Speaking at last week’s World Halal Forum in Kuala Lumpur, Washington, DC-based Lisa Mabe, founder of Hewar Social Communications and recognised expert in the fields of multicultural marketing and speciality foods, said that halal brands have the ability not only to reach Muslim consumers but also those who don’t traditionally or culturally reach for Sharia-compliant products.
While acknowledging that the average non-Muslim consumer would not naturally care—or even necessarily know—about halal food, Mabe stresses that when packaged correctly, such products could attract a new line of consumer.
“Whether it’s in the United States, the UK or elsewhere in a Muslim-minority country, a lot of people have no clue about what halal is,” she explains after the conference.
“But I must say it is pleasantly surprising to see how there is an increasing number of conscious consumers—ones in the foodie category, as it were—who do know what halal is and who actively purchase halal food because they see it as being higher quality, purer and more wholesome, much the same as why non-Jewish consumers will consume kosher products.”
Sending the right message
To market such ranges, she says, manufacturers must play up their brand attributes through their messaging and packaging to focus on their natural and even exotic properties.
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