Fear not. The name Manischewitz can continue to grace Seder tables, but the company’s matzas and other beloved labels, like Rokeach and Mother’s, will be produced by another company. Kayco, formally known as the Kenover Marketing Corporation, has announced that it has reached an understanding with the Manischewitz Company to acquire many of its products, including its best-selling matza. Manischewitz will continue to produce its Season brand, known for sardines that are popular with nonkosher consumers.

Manischewitz was founded in 1888 in Cincinnati by Rabbi Dov Ber Manischewitz, who arrived in the United States from Prussia as part of the first wave of Eastern European immigrants seeking to escape pogroms and poverty. His company was the first to make matza on roller-coaster-like assembly lines, and they became a Passover standard.

Kayco’s roots are in Slovakia, where the Herzog family had produced wine since the middle of the 19th century. Eugene Herzog survived the Holocaust in hiding. In 1948, he reached the United States, where he went to work for a struggling wine company as a truck driver and salesman. By 1958, he was the majority stockholder, and soon established the Kedem wine brand. His youngest son, David, and grandson, Mordy, now run the company from Bayonne, NJ. Kayco distributes Yehuda matza, Empire soups, and U-bet syrups, but its profit engine is the Kedem wines division, which also makes the popular grape juice that is used on Shabbat and holidays at our shul.