USA: 10 Facts about the Muslim Consumer

By: Saud Masud

1.  The total global Muslim population is 1.6 billion, around 25% of the world’s population today.  It’s expected to be nearly 50% of world population by 2050 if it continues to outpace global population growth by 1.5x-2x.  The Muslim household on average is around 5 people per family compared to the United States at 2.6 people.

2.  The typical Muslim demographic is younger.  For example, in the Middle East, North Africa and the South Asian region, the focal geography of SM Advisory Group, almost 50% of the population is under the age of 25. Furthermore with a rising middle class and adoption of modern and urban trends the consumption potential is very attractive for decades to come.

3.  The global shariah-compliant market is more than $2 trillion annually. This includes all products and services that a Muslim community would be a natural consumer of and includes halal food as well as Islamic banking.

4.  The halal food market is approximately $632 billion or 16% of the global food industry.  This already being a significant portion but also take into account the exponential growth rate of Muslims, therefore one can predict that the halal food industry will also grow to meet the needs of this booming population.

5.  The Islamic finance market is estimated at $1 trillion. Islamic funds are only around $55 billion worldwide compared to conventional market at $22 trillion therefore as Islamic finance matures the upside to raising new capital and expanding the Islamic banking universe is significant.

6.  US Muslims alone have a buying power of around $200 billion or $25,000 per capita. If the average Muslim population reaches even one fourth of the US Muslim consumer, spending level the global Muslim consumer spending would be around $10 trillion annually.

7.  According to a recent gallup study, Muslim Americans have the least amount of income disparity between the genders.  The Muslim American community also happens to be the most ethnically diverse.

8. Muslims account for 16% of the $100 billion Kosher market because of limited halal products, therefore just as a starting point there appears to be an established $16 billion food market in the US ripe for halal food manufacturers.

9.  Ad spending in the Arab world is $6 per capita compared to North America at $369, Europe $117, Asia $23 and Africa $7, hence for marketers and advertising firms there is an untapped market completely.

10. Nestle is one of the largest halal food manufacturers with halal sales of more than $5 billion.  75 out of 481 Nestle factories produce halal food worldwide. Halal food is approximately 5% of Nestle’s sales.  As companies look to take advantage of growth in the Muslim consumer market it is quite likely that they focus on bespoke marketing on everything from pharmaceuticals to insurance and baby formula.

Saud Masud is the CEO of SM Advisory Group, LLC. a consultancy firm focused on Middle East, North Africa and South Asia region (MENASA).