Recently, the Halal TImes crew discussed why businesses who want to cater to Muslim customers anywhere in the world must get Halal certification and why Halal standards are so important. A large portion of ingredient firms’ revenue now comes from the supplement market, which is fuelled by health-conscious trends. For success in this market, it is essential to understand Halal, which includes Islamic dietary standards for food, pharmaceuticals, and personal care items.

American food manufacturers sought to expand into Muslim-majority areas by obtaining Halal certification in the 1990s, when globalisation allowed for increased trade between rich and developing countries. As a result of this calculated approach, American companies were able to increase their foothold in these burgeoning markets. Gaining Halal certification can open doors to new prospects for your supplements business, helping it prosper in the growing worldwide market.

Who Are the Most Important People in the Pharmaceutical Sector Who Benefit From Halal Certification?

A significant portion of halal-certified items fall into the nutritional, dietary, and functional food categories, along with ingredients. Sunrider, Nutrilite, Abbott, DSM, Naturex, Kerry Group, Cargill, and Danisco are just a few of the big healthy organisations that have utilised halal certification as a growth strategy for a long time.

International Sunrider

Certified for the first time in 1994 was Sunrider International. The company’s global distribution network included 415 distinct halal-certified goods by 2009. Founder and current chairman of the board of Sunrider International, Dr. Tei-Fu Chen, expressed the importance of halal certification to the company’s clientele in an interview given in 2009.

Nutrilite

From 2000 to 2010, Nutrilite also introduced 67 halal-certified products in 11 different countries. Halal certification was an organic progression for Nutrilite as it sought to meet the demands of customers in halal markets globally, according to an interview with Liliana Totoiu, a research scientist in technical and regulatory affairs and coordinator of the halal program, conducted in 2010.

Ms. Totoiu claims that Nutrilite’s dedication to 100% customer satisfaction was the key to the success of their halal product strategy. “Roughly 240 million people, or around 40% of South Asia’s total population, with the bulk residing in Brunei, Malaysia, and Indonesia, are consumers of halal products,” Totoiu continued.

The Abbott Company

Abbott Nutritional Supplements are Another Halal Success Story. In 2003, in response to a demand from the Southeast Asian market, Abbott initially obtained halal certification. Halal certification became even more important when Saudi Arabia made it a requirement for all food imports. Nearly every one of Abbott’s specialised nutritional and dietary supplements were halal-certified by 2009.

Abbott ultimately opted to get worldwide halal certification for all of its halal product lines, even though it had previously only certified products for big Muslim regional markets like Southeast Asia. “It was the right thing to do, and it made good business sense,” stated Donald Sgontz, Abbott’s manager of halal and kosher initiatives, in an interview from 2008. Abbott “wants to provide nutritional products to as many people as possible,” according to Sgontz, who cited a desire to fulfil social responsibility as the reason for the move. It encompassed the 8 to 9 million Muslims in the United States.

For its proactive certification strategy, message positioning in Southeast Asian markets, and adherence to Halal standards in production, Abbott was named Company of the Year in 2011 by IFANCA, a US-based Halal certification agency. Additionally, ingredient manufacturers have done well by informing consumers that their products are halal.

DSM-V

Consider DSM, a frontrunner in the supply of nutritional ingredients. Although DSM’s products have been halal for a long time, it wasn’t until 2008 that the company launched its halal global strategy. It was the halal certification that “stimulated curiosity from management to the shop floor level, creating the desired outcome in culture, diversity, and inclusion,” as Stephan Heck, senior director of quality management at DSM Nutritional Products, put it. As a business-to-business (B2B) player, DSM provides valuable information to its business-to-consumer (B2C) customers regarding the nutritional value and production and distribution process of DSM’s Halal goods.

In addition to the excellent experience with halal certification, according to Heck, “beyond growth, halal certification is also an acknowledgement of [DSM’s] Quality Policy to be ‘First Choice.'”

Does the market for nutritional products that have been halal certified show signs of expansion?

The market for nutritional products that have been Halal-certified continues to expand at a rapid pace. As a result of the growing international demand for halal dietary supplements, vitamin pills, and nutritional meals, auditors from various halal certification bodies are increasingly making trips to countries like Peru and China on an equal footing with those visiting enterprises in the US and Canada.

A growing number of smaller and medium-sized businesses have also achieved halal compliance in the past few years. The privately owned pharmaceutical and nutraceutical firm Chemi Nutra was granted halal certification in 2009. The company is mostly recognised for introducing phosphatidylserine (PS) and alpha-glyceryl phosphorylcholine (A-GPC).

The global appeal and potential restrictions on the brand prompted Chemi Nutra to seek Halal certification for its branded ingredient SerinAid PS, according to Chase Hagerman, manager of business development and marketing at Chemi Nutra. According to Hagerman, non-Muslims value the third-party credibility that major Halal certification organisations provide, which boosts the marketability of SerinAid PS.

We are frequently requested for the paperwork by contract manufacturers and finished-product marketers, so it’s impossible to specify a direct monetary impact of halal certification, but it was definitely worth it, he added. Halal certification is now an integral aspect of product development for almost every consumer goods company with a focus on international trade. How did things shift?

Reasons for the Rapid Expansion

One of the fastest-growing consumer populations, Muslims comprise 1.9 billion of the world’s population, according to the Pew Research Center’s Forum of Religion and Public Life.

 an estimated 2.2 billion Muslims making up 26% of the world’s population in 2030, the centre predicts that the Muslim population will double over the next 20 years, outpacing the non-Muslim population.

Another factor that experts say is driving demand for halal goods is the “youth bulge” in the Muslim market. Nearly 90% of Muslims consider religion to be “extremely important” to their daily lives, and 60% of Muslims are under the age of 30. Given the demographic shifts among Muslims, it stands to reason that halal-certified health and nutrition products will be in high demand.

Can You Tell Me How Big the Halal Pharmaceutical Market Is?

A brief review of the statistics regarding halal pharmaceutical demand, derived from spending data from several national statistical agencies and pharmaceutical industry groups, can help put this need in context.

The total expenditure on pharmaceuticals by Muslims worldwide in 2012 was $70 billion, or 6.6% of the total expenditure of $1,094 billion, according to Thomson Reuters’ 2013 “State of the Global Islamic Economy” report.

According to Thomson Reuters, Muslim spending on pharmaceuticals would reach $97 billion in 2018, accounting for 7% of total global expenditure.

When compared to the top national spenders, this indicates that the worldwide pharmaceutical market for Muslims is the third largest. The pharmaceutical expenditure in the US was $360 billion in 2012, Japan’s was $128 billion, and the global spending by Muslims was $70 billion, with China following closely behind at $66 billion. 7

Notable as well is the ranking of the size of the Muslim pharmaceutical market by country. According to 2012 statistics, the top nations accounting for Muslim pharmaceutical consumers are Turkey ($10.4 billion), Saudi Arabia ($5.2 billion), Indonesia ($5 billion), Iran ($3.7 billion), the US ($3.6 billion), and Algeria ($3.1 billion).

The United States ($3.6 billion), Russia ($2.6 billion), France ($2.5 billion), Germany ($2.1 billion), and the United Kingdom ($1.5 billion) are among the Muslim minority countries that contribute to the overall spending of $12.3 billion.

Turkey, the biggest Muslim consumer pharmaceutical market, is dwarfed by the combined size of these minority nations. This proves wrong the claim that only markets with a big Muslim population can profit from health and nutritious items that are halal-certified.

Possibility of Indonesian Halal Pharmaceutical Spending Being the World’s Leading

As people around the world become more health conscious, we anticipate a rise in the demand for halal food and nutritional supplements. Consider Indonesia as an example. Now ranked third among Muslim pharmaceutical spenders, Indonesia was the biggest halal-spending country in 2013 with $197 billion. Is it possible that it may also become the market leader in halal pharmaceutical expenditure?

The country’s large population makes it a promising market for nutritional supplement manufacturers. Vitamin and nutritional supplement sales jumped 11% from 2009 to 2010 due to health consciousness, even if healthcare spending is minimal ($17 per capita on medications).

People would rather buy OTC medications than prescription ones, says Global Business Guide. Because of this, the pace of increase for OTC pharmaceuticals has been 17%, whereas the rate of growth for prescription drugs has been 10%. The preceding words make it very clear that halal-certified businesses have a leg up on their non-certified rivals. Although halal certification is necessary to participate in the halal market, it is as crucial to communicate with halal consumers.

It is wise to display the halal status of products to halal consumers in markets where Muslims are not the majority, because information travels fast on the Internet and social media. The dietary nutrition industry’s halal-certified producers will achieve the best results through a deliberate strategy that includes proactive consumer interaction.