In the name of faith

Age and income-based segmentation have become mundane tools for marketeers. A new way of dividing the market is now taking force: faith-based marketing.
Increased awareness and preference for halal products highlights the changing trends towards more religion-based consumerism. From $590 million in 2004, the global halal food market has risen to $640 million in 2010.
But apparently, its not about food alone. Products such as cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, financial products and even tourism and logistics are some of the halal product categories. Industry experts estimate the global halal market size at $2.1 trillion, inclusive of all product categories.
Combine that with the number of Muslims - exceeding 25 percent of global population and expected to rise further - and the potential for growth in this industry appears tremendous.
The market for halal products, which is as diverse as the products offered, includes Muslim as well as non-Muslim consumers. High quality, purity and ethical standards associated with Islam have fueled this unconventional interest in Islamic products.
Accrediting market dynamics and user preferences alone for the growth in halal markets will be unfair. Marketing prowess of the industry deserves much commendation as well for setting up a marketing pitch based on peoples religious ideologies.
Halal is now being broadly used to include everything Islamic. The Jawhara Hotel in Dubai claims to be based on the complete halal concept with everything from food to accounting and cleanliness being carried out according to Islamic principles.
Clearly, marketeers have positioned halal more broadly as an Islamic way of life. Little wonder that it is not just about food anymore.
Swiss food giant Nestle entered the halal market in the 1980s, and today, halal products turnover makes up around 5 percent of the companys annual sales.
With Malaysia vowing to assist Pakistan in halal certification, prospects for the latter to expand in the halal industry appear quite positive.
Being a Muslim country, Pakistan has additional advantage from a marketing point of view. Currently, non-Muslim players such as Brazil, Australia, Argentina, New Zealand, Thailand, etc dominate global halal trade, creating an opportunity for Muslim countries to use their national religion to their advantage.
At the International Halal Conference (IHC) organized by the Sindh Board of Investment earlier this week, Mohammad Yakoob, Managing Director, Halagel Group of Companies, said that only 1 percent of the gelatin produced globally is halal, and most of this is produced in Pakistan.
Yakoob started Halagel as a trading business by importing halal hard gelatin capsules from Pakistan, and today, the company offers an entire range of halal products.
Initially, for Pakistani producers and exporters, more feasible markets for halal products would be Middle Eastern countries such as Saudia Arabia, Oman, Iraq and the UAE, which also import meat from Pakistan. Gradually, the reach can be expanded to American and European nations.
Unfortunately, however, halal has often been taken for granted in Pakistan, with no emphasis on developing a brand identity based on this facet. Participants at the Global Halal Congress held in Karachi in December last year, noted that many non-Pakistani Muslim consumers refused to buy renowned Pakistani products since they did not bear the halal logo on the packaging.
Demand for the products exists, and being a halal producer, Pakistan is at an advantage on the supply side; the missing link, however, is adept branding.
Conferences such as the IHC and halal certification to be introduced later are steps in the right direction. But budding Pakistani halal exporters and entrepreneurs need to pay attention to tactful promotion too.