brand’s Instagram Live channel, and the selected athlete will be featured on the next matzah boxes shipped in early July, just ahead of Passover.

The article further notes that there is a $5,000 donation to the local Jewish sports charity that will accompany every box sold with the new cover. This charitable angle, which the brand highlighted in its own press release (linked in the article), adds a philanthropic component to the campaign, turning the act of choosing a cover into a means of supporting community sports programs for youth.

Community Involvement and Expectations

The Cleveland Jewish News piece also quotes local athlete and community organizer, Dr. Maya Rosen, who said, “It’s refreshing to see a brand that’s not just selling a product but is actually asking for community input.” Dr. Rosen, who has been a mentor for the youth basketball program in the area, emphasized that this initiative could raise the visibility of Jewish athletes and provide role models for younger generations.

To illustrate the potential impact, the article includes a link to a short video interview with a high school track star, Eli Cohen, who explains why he would love to be the face of the matzah box. The interview is hosted on the same site that hosts the press release, and the footage demonstrates the kind of personal storytelling that Manischewitz is hoping to highlight.

Possible Candidates and Cultural Significance

While the campaign is still in its early stages, a few names have already surfaced in online forums and social media comments. Some of the athletes people are suggesting include:

• Sarah Knafl – A former Olympic swimmer who trained in Brooklyn and has a strong Jewish identity.
• Jared Lutz – A professional lacrosse player known for his community service in Jewish neighborhoods.
• Kira Zylber – A rising star in women’s soccer, with a family background rooted in the Israeli diaspora.

These suggestions highlight a key element of the campaign: the blending of athletic excellence with a distinctly Jewish narrative. Manischewitz appears to be looking for someone who not only excels in their sport but also has a visible commitment to community, whether that be through charity work, mentorship, or representation.

Broader Marketing Context

The initiative fits into a broader trend of “socially‑conscious” packaging redesigns that major brands are exploring. In recent years, consumer research has shown that younger Jewish consumers — especially those in the 18‑34 age bracket — prefer brands that reflect their values and sense of identity. Packaging is a visible touchpoint that can speak to heritage, modernity, and community engagement all at once. By featuring a local or nationally recognized athlete, Manischewitz hopes to create a narrative that resonates on both a personal and cultural level.

The Cleveland Jewish News article points to a related initiative in 2021, when Manischewitz ran a “Matzah Memories” contest that allowed families to submit photos of their holiday celebrations. The company announced that the most popular entries would be turned into a limited‑edition booklet that appeared inside the matzah box. That prior experiment was well‑received, earning the company a modest spike in sales and increased engagement on social media.

The Takeaway

Manischewitz’s call for suggestions on its next matzah-box cover is more than a marketing gimmick; it is a deliberate attempt to fuse tradition with contemporary relevance. By turning the design process into a community contest, the company acknowledges the diverse ways that Jewish identity is lived and celebrated across the United States. The initiative provides an avenue for local athletes to gain recognition, for Jewish youth to see their values reflected in everyday products, and for the brand itself to refresh its image without abandoning its heritage.

The Cleveland Jewish News piece invites readers to visit the linked Instagram page, engage with the hashtag #MatzahChampion, and submit their own ideas. As the campaign progresses, the brand promises to keep the community informed through a live‑stream announcement and a behind‑the‑scenes look at the design process. Whether the final cover features a famous Olympic gold‑medalist or a rising high‑school star, the move signals that even legacy brands can adapt to the pulse of their audiences, proving that tradition and innovation can coexist side by side on the front of a matzah box.