Halal Goes Global

Chapter 5 – THE HALAL FOOD VALUE CHAIN – THE FARM-TO-FORK CHALLENGE 39
welfare or secular grounds. Some Muslims groups want to
know whether stunning or mechanical slaughter was used.
Policymakers seem uncertain how to respond. However,
this is another issue that manufacturers must address, so
they are not wrong-footed if legislation is passed in a target
market.
From another perspective, labelling and packaging are
important marketing issues. While halal foods may share
values with the eco-ethical food movements, there is a
wide gap between the way the products are labelled and
presented. It is important for manufacturers to consider their
halal product labels carefully, as opposed to just putting the
word ‘halal’ in Arabic, or the logo of the HCB on the product
label.
Marketing and branding
The label is an integral element of product branding, and
the entire product package is an essential component of the
halal food product. It is, in effect, what the first-time customer
actually buys, rather than the contents. The natural foods
market can provide some excellent lessons on branding
and messaging. In comparison, the halal food sector is a
long way behind that level of sophistication.
Understanding the needs and preferences of the consumer,
and indeed understanding the difference between these
two, is essential. While consumer research on halal markets
has been scarce in the past, it is now becoming possible
to understand and cater to the halal consumer in ways that
were not available before.
Real-time information on consumer behaviour, and engaging
customers in a real conversation, is possible today in ways
that could only have been imagined in the past. Dedicated
research, for example through specialist agencies, such as
London-based EthnicFocus, or DinarStandard in the United
States, offers the possibility for a deeper dive into the minds
of the target market’s customers, and to position a product
offering accordingly.
More immediate options are possible through the strategic
and well-considered campaigns on social media platforms.
Saffron Road in the United States has said that its entire
marketing campaign was carried out through what it refers
to as ‘guerrilla marketing’, through social media interaction
with existing and potential customers.
The youthful demographics of both the Muslim world and
the diaspora communities indicate that social media is an
increasingly influential and effective method for gathering
real-time market information that is highly advantageous for
successful marketing. This is likely to increase, and be a real
factor over the next phase of market growth, and it involves
much more than a simple website and Facebook page.
A strong social media presence also makes a powerful
statement about the manufacturer, as well as the product,
and can indicate an understanding of and alignment with
the lives of the company’s customers.
Logistics
As halal is increasingly viewed as an integrated farm-to-fork
process, compliance in all aspects of logistics is emerging
as an important element of the halal value chain. Ensuring
that the halal integrity of a product is maintained throughout
its journey from manufacturer to customer is increasingly
expected, and indeed assumed, by the end user. Logistics
are generally estimated to account for 15% of a given market
sector’s overall value. This would make halal logistics
potentially worth more than US$ 150 billion annually, and
therefore well worth developing further.
The economics and availability of halal logistics is still
somewhat in its infancy, and many manufacturers do not
yet consider it a necessity. There are now several standards
on halal logistics, most notably by Standards Malaysia and
by ESMA in Dubai.
Attempts to establish port-to-port protocols for halal logistics
remain at the discussion stage. Logistics by its very nature
requires collaboration between a number of different links
in the supply chain, and to date this has not proved easy to
establish. Much of what is written on halal logistics is still at
the academic stage.
However, forward-looking manufacturers and exporters
should pay close attention to the emergence of the halal
logistics sector. Initiatives such as Dubai’s halal industrial
parks in the Jebel Ali Free Zone and the new TechnoPark
may well put halal logistics more firmly on the map. Dubai’s
expertise as a trans-shipment hub, coupled with ESMA’s
standard, may well see port-to-port protocols established in
the next phase of market development.
Dedicated logistics, if economically viable, offer a new level
of convenience for the manufacturer, as well as confidence
for the customer. This is likely to be a requirement in the
future rather than an option.
Ingredients and additives
As product recipes and their supply chains have
become more complicated, along with the popularity
of convenience food and ready-made meals, the
importance of micro-ingredients has risen correspondingly.
While different markets have different laws on what must
be listed on labels, customers worldwide are generally
becoming more vigilant about food additives and
flavourings.