Philadelphia-born Zahav Foods has added Hummus Matbucha and Hummus Harissa to its growing retail lineup, placing both new SKUs in 185 Whole Foods Market locations across 20 states and expanding its footprint at Bristol Farms, Giant, Harris Teeter, and McCaffrey's Markets simultaneously. The September 2026 rollout completes a flavored hummus trio alongside the brand's previously launched Hummus Schug, and marks one of the more aggressive grocery expansions in the premium refrigerated dip segment this year.
The New Flavors
Both varieties are built on the brand's six-ingredient base — tehina, chickpeas, lemon juice, salt, cumin, and garlic — which uses roughly four times the amount of premium roasted tehina compared to conventional hummus, sourced from Philadelphia-area supplier Soom Foods. Hummus Matbucha tops that base with a Moroccan-style condiment of roasted red peppers, tomatoes, onions, garlic, olive oil, and spices. Hummus Harissa layers in a smoky North African pepper blend combining Aleppo, guajillo, chipotle, and bell peppers. Both retail at Whole Foods in 10 oz packages for $7.99, and carry Non-GMO, Gluten Free, Kosher, and Seed Oil Free certifications — attributes that resonate strongly with the natural and specialty grocery shopper increasingly targeted by foodservice-derived CPG brands.
The Matbucha, Harissa, and the already-available Schug are intentionally tiered by heat level and designed to be swirled into the base hummus at the table, replicating the interactive, mezze-style presentation guests experience at Zahav, the Michelin-recommended restaurant co-founded by Chef Michael Solomonov and Steven Cook nearly two decades ago.
Distribution Footprint
The retail expansion extends well beyond Whole Foods. In Southern California, all four Zahav hummus SKUs are now carried at all 14 Bristol Farms locations, while Barons Market has added the Classic and Schug varieties across 10 San Diego and Riverside County stores. In the Mid-Atlantic and Pennsylvania markets, Giant is growing from 31 to 51 locations and picking up the Harissa and Schug flavors; Harris Teeter, which began carrying the classic Zahav Hummus in November 2025, now stocks Hummus Schug across 217 locations. McCaffrey's Markets in Southeastern PA and Central NJ is carrying all four SKUs for the first time.
The brand entered Whole Foods exclusively in January 2024 and expanded to nationwide placement by September of that year — a rapid trajectory that reflects sustained consumer demand for restaurant-credentialed specialty foods in the refrigerated aisle. According to NielsenIQ's latest 13-week ranking cited by the company, Zahav Foods currently holds the No. 6 position among 129 tracked hummus brands, a ranking that signals real competitive traction in a category dominated by large legacy players.
Operator and Retail Implications
For foodservice and restaurant industry observers, the Zahav Foods story underscores a durable post-pandemic trend: chef-driven restaurant concepts translating signature dishes into scalable retail products without sacrificing the culinary identity that made them destinations in the first place. Solomonov and Cook have leveraged eighteen years of menu development at Zahav — where hummus opens every tasting menu — into a CPG positioning that is genuinely differentiated on ingredient philosophy, not just brand name.
The move also reflects broader momentum in the specialty food and beverage retail space, where operators with strong culinary credibility are finding grocery as a complementary revenue channel rather than a brand dilution risk. With a full four-SKU portfolio now in place and distribution spanning both coasts, Zahav Foods appears positioned to push further into conventional grocery channels where the brand has yet to achieve scale.
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.
