kosherfest was conceived in 1989 by irving silverman, who hired menachem lubinsky, president and ceo of lubicom marketing and consulting, to market it. it was originally called the international kosher food and food service trade show. at its inaugural event, staged at the new york passenger ship terminal, there were 69 exhibitors and 700 attendees. by 2001, the show was attracting 500 exhibitors and 12,000 buyers from across the united states and 29 countries at the jacob k. javits convention center. in 2014, 330 exhibitors and 6,000 registered attendees participated, filling all of the meadowlands exposition center in secaucus, new jersey.