News From : DagangHalal.com (14 Jun 2012)
CAIRO – Seeking their share of the growing halal industry, different food and healthcare brands in India are getting halal stamps to woo the country’s Muslim population as well are millions of customers around the globe.
“With many brands embracing halal, Indian brands may look at an export market opportunity of about $200 billion in the next ten years,” Mohamed Jinna, CEO of Halal India, an apex body for halal certification, told the Times of India on Monday, May 21.
Seeking a better foothold in markets like Singapore, Malaysia and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, different Indian brands were getting the halal certificate.
Among these homegrown brands were CavinKare, Daawat, Bikano, Goldwinner oil, Vadilal ice cream, Amrutanjan Health Care and Gujarat Ambuja Exports.
“The certification is a reason-to-belief for customers on quality parameters,” said R S Vijay Kumar, GM of international business at CavinKare, a Chennai-based personal care company.
“The certification will also give an edge over our competitors.”
After getting the halal certificate, Kumar predicts that the international business of his company will grow remarkably.
Amrutanjan was another healthcare company which has obtained a halal certificate for all its pain balm products exported to Singapore, Malaysia, West Indies and African markets.
Bikanervala Foods has also received halal certificate.
“Halal signifies highest standards of quality and hygiene in ingredients, processes and products,” said Sachin Anand, head of international business at Bikanervala Foods.
The concept of halal, — meaning permissible in Arabic — has traditionally been applied to food.
Muslims should only eat meat from livestock slaughtered by a sharp knife from their necks, and the name of Allah, the Arabic word for God, must be mentioned.
Now other goods and services can also be certified as halal, including cosmetics, clothing, pharmaceuticals and financial services.
Way of Life
Changing to halal brands, many Indians praise Islamic values as suitable for the “universally appealing nature”.
“If you look at Islamic values, most of them are emotional and this makes for good branding and marketing,” Paul Temporal, founder and MD of Temporal Brand Consulting, told the Times of India.
Temporal says he feels that there is a lot more room for brand managers to adapt these values for different markets and cultures, whether Islamic or not.
“A more careful look reveals that a lot of these values do not just suit Islamic audiences, but are of a universally appealing nature,” he said.
“The issue or challenge is to find where these people are and to reach them with suitable products.
Harish Bijoor, CEO of Harish Bijoor Consults, agrees.
“Islam in many ways is a way of life,“ Bijoor said.
“To that extent, Islamic branding is all about using brands as good deeds. What starts with halal foods, can move on to halal practice in every industry, be it the pharmaceutical or the cosmetic industry.”
“Islamic branding can embrace broader pastures that cover business practices too,” he said.
Muslims account for 160 million of India’s 1.1 billion people, the world’s third-largest Muslim population after those of Indonesia and Pakistan.
Halal food is consumed not only by 1.5 billion Muslims around the world, but also by at least 500 million non-Muslims in the $2 billion global industry.
Source: Onislam