For years, American businesses with locations in Europe have been targeting the Muslim community with products that are specifically catered to the people’s Islamic dietary laws.
As the Muslim community continues to grow right here in the U.S., more companies are offering products that meet their needs.
For years, the American Jews were searching high and low for businesses that sold kosher food.
Now the Muslim community is looking at which businesses will begin selling halal made products.
Halal is an Arabic word meaning lawful or permitted, according to the Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America.
Halal is only applied to food products, meat products, cosmetics, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, food ingredients, and food contact materials.
Whole Foods, a natural grocery giant, began selling frozen Indian entrees called Saffron Road, its first nationally distributed halal food product.
"Muslims are highly educated and live in metro areas, and they're shopping with us already," said Errol Schweizer, senior global grocery coordinator for Whole Foods. "If we have a customer base where there's a big Muslim population, it makes sense for us to service that population," requoted from a Yahoo! News article.
But Whole Foods is not the only U.S. company to cater to the Muslim community.
Global advertising firm, Ogilvy & Mather started an international Islamic branding consultancy called Ogilvy Noor with an emphasis on U.S. Muslims.
Last year, Best Buy Inc. acknowledged a Muslim holiday “Eid al–Adha” or the “Feast of the Sacrifice” for the first time when it fell around Thanksgiving.
Two iconic American companies, McDonald’s and Walmart, also entered the halal market.
Walmart opened a supercenter in Dearborn, Mich., an area with one of the largest Muslim and Arab populations in the country. The store caters specifically to its Mideast consumers and includes a range of halal products, especially specialty foods.
The worldwide market for Islamic permitted goods (halal) has grown to more than half a billion dollars annually.
Studies have found that a significant percentage of Muslims are better educated and wealthier than other Americans.
Ten years ago, Los Angeles had an estimated 92,919 Muslims living in Los Angeles County. The county had close to 48 Islamic congregations and centers throughout the Southland.
Today that number has surely increased.
With information regarding this new target audience, this should give Los Angeles businesses an opportunity to take advantage of marketing your halal products right in your own backyard.
Comments