Organic. Local. Halal? People are more conscious than ever about where their food comes from and Muslim consumers are no exception. In her latest column, Ogilvy Noor’s Shelina Janmohamed explains why brands should care.

If you’re serious about talking to Muslim consumers, then one of the first things you need to understand is the meaning of the term halal.

In colloquial parlance, the term halal is used in reference to meat that has come from an animal slaughtered according to Islamic prescription, which is remarkably similar to – although not identical to – Kosher guidelines.

Products must also exclude ingredients that are forbidden to Muslims, like alcohol and pig-derivative products. Halal means “permitted.” The opposite is haraam, “forbidden.”

When the Quran talks of halal it uses a broader description of “goodness and wholesomeness”; the essence is that the product from its origin through to its final consumption should exhibit purity, care for the animals and the environment and ethical treatment at every stage of its production.

In a world that over recent decades has moved towards mass production and away from traditional farming methods and local goods, Muslims – like other consumers – are increasingly concerned about their produce being ethical and organic. Muslims consider these to fall under the wider definition of halal.

However, to consider a whole marketplace of products is more than one short article can handle. So here we are going to stick to the basics of food.

There’s another reason for doing so: In our research looking at Muslim perceptions of the sharia-friendliness of a range of well-known brands, the ones related to food and beverage topped the list.

Muslims believe that their physical intake directly affects their spiritual life. That’s why Muslim consumers are so intent on ensuring what they consume is halal. And considering that the halal market is estimated at around $500 billion annually and growing, brands should pay attention.

Certified halal

There is no global standard of halal; local boards pop up in every country. If you’d like your product certified halal, then the first step is to identify the certification bodies that will be most relevant to the Muslim consumers you are targeting.

If your product is entirely vegetarian, and contains no alcohol, then it’s worth noting that clearly on your packaging. The Chicago Tribune looked at the trend of rising farm-to-fork consciousness among Muslims, reporting that “some Muslims are making sure their food is not just halal, but organic, free-range and tayiib – Arabic for wholesome. They care as much about how the animal was killed as they do about how it was raised.”

Their concerns are part of growing consumer awareness and demands for ethical and organic food. In fact, a Dutch insights company called Innova published 10 key food trends for 2012 which included the values of purity, authenticity, sustainability and corporate social responsibility.

These values show a remarkable crossover with halal values, which point to the idea of wholesomeness, goodness and purity.

Pure and good

For marketers looking to engage Muslim consumers – in particular in developed markets – there is an opportunity to capitalise on this growing intersection between the organic/ethical market and the halal market.

In the US, Whole Earth Meats is halal and organic. It markets its burgers based on tradition and wholesomeness, using these values to appeal to Muslim consumers first, underlining them with its halal status.

Consumers who are not Muslim also state that halal (and kosher) foods are preferential due to the care and cleanliness that goes into preparing them.

In the Ningxia region of China, which has a high Muslim population, Malaysian firm Fahim is about to implement a Halal Integrity Management solution. This will deliver exactly what we’ve been discussing here – an end-to-end solution for monitoring halal status from farm to fork. It’s an exciting development for Muslim consumers.

The Chairman of Fahim’s parent company explains the potential for crossover in his region: “Our target is not only the Muslims but also the non-Muslims. I was told by some Chinese people that they preferred halal food products to allay food safety concerns as halal in Chinese literally means pure and good.”

The lesson to take away from all this is that the potential for halal to appeal to Muslim consumers (and beyond) is open to all businesses and brands wherever they may be. The simple, and lucrative, first step is to reach out to Muslim consumers by ensuring your products are halal-compliant, and making sure that your Muslim consumers know it.

 清真生态：食品品牌如何进军穆斯林市场

有机的，本地的，清真吗？人们比任何时候都更在意食物的来源，穆斯林消费者也不例外。在最近的专栏中，奥美努尔（美国著名传媒集团）的Shelina Janmohamed解释了人们在意品牌的原因。

如果你真的想与穆斯林消费者交谈，那么你首先需要理解“清真”一词的含义。

通俗的说，“清真”指的是根据伊斯兰教法所屠宰的动物的肉，这与犹太教的教规相似，但不完全相同。

产品中也不能使用穆斯林禁用的成分，如酒精和猪衍生物.。清真意指“允许”，相反的是非清真，即为“禁止”。

《古兰经》谈及清真时，用了一个广义的描述，“佳美的”，其本质是，产品从生产之初到最终消费都应展示其纯洁性，在生产的每个阶段都要考虑并善待动物和环境。

近几十年来，世界正朝着大规模生产的方向发展，不再局限于传统的耕作方法和当地商品，和其他消费者一样，穆斯林也越来越关注他们的产品是否合乎道德，是否有机。穆斯林认为这些属于更广义的清真。

然而，考虑到一个完整的产品市场不是一篇短文可以涵盖的，因此我们将专注于最基本的食物。

这样做还有另一个原因：在我们研究穆斯林对一系列知名品牌的伊斯兰友好性的看法时，发现与食品和饮料相关的品牌位居榜首。

穆斯林认为，他们的身体摄入将直接影响他们的精神生活。这就是为什么穆斯林消费者如此在意确保他们所消费的是清真的。品牌商应当注意：清真市场每年约有5000亿美元的份额，并且还在增长。

清真认证

没有全球性的清真标准，每个国家都有地方委员会。如果希望你的产品获得清真认证，那么第一步就是确定你的目标穆斯林消费者最相关的认证机构。

如果你的产品是纯素食且不含酒精，那么你的包装上最好有清晰的标注。芝加哥论坛报观察发现穆斯林的“清真”意识从农场到餐桌都呈提升趋势，报道称：“一些穆斯林不仅需要确保食物是清真的，并且需要是有机的、放养的和tayiib——阿拉伯语中指佳美的。他们像关心动物是如何被宰杀的一样关心动物是如何被饲养的。”

他们的关注是消费者对人道和有机食品的需求不断增长的一部分。事实上，一家名为Innova的荷兰公司公布了2012年食品的十大趋势，包括纯洁性、真实性、可持续性和企业社会责任等的价值。

这些价值观提现了一种与清真价值观的显著交叉，表明了健康、有益和纯洁的理念。

纯净与美好

对于那些希望吸引穆斯林消费者——尤其是发达市场——的商人来说，他们有机会利用有机/人道市场与清真市场之间日益增长的交集。

在美国，所有的肉类都是清真和有机的。它以传统和健康为基础销售汉堡，先以这些价值观来吸引穆斯林消费者，并以清真身份来强调他们的价值。

非穆斯林的消费者也表示，清真（和犹太）食品是首选，因为它们制作过程用心且干净。

在穆斯林人口众多的中国宁夏地区，马来西亚公司Fahim即将实施一种清真完整性管理解决方案。这将为我们提供一个一直在讨论的——端到端的解决方案，用于监控从农场到餐桌的清真状态。对于穆斯林消费者来说，这是一个令人兴奋的发展。

Fahim的母公司主席解释了他在该地区跨界的可能性：“我们的对象不仅是穆斯林，还有非穆斯林。一些中国人告诉我他们更喜欢清真食品，来减轻对食品安全问题的担忧，因为清真在汉语中指纯净和美好。”

从这一切中吸取的经验是，清真对穆斯林消费者（甚至其他）的吸引力，对所有企业和品牌都是开放的。简单而又有利可图的第一步是，通过确保产品符合清真标准，并确保穆斯林消费者知道这一点，从而接触到穆斯林消费者。