The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) Monday announced an innovative new procedure for treating blocked heart arteries, making the UAE the fifth in the world to have this mode of treatment

Dubai The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) Monday announced an innovative new procedure for treating blocked heart arteries, making the UAE the fifth in the world to have this mode of treatment.

Three Emirati patients underwent the procedure last week which unclog the blocked arteries with a ‘scaffolding’ that dissolves within the body within three months.

Unlike the metal stents which remain in the body for ever, the new “bioresorable’ scaffolding do not turn the arteries rigid, making it easier for further treatment in the future, surgeons said.

Younger than average

UAE residents suffer from heart problems a decade younger than the world average, surgeons said, citing smoking, eating junk food and lack of exercise, as the contributing factors.

The new procedure called “Absorb” is said to be ground-breaking and is called the “fourth revolution” in the field of cardiology. It will be available only in the government hospitals initially, DHA said.

“We are determined to reduce the social and economic burden of disease in the UAE,” said Khalid Al Shaikh Mubarak, deputy director general of DHA, announcing the procedure.

Number one killer

Heart disease is the number one killer in the country, the DHA official said. A leading surgeon said he sees 10 to 15 heart patients every day. “It is a huge problem,” he said of the rampant heart disease in the country.

Surgeons said since it is a new technology, the cost is presently triple at Dh 20,000 than using a metal stent, which costs Dh 8000.

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Being able to choose Halal when it comes to cosmetic purchases is still a relatively new concept with the vast majority of brands yet to celebrate their fifth birthday. However, with the worlds Muslim population set to grow from the present 23% to around 26.4% over the next twenty years (Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life) it looks like this is one section that has plenty more growing to do.

Last year (Halal Cosmetics – A New Horizon) I took a look at the science behind Halal cosmetics in a bid to understand and help communicate this very specific set of requirements to the wider cosmetic industry and its customers. The main points being:

• No alcohol (Ethanol) wherever possible. Some Muslims are happy to accept alcohol as an integral part of a fragrance product as these products can be applied to clothing and as such are unlikely to permeate the body. However, alcohol in general skin-care is less accepted and many Halal brands use alcohol (ethanol) free as a selling point.
• No Pork Derivatives. Glycerine, gelatine, collagen, Keratin and Elastin are the main culprits here. While much of the glycerine used in cosmetics these days is vegetable derived (usually a bi-product of palm oil production) some meat-derived glycerine still makes it into the cosmetics market. This is a no-go for Halal brand.
• No animal derived ingredients. This takes the above statement one step further and should include ingredients that while not animal derived themselves may have been prepared in animal-derived media (such as petri dishes). This also brings in the ingredients Hyaluronic acid, squalane, Chitin and Chitosan although again, due to a general dislike of animal derived ingredients these are now available as non-animal derived alternatives.

While this looks like it could be adhered to quite easily on the surface, the supply chain traceability required of Halal cosmetics and the attention to the detail of the preparation of each ingredient make for quite a challenge.

Take GM crops for example, in December 2010 a conference held in Penang, Malaysia (The International Workshop for Islamic Scholars “Agri-biotechnology: Sharia Compliance” agreed that GM crops could be Halal just so long as the ingredients used to develop them are from Halal sources. This position has since been fiercely debated especially by UK based Green group “The Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences” who have concerns about the way GM crops undermine God’s creation and can potentially damage the surrounding ecosystem. So to date, GM is officially ‘in’ although the market seems to be opting out.

But this challenge of scientific and marketing complexity is being met by many entrepreneurial spirits who are rising to the challenge and filing this developing gap in the market.

Saaf Pure Skincare based in the UK is one of the global success stories and now sell in over thirteen countries. Having not spoken directly to Saaf I can only report on what I see on their website and from there I see a brand that complies not only with Halal certification but also with Organic, Cruelty-Free and Vegan standards. In addition the companies are vocal about their formulations being 100% natural, vegetarian, alcohol-free, non-irradiated and free from Genetically Modified Organisms. They also remind the consumer that their products are only tested on willing humans and contain only ingredients needed to fulfill the products function – no fillers, no added perfume. If this Halal brand is setting the benchmark then the buzz word for the segment is ‘Purity’.

Other Internationally recognised brands meeting the Halal requirements are the Australian-made Inika Minerals who have just broken the back of the UK market to become one of Australia’s most successful Organic make-up exports, Canadian based One-Pure Cosmetics with their sophisticated anti-ageing skincare range and UK based Hussana with their low-priced skin and hair care options.

At a local level in Malaysia, the cosmetic/Natural health market has seen a number of Halal breakthroughs in terms of producing neutriceutical beauty products that are gelatine free, anti-bacterial mouthwashes that are alcohol-free and pharmaceutical base creams that are guaranteed to be free from animal derivatives. Again, it is quite possible that these products are already available in the wider market but the emphasis on fulfilling the ethical and practical (paper trail) requirements of the Halal market combine to make these developments significant.

So far it looks like Halal cosmetics fit very neatly (at least on a scientific level) alongside other Natural, Environmentally conscious, pure and animal-testing free cosmetic ranges. So do we need Halal personal care?

To answer that we need to think more about the lifestyle of the people for whom these products are aimed.

While not all Muslim women cover their hair, for those that do there are practical implications. The hair can become more greasy, lank and hard to manage. These facts have not gone un-noticed and have been picked up on by global hair-care giant Unilever who have just launched an advertising campaign aimed at hijab wearing women. Their new Sunsilk formulation promises to help revitalize the scalp of hijab wearers with natural lime while gently addressing greasiness and dandruff made worse by religious observance. Their tag line “the first shampoo for covered hair” is as smart as it is true – build the need, fill the need.

Other uniquely Muslim requirements include products that are pure and clean enough, without any perfumed smell, to be used during the Hajj or Umrah pilgrimage to Mecca. During this time it is essential that cleanliness and personal hygiene are not confused with a celebration of objectified beauty. Keeping it simple is the key. The same goes for daily prayer rituals which require the wudu or ritual cleaning to take place before prayer can begin. As far as cosmetic choices go, this makes the use of hard-to-remove or semi-permanent products most inconvenient.

So, to sum up, it would seem that the science that supports the Halal ethos is as well set as any other certification process. There are some areas for further clarification and discussion (such as GMO) but a general agreement on direction and interpretation has been reached. However, when it comes to translating that into lifestyle-based solutions there still seems room for innovation. Muslim men, women and children want to buy products that tick not just the practical but also the emotional box, they want to feel a connection, they want to see themselves in the product, and they want to be truly represented. For me, the future success of Halal cosmetic has less to do with the science and more to do with winning the hearts and minds of this diverse and ethical consumer group. As the best way to do that is to listen, I think the time has come to pull up a chair, put on the kettle and start to get to know our Muslim friends and neighbours.

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Earlier, TheNetwork for Consumer Protection, a non-governmental organisation working for the rights of consumers, had staged a protest against the use of religion by some pharmaceutical companies including Swiss transnational firm Novartis to sell the vaccine with the tag of Halal (an Arabic word meaning permissible in Islam).

Dr Shahzad of Novartis confirmed the development and said his company was advertising its product to emphasise the importance of the vaccines. “The CCP is not aware of some of the basic facts as to why the company is emphasising on the importance of meningitis’s injection for pilgrims,” he said, adding the injection was compulsory for pilgrims under Saudi Arabian rules.

Responding to a question, Shahzad admitted that the word Halal was used by his company after noting that another company was also using the same tag. TheNetwork, in its complaint, was of the view that Novartis advertised the meningitis vaccine under the cover of “public service message” and by hiring a popular celebrity Junaid Jamshaid, a TV anchor of a religious programme, to give weight to its ad and target consumers in a deceptive manner.

“The advertisement is targeting around 200,000 intending Hajis (pilgrims), who are required to be vaccinated against meningitis before travel to Saudi Arabia,” it said.

Another pharmaceutical company Vikor has also adopted a similar strategy and is claiming in an advertisement that its vaccine, imported from Belgium is Halal. Vikor was also using the image of holy city of Makkah to deceive consumers, TheNetwork notice added.

Pharmaceutical companies were cashing in the religion by marking Halal on their products as if other vaccines were Haram (prohibited), said TheNetwork CEO Nadeem Iqbal.

“We should not be surprised if this irresponsible dubbing of a vaccine as Halal may spread to other vaccines like polio, which is already facing resistance from the religious lobby,” said Iqbal.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 7^th, 2011.

See related story: http://halalfocus.net/2011/08/24/pakistan-advertisements-for-halal-food-on-the-rise/

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A spokesperson for Novartis claims the ad wasn’t made because of any pressure and that the pharmaceutical company had always been committed to producing halal-free meningitis vaccines.  He pointed out that in 2010 the meningitis vaccine produced by GlaxoSmithKline was banned in Indonesia for containing traces of swine products while Novartis’ vaccine was declared halal.

However, scientists believe that drawing a distinction between supposedly halal and non-halal vaccines is a futile endeavour. Dr Saqib Ahmed, a professor of chemistry at the Quaid-e-Azam University, says that the seed stocks for meningitis vaccines were developed in the 1960s in the US and included swine enzymes.  He said that replacing the swine enzymes with bovine enzymes would likely not be successful.

Still, claiming that products are halal has now become a part of the Pakistani advertising landscape. The story of how food and other products in Pakistan began to be marketed as halal is one of religious bullying and, more importantly, big business.

The religious bullying began in July of 2009 when a religious newspaper, Daily Ummat, published over a dozen stories on consecutive days claiming that Lay’s chips used pig fat as flavour enhancers. The reports were then picked up by a couple of television channels, Royal News and Al-Huda TV as well as on some radio stations. The campaign got so vicious, says a spokesman for the company, that Lay’s was forced to run the ad for fear of losing sales. The spokesman said that the newspaper was trying to extort the company and promised to stop the campaign if they were paid off.

In the ad, Lay’s claimed that their chips had been given a halal certificate by the Jamia Ashrafia. Jamia Binoria weighed in on the matter too and declared that Lay’s chips were halal. Other companies followed by getting halal certificates, including K&N, which has certificates from both Jamia Ashrafia and Jamia Naeemia.

The certificates issued by religious seminaries, however, are not recognised internationally. The worldwide halal food industry is estimated to be over $600 billion, a market that Pakistan is only belatedly trying to enter. Over 90% of the global halal trade is in food, but the other 10% involves cosmetics, medicines and other items not usually associated with halal products

Currently, Pakistan has no laws on halal product certification but in March 2011 a team of Malaysian experts in halal certification visited the country to advise the Sindh government on creating a regulatory framework for halal certification. The training process, the Sindh Board of Revenue estimates, will take eight to nine months after which they will be able to provide certificates of their own

According to the Malaysian law, all foods are considered halal except those which come from pigs, animals that are generally considered repulsive like lizards and rats, animals which are amphibious and animals which are carnivores.

The Halal Industry Research Centre (HIRC) is the first and still one of the only groups whose certificates are accepted internationally. An executive at HIRC said that the company usually partners with foreign halal certification companies to provide Pakistani businesses an entry to the international halal market.  Tariq Iqbal Puri, the head of the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan, believes that getting proper halal certificates could lead to a 20 per cent increase in the export of meat products. The process of declaring a product halal, explained the executive, involves more than just the way meat is cut. Inspectors carry out visits to factories, random spot-checks and test the products in laboratories. The ultimate decision of whether to issue the certificate is decided by a Shariah committee made up of religious scholars.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 24^th,  2011.

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Its communication director, Mohd Yusof Abdul Rahman, said the move was vital to prevent Muslim consumers from purchasing non-halal medicines.

“Although there are no specific law concerning the matter, the relevant authorities and the media still have to play their roles in disseminating information about medicines that contain non-halal ingredients.”

He said this to reporters after attending a roundtable conference on Halal Phamaceutical Products: Issues and Challenges at the Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia here Tuesday.

Mohd Yusof said existing guidelines on halal products, especially those issued by Jakim, and the halal standard MS2424, were insufficient to overcome the heaping problems of non-halal medicines in the country.

Hence, he also proposed that a special law concerning halal products be drafted soon.

“Right now, there is no law to compel all products sold to Muslim consumers to be halal certified. So, as long as we don’t have such a law, we will continue to face halal dilemma, especially involving pharmaceutical products,” he explained.

In his presentation during the conference earlier, Mohd Yusof said efforts to produce more halal medicines also depended in the roles played by the consumers.

“When consumers request for halal medicines, the manufacturers, whether they like it or not, will have to apply for halal certification if they are to market their products to Muslims,” he said.

– BERNAMA

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PS is one of the body’s major building blocks. It is a natural nutrient found in the cell membrane and particularly abundant in the brain. PS has a crucial contribution to the structure and function of the nerve cells, and as suggested by its high abundance in the brain, has a crucial role in the maintenance of nerve cell function, such as neurotransmission of specialized chemicals, signal propagation and more.

PS is the only cognitive bioactive ingredient that has been granted with a qualified health claim by the FDA, related to cognitive dysfunction and dementia in the elderly.

Enzymotec develops and provides second-generation PS products including Sharp PS® Gold and Sharp PS® Green.

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“Our international business is fairly small and we want to go all out,” said executive director Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir after the company’s AGM yesterday.

He said Malaysia, with its estimated 27 million population, was tiny, especially for the company’s pharmaceutical business.

“Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam will be the key markets for expansion. Also, we have submitted 10 pharmaceutical products for registrations and approvals in Saudi Arabia.

“We hope to obtain the approvals in the first half of next year. Once that happens, we should have easier access to other GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries,” he added.

Amirul Feisal said the Middle East would be a new growth market although the company was now serving the region through agents.

He added that CCM also wanted to capitalise on its halal products’ expertise and perhaps, form alliances with international partners in the food industry.

On the company’s chemical business, Amirul Feisal said the renewable energy sector was a potential new market. “We are looking at supplying chemical products to solar panel or battery manufacturers.”

On its fertiliser business, he said there was strong demand for compound fertilisers from the palm oil industry due to weather conditions and rising labour costs.

He also pointed out that the company’s new fertiliser plant in Lahad Datu, Sabah, would be operational in the next few months to serve the Borneo market.

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“Pharmaniaga will be maintained as a listed entity and we will have to fulfil the public shareholding spread,” Boustead deputy chairman and group managing director Tan Sri Lodin Wok Kamaruddin said after Pharmaniaga’s AGM yesterday.

He said the group was “currently talking to parties” to dispose of some of its shares in Pharmaniaga. He declined to disclose details but said Boustead was in talks with both foreign and local investors.

“There are possibilities,” Lodin said when asked if Boustead would consider private placements.

He said the corporate exercise could be a “mixture of private placement or a scheme involving existing shareholders or personnel.” “Nothing has been firmed up. We will announce the details at the right time,” Lodin said, adding that the group targeted to fulfil the public shareholding spread by the end of the third quarter.

Boustead had in June 2010 proposed to buy an 86.1% equity stake in Pharmaniaga for RM534mil, or RM5.75 per share, from the UEM group in a bid to expand its pharmaceutical business. The exercise was completed at the end of March this year.

Lodin, who is also Pharmaniaga’s chairman, said the pharmaceutical group was “bullish” on its outlook, buoyed by its existing business and new products.

“There’s further room for expansion in our business and there’s room for us to increase market share in the government business. We will also be expanding regionally,” he said.

Lodin said Pharmaniaga was expected to invest RM40mil this year in capital expenditure on IT systems as well as to further improve its equipments.

Pharmaniaga managing director Datuk Farshila Emran said the group planned to expand into halal drugs and supplements.

She said the group was embarking on a programme to get its plants to be halal-certified for the purpose of halal drugs production.

“We are working on halal certification for our plants. We hope to complete the certification within two years.”

Farshila said it had recently secured a 10-year government contract to supply government hospitals with various types of drugs.

She said Pharmaniaga had a strong orderbook of RM800mil of which 60% were from government business. Its business from the private sector was relatively small but Farshila said the group had more institutional clients such as Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia.

The drug company has owned the concession to supply medical products to government hospitals since 1998 and the concession business generates some 60% of its revenue.

Pharmaniaga currently has a distribution operation in Indonesia and Vietnam.

To a question, Lodin said Pharmaniaga would consider setting up factories in those countries but remained non-committal.

He said Pharmaniaga could contribute some 10% of Boustead’s pre-tax profit in current financial year ending Dec 31, 2011.

Pharmaniaga could contribute at least 15% to Boustead’s group pretax profit within five years at the former expands its business.

Separately, Lodin said Boustead was not eyeing any acquisition to add to its conglomerate. He said: “Not at the moment.”

“It depends on the landscape. We’re not talking to anyone,” he said when asked if Boustead’s financial arm, Affin Bank Bhd, was looking for any merger and acquisitions.

“We’re happy with the performance because we have a good management team and the growth seemed to be very steady at 18% per year. Deposit growth was also quite strong. Generally, we’re very happy.

“At the moment its ok. We’re happy with our investment in the group,” Lodin said.

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In the GCC alone, total sales are expected to exceed $1.6 billion by year-end, $500 million in colour cosmetics and $1.13 billion in fragrance sales.

According to Euromonitor International, by year-end 2014 the sector could increase by 15.1 per cent to reach annual sales of $1.88 billion – $578.5 million in cosmetics and $1.3 billion in fragrances respectively.

Growth prospects

Saudi Arabia’s F&C sector is set to report the biggest increase in sales this year, with total sales reaching $1.1 billion, of which cosmetic sales will account for $292.3 million this year.

Fragrances, meanwhile, are forecast to jump from $821 million in annual sales this year to $939.2 million by the end of 2014.

The UAE, too, will report strong sales figures, with the fragrance sector reaching $213 million this year and $248.2 million in 2014. Oman and Kuwait will see total market sales reach $79.6 million and $55.5 million respectively in 2011, increasing to $91.1 million and
$63.4 million annually by the end of 2014.

Total sales in Bahrain and Qatar are expected to reach $23.9 million and 23.3 million this year, and $29.9 million
$25.9 million by 2014.

Products expected to experience most movement in 2011 are eyes and nails “as younger women start challenging make-up brands with more interesting and trendy looks,” says Peter Widmann, marketing manager, colour cosmetics at Max Factor, Procter & Gamble.

“Most of the countries in the Arab world show strong promise for 2011, especially in the GCC, but also in North Africa, despite recent events. The most promising product areas will be those that introduce strong innovation.”

With growth, however, comes challenges. Competition across colour cosmetics is expected to intensify due to the expanding retail landscape and strong economic recovery. For mass brands such as Max Factor, Widmann says challenges include “sustaining category value in the face of increasing competition, a changing retail environment moving from traditional trade to big retailers, and shifting consumer habits as a younger population of more informed and engaged consumers enters the category.”

Retail landscape

The colour cosmetics segment continues to be dominated by international brands and manufacturers. However, in the UAE domestic players have proved themselves highly capable of grabbing a portion of sales, with Kamal Osman Jamjoom – owner of the Mikyajy brand – increasing its value share from three per cent in 2005 to more than five per cent by the end of 2009.

Similarly, Saudi Arabia, albeit a little slower, has experienced a rapid expansion in terms of the number of outlets and product variety offered by retailers active in private label offerings – such as Mikyajy, Faces, Paris Gallery and Gazzaz.

Domestic manufacturers are notably present in fragrances as a result of increased demand for Arabian perfumes. This heightened interest in Middle Eastern-inspired fragrances has presented domestic players with a greater opportunity on their home turf, and in overseas markets.

In May 2010, Omani House of Amouage opened its first stand-alone store in the UAE, followed by the opening of its first branch in Europe in July. While the firm already sells its products within high-end
retailers across Europe, the US and Russia, the opening of the London store marked the first step in Amouage’s plans to go global.

David Crickmore, CEO, Amouage, says both openings are a key step in the firm’s “expansion strategy to open mono brand stores in key opinion-forming cities throughout the Gulf, Europe and the US.”

He adds: “What sets us apart is longevity. We have always remained true to our roots with an aim to be timeless, not trendy. We never compromise on quality or creative integrity.”

Saudi-based Arabian Oud, which already has a strong international presence, accounts for more than 30 per cent of fragrance sales in Saudi Arabia, boasting a 35 per cent market share at the end of 2009.

In the UAE, major domestic manufacturers Ajmal, Rasasi and Designer Shaik, together accounted for 21 per cent of total fragrance value sales in 2009, with Ajmal holding a retail share of nine per cent, the second largest in fragrances after L’Oreal Middle East FZE. And like its international counterparts, Ajmal remains one of the most prolific fragrance houses, regularly promoting limited-edition line extensions.

Market trends

Impetus is building behind the latest marketing concept, Arabian oud. While the fragrance sector typically welcomes thousands of new launches every year, it seems more manufacturers are incorporating Middle Eastern scents into their products, such as amber and oud.

Christian Dior, Guerlain, Tom Ford and L’Artisan have all followed this fragrance direction by adding oud to their prestige list of ingredients.

Most recently, Georgio Armani launched a Prive Oud Collection and Jo Malone unveiled its Oud and Bergamot scent, part of its Intense Cologne Collection.

Local and faith-based tourism will also favour the ‘oud movement’ as many visitors prefer to purchase gift perfumes due to the huge variety in terms of both fragrance and price.

Changes are also taking place in the halal cosmetic industry.

Latest figures show halal beauty products account for $500 million of the $2 trillion global halal market. And while western brands are seeking to prove their commitment to the Muslim consumer, the market is facing tougher scrutiny to meet buyers’ expectations.

“Being pork- and alcohol-free is no longer satisfactory for the discerning consumer,” says Dr Mah Hussain-Gambles, founder of Saaf Pure Skincare, A UK-based halal cosmetics brand.

“Like the west, there is a green movement going on in the halal industry where consumers are starting to look beyond ‘halal-washing’ and at the quality of ingredients used in so-called halal products. They also want ingredients which do not harm the body in their halal consumables. Natural or organic is the next development in halal.”

Premium vs mass

While a shift from premium to masstige is expected, markets such as Saudi Arabia are likely to experience greater sales in prestige fragrance brands. According to Euromonitor, premium fragrance sales are forecast to reach $714 million this year and increase to $818.7 million by 2014.

Sales in mass brands are expected to reach $107 million this year and $120.3 million in 2014. And while most
TV-advertised brands in Saudi Arabia have included mainly mass offerings over the years, thus supporting a shift to mass products, the impact on luxury brands was marginal.

This indicates that a large proportion of wealthy Saudi females are still willing to spend lavishly on having premium brands – either for prestige or brand loyalty. The cosmetics industry in the kingdom differs slightly. Figures up to 2009 show that the gap between premium cosmetics and mass products is closing, with the market split 55 per and 45 per cent respectively, compared to a 62.5 per cent and 37.5 per cent split in 2004.

“Mass remains the larger share in the sector for skincare and cosmetics, but it’s not clear whether this is a new shift for consumers or remnants from the downturn,” says Stefan Herzog, VP and GM of Estée Lauder Companies in the Middle East and India. But for this year, he adds: “As everywhere else in the world, the consumer is expecting the best products at the best price, delivered with the best service. We and our retail partners need to assure that we can match this expectation.”

For Sana Toukan, senior research analyst, Euromonitor, demand for mass products will remain very high in 2011, while premium offerings remain profound in the market “as people across the region, especially in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, continue to enjoy a high disposable income.”

© Gulf Marketing Review 2011

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