Millions of American Jews read the order of service for their Seder, or Passover meal, from a booklet produced by Maxwell House Coffee. For more than seventy years the coffee company has produced the booklet, called the Hagadah, and during those years it has distributed more than 20 million copies.How did Maxwell’s Coffee House come to supply Passover booklets? It was the result of some innovative thinking.
Eighty years ago, marketing man Joseph Jacobs advised that the company could sell coffee during Passover if the product was certified kosher by a rabbi. Then Jacobs suggested that if they gave away Hagadah booklets they would increase sales. They have been producing the booklets and selling coffee during Passover ever since.
It is amazing how hurdles can be overcome when we allow our creativity and faith to percolate.
Sources:
John Maxwell, Release the Power of Strategic Thinking.
Image: Hagadah Booklet with the compliments of Maxwell Coffee House (for further details see the following link):
From Haven to Home: 350 years of Jewish Life in America
