10 April 2008
Schaumburg, IL
      
As consumers prepare to celebrate the Jewish festival of Passover, high retail sales are expected for matzo, kosher wine and other items traditional to holiday celebrations and the Passover Seder, the ritual dinners held on the first two nights of Passover. According to The Nielsen Company:

• Consumers are expected to spend more than $3.5 million1 on matzo, the traditional unleavened bread, during the holiday week. The week leading up to Passover is the highest sales week for matzo, and the second highest sales week for matzo meal/mixes, with more than $822,000 in sales expected.
• More than 1.3 million bottles, or $6.5 million in sales of kosher table wine, a traditional part of the Passover Seder, will be sold during the four weeks leading up to Passover, representing approximately 15 percent of the year’s total sales. More than two-thirds will be sold during the two week period just before and during the Passover holiday.
• Horseradish sales are also strong with more than $1.7 million expected during Passover week. Many celebrants use horseradish as maror, a bitter herb that is a traditional part of the Seder Plate.
• Senior couples, or two person (age 65 and above) households with no children living in mid and upscale, densely populated, ethnically diverse urban centers3 show the highest consumption of matzo, matzo meal mixes and kosher wine.

About The Nielsen Company
The Nielsen Company is a global information and media company with leading market positions in marketing information (ACNielsen), media information (Nielsen Media Research), online intelligence (NetRatings and BuzzMetrics), mobile measurement, trade shows and business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek). The privately held company is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in Haarlem, the Netherlands, and New York, USA. For more information, please visit, www.nielsen.com.

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1All dollar figures represent sales in U.S. food, drug and mass merchandiser stores, including Wal-Mart, for the week ending 4/7/07.
2Based on sales in U.S. food, drug and combined major liquor markets for the four weeks ending 4/7/07.
3As defined by Spectra, a service of The Nielsen Company.