Philadelphia-based Zahav Foods has added two flavored hummus SKUs — Hummus Matbucha and Hummus Harissa — to its retail lineup, completing a three-variety flavored extension that now sits alongside its April 2026 debut of Hummus Schug. The new products are available at 185 Whole Foods Market locations across 20 states, with concurrent expansion into Bristol Farms, Barons Market, Giant, Harris Teeter, and McCaffrey's Markets.
The Formulation Story
The product architecture centers on a tehina-forward base — six ingredients only: tehina, chickpeas, lemon juice, salt, cumin, and garlic — with no added oil or preservatives. Zahav Foods sources its roasted tehina from Soom Foods and uses roughly four times the tehina-to-chickpea ratio typical of commodity hummus, producing a significantly denser, creamier texture profile that the brand positions as a differentiated format on U.S. refrigerated shelves. Each flavored SKU layers a distinct condiment over that base: Matbucha brings a Moroccan roasted-pepper-and-tomato preparation finished with olive oil and spices; Harissa introduces a smoky North African red-pepper blend combining Aleppo, guajillo, chipotle, and bell peppers; Schug delivers a Yemenite green-chile herbaceous profile with serrano peppers, parsley, cilantro, and coriander. All four SKUs carry Non-GMO, gluten-free, Kosher, and seed-oil-free claims. Retail price at Whole Foods is $7.99 per 10 oz unit.
Retail Velocity and Distribution
Zahav Foods entered the NielsenIQ 13-week hummus ranking at No. 6 out of 129 reported brands — a notable velocity signal for a brand that launched its flagship SKU at Whole Foods in January 2024 and went national within nine months. The new flavored extensions are designed to broaden basket attachment and shelf real estate within the refrigerated dips and spreads set. In Southern California, 14 Bristol Farms locations now carry all four Zahav SKUs, while Barons Market stocks the Classic and Schug varieties across 10 San Diego and Riverside County doors. Giant is expanding from 31 to 51 locations in the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and DMV regions and adding Harissa and Schug. Harris Teeter is adding Schug across 217 existing Zahav doors.
Market Context
The U.S. refrigerated hummus category has grown increasingly competitive as better-for-you snacking and Mediterranean-diet trends push both legacy brands and emerging CPGs to differentiate on ingredient quality and culinary provenance. For ingredient suppliers, Zahav Foods' model — tehina-forward, minimal-ingredient, restaurant-to-retail — illustrates a broader formulation trend toward clean-label dips and spreads built around a hero ingredient with a verifiable sourcing story. The Soom Foods tehina partnership also signals an opportunity for specialty ingredient suppliers to co-brand or supply into restaurant-derived CPG lines. Brands navigating the same refrigerated set may also look to plant-based protein ingredient suppliers as hummus competes with broader legume-based dip formats for shelf position. With its NielsenIQ ranking and multi-banner distribution now exceeding 400 retail doors, Zahav Foods is positioning its flavored tier as a near-term volume driver rather than a limited-edition play — a trajectory that puts pressure on co-manufacturers and cold-chain logistics partners to scale alongside the brand's retail ambitions.
Zahav Foods was co-founded by Chef Michael Solomonov and Steven Cook, the James Beard Award-winning restaurateurs behind Zahav and Laser Wolf in Philadelphia.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
