LOUISVILLE, Ky.--Two months after moving to a 2,000-square-foot facility here, Najla's Inc., manufacturer of award-winning, all-natural gourmet cookies received its kosher certification from the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America May 2. This month at the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York she introduces a new line of mixed, seasoned nuts.

"When we would go to food shows, we could see a certain amount of business we could get if we were certified kosher," said Founder Najla Aswad. Eleven local markets here including Paul's Fruit Market and Dolls Market picked up the cookie line in May and were among the first to receive the products with the updated labels.

Najla's products are manufactured under the supervision of the Kashruth Division of the Orthodox Union.

When her husband accepted a job offer here, Aswad and her specialty food company relocated here from Binghamton, N.Y. With the move, she sold her 18-year-old kosher catering business.

Formerly working from her home, Aswad built a 2,000-square-foot facility here from the ground up for her specialty food business that she launched in 2002. With the relocation and the new facility, she said she decided to pursue kosher certification. "I thought this will never be easier than it is now," she said.

The entire Najla's Cookies product line is certified kosher dairy, or OU-D. Flavors include Classic Chocolate Chunk, Classic Macadamia Chocolate Chunk, Oatmeal Cherry Chocolate Chunk, Oatmeal Ginger Currant and Peanut Butter.

Najla's also received OU Parve kosher certification for its newest creation, a spiced nut mix named Gone Nuts! Available in 4-ounce and 8-ounce bags, Gone Nuts! is a sweet and spicy blend of macadamia nuts, walnuts, pecans and almonds and will be introduced in July at the Summer Fancy Food Show.

Aswad said she decided on OU certification, because it's the world's largest and most respected kosher certification agency and symbol.

"We've always planned the growth and expansion of our product line to include the integrity of the OU standards. Now with all natural products that bear the OU symbol, we don't have any barriers to our growth," said Aswad.

Najla's Cookies are a three time Finalist in Outstanding Dessert and Cookie categories at the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade Inc. All Najla's products are made by hand with all-natural ingredients in small batches.

With a UPS hub nearby, an added benefit is the central shipping location to points elsewhere in the United States.

"It was a silent blessing," she said. "We have better logistics management, shorter transit times, and now we can charge less for shipping because we don't have to put in as much dry ice."