By 2050 the global population of Muslims will increase from the current 1.8 billion to 2.8 billion. Undoubtedly, the Muslim world is in flux. With an ever-expanding middle-class (around 80 million Muslims are added annually), and with 62 per cent of the population under the age of 25, alongside the rise in numbers has come a rise in the population’s purchasing power.
Today, Muslim consumerism is valued at an astounding $2.1 trillion. And as the population skyrockets this number can only be expected to grow. What does this mean for capitalism? Mostly good things: since more than half of the Islamic world is under the age of 25, a younger demographic means a consumer with longevity in whom corporations can instil long-term brand loyalty. Simply put, businesses cannot afford to ignore the burgeoning wants and needs of 23 per cent of the world population.
Nestlé was the first multinational to pursue the Muslim consumer. With 86 of its 456 factories certified halal and currently generating $3 billion in sales, Nestlé is no longer the exception but the rule when it comes to courting the Muslim consumer.
“It’s like in the 80s when there was an influx of Latinos in US. Initially, they were largely ignored by American companies. But with a simple change — adding Spanish to food-packaging labels — consumer engagement with American corporations absolutely exploded,” explained Abdelaziz Aouragh, founder of the sharia-compliant, sensual products e-business El Asira.
But unlike Latinos — or say, Indians or even the Chinese (all of which at some point have been hotly-targeted consumer groups) — the Muslim world is not easily pigeonholed and isolatable. Even the term ‘Muslim world’ and ‘Muslim consumer’ are misleading classifications. Firstly, there is no Muslim world due to its inhabitants spanning the whole of the planet with most living in Asia followed closely by the Middle East and then the West. Secondly, the Muslim consumer comes from a myriad of races, ethnicities, and cultures, which makes marketing and brand engagement all the more important.
Despite lacking a settled definition of who or what a Muslim is, the concept of halal, although always different in the eye of the beholder, is something most Muslims continue to use as their lifestyle’s guiding compass. Images on Sunday interviewed a group of Muslim entrepreneurs currently trailblazing their way through the increasingly influential and robust halal market. The conclusion? Halal is no longer just a stamp of approval by a certifying authority. Today’s halal consumer wants the promise of a product that not only adheres to Islamic principles but also partakes in the trend of cruelty-free, ethical and sustainable consumption.
Clean, organic living
Over 10 years ago consumers globally became increasingly concerned over the usage of pesticides, antibiotics, and genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food products. This led to the evolution of ‘clean eating’, ‘clean living’ and ‘organic’ consumption. Today, ‘clean’ and ‘organic’ are not just buzzwords. They are an absolute, widely available rule — something which the consumer does not have to search very hard for and has come to expect from its local grocer to global corporate giants.
The surge of interest in the halal market indicates that halal as a brand may very well be on its way to becoming the next ‘go organic and live clean’ lifestyle. The label halal is versatile. It can and is applied to everything from food, beverages (like halal beer), fashion (like the burkini), nutritional supplements, beauty and hygiene products (think halal nail polish), financial transactions and even sensual products, like halal lubricant, and sex toys (the jury is still out on this one, however).
And looking at the success of businesses predicated on selling halal-centric products indicates that Muslim consumers, although largely influenced by a Western lifestyle, still care to make choices that reassert their identity as Muslims; especially when halal is made easily accessible to them.
The Muslim Consumer
David Horne, co-founder of Alchemiya, believes that the Muslim consumer wants the same things all consumers want: to be cool, to have a sense of community and belonging, and a future that is full of hope and possibilities. But, according to Horne, in so many ways the mainstream has failed to provide this.
His solution to the problem? Alchemiya, a subscription-based online portal featuring Islamic video content, also known as the Muslim Netflix.
Alchemiya is the lock, stock and barrel of Muslim programming. From films and TV shows to travel programmes that transport the viewer to Muslim-influenced Granada, to documentaries that let the viewer revel in the experience of Hajj in the 1940s, Alchemiya has it all. Currently one of its most viewed productions is a documentary called I Heart Quran that features a Quran verse read in English by a Shakespearean theatre-trained actor. Four Muslim Londoners then go on to discuss that verse’s importance to their personal lives.
“Our policy was to rise above the divisions [of Sunni-Shia, Sufi-Wahhabi] and show the best of Islam not just [to] a Muslim audience but for anyone interested in learning about the history, culture and contributions of Islam and Muslims to the world that we all live in,” explained Horne.
Today Alchemiya has subscribers from over 40 countries. A survey done in the early days of its launch indicates that at least 10 per cent of its subscribers are non-Muslim.
The rise of technology and the average Muslim consumer’s willingness to embrace this technology is the golden ticket enabling Muslim entrepreneurs to e-launch themselves into the lucrative halal stratosphere.
The key to success for Aouragh’s El Asira was successfully blending Islamic ethics and values with capitalistic business practices. After extensive consultations with prominent scholars coupled with rigorous standards to ensure halal compliance the result was a portfolio of 20 sensual well-being products that are now expanding from e-commerce to brick and mortar locations from European airports all the way to the Middle East.