‘I couldn’t eat the sweets I made, so I created a kosher brand’

“I’ve been in the business for over 15 years,” says Nissim. “But I used to go and buy my sweets from a kosher shop, because although I have a warehouse with tonnes of sweets in it, I can’t eat them.”

“I knew first-hand how different the market was for kosher and for non-kosher. And I knew I could improve it,” he said. “But the market’s so small. There’s 250,000 Jews in the UK. A large majority of them don’t keep kosher… so it was never really something that I wanted to do.”

“But to be honest, after seeing how the Jewish community have been…treated since October 7, I kind of just thought, ‘you know what, whether it’s successful or not, I know I can to a better job than what they have at the moment’”.

Sweet Me Keep Me Kosher was launched Christmas Eve, with Shabbat-themed gift-boxes and convenient packaging. Their stock emptied almost instantly.

“We were meant to have three to four months’ worth of stock,” Nissim laughs.

Sweet Me Keep Me's kosher sweets come in fun, festive-themed boxes, which make the perfect gifts (Picture: GINNY TAHAN)[Missing Credit]

The company now prides itself in high-quality service to the kosher community via distributor Steins Foods. Packets emblazoned with “Shabbat Shalom” and “Chag Sameach”, selling British classics such as Liquorice Allsorts or strawberry and cream drops, utilise pre-printed packaging for each specific flavour. A Purim-themed gift box is also set to arrive on shelves.

“A lot of brands print generic packets…every bag is the same,” Nissim explains “It’s a cheap way of doing it, it’s certainly cost effective. Cost-effectivity wasn’t my main aim. My main aim was to give the Jewish community the best possible product I can.”

It initially took the company’s Spain-based factory one day a year to make enough stock. Production slots have since increased to every two to three months to satisfy demand.

“Jewish people love sweets, what can I say.”

The truth of this is backed up by the success of side-hustle chocolatier, Alex Domo.

The KLBD-certified Londoner produces stylish, high-end chocolate, available to order by Instagram DM or WhatsApp messaging. Adorning Domo London’s social media page are slick images of hand-made, yet impeccable, candies, courtesy of a pandemic-era foray into chocolate-making.

Alex Domo runs a cleaning business. Besides “eating chocolate”, he had yet to attempt sweet-making himself. “I saw a YouTube video and thought I’d give it a try,” he said, as clients decreased during the pandemic. “I really enjoyed making it the first time. I had a lot of beginner’s luck and thought, ‘well, I’m a natural’.”

His wife Talia says: “Alex taught himself from scratch how to temper chocolate, how to make fillings, ganache, caramels…it was amazing to witness someone teach that to themselves,” She picks pistachio-flavour as her favourite among the Domo products.

Domo decided to start a business when a commercial kitchen became available two days a week, to Talia’s relief. “The nature of chocolate is that it goes everywhere,” she laughed.

“Once I had a kitchen area—since I was banned from making it at home—I thought I should start selling.” Domo began crafting high-quality micro-batches for the kosher market.

“It kind of spiralled from there,” says Talia.

Domo London's handmade chocolates are chic and stylish (Picture: Domo London)[Missing Credit]

It was the niche of designing a French-style praline chocolate in kosher conditions that attracted Domo, who is part French. “English kosher chocolates are dairy free and designed to be eaten after a meal,” Domo says. According to the Domos, such chocolate has an often “overwhelming sweetness” that would otherwise be muted by dairy, hence the appeal of more subtle French techniques.

“The traditional French chocolate…uses a caramelised nut filling, whereas in England, especially the kosher market, there’s more often cream fillings,” says Domo. “There’s a lot of technical elements to it. Proportions, temperature, precision—something about that got me focused.”

Kosher law has its benefits, too. “Some chocolatiers will say that you get a purer flavour without milk,” says Domo.

Combining the styles, however, presented a challenge. “All the ingredients have to be certified, which … means they’re much harder to source,” he adds. “The most important thing was to maintain traditional French techniques…and bringing out the best flavours that are possible.” Dairy-heavy French chocolates, such as ganache, required the careful rebalancing of cocoa butter, chocolate percentages and sugar levels.

Domo London have since been a welcome addition to the kosher market. “We’re selling out pretty much every week,” says Domo, now challenged with balancing the home business with his other job. “I imagine people will use them for their Purim arrangements…”