Category: Trends
UK: Google predicts the Internet could help create 365,000 new UK jobs by 2015
Google drives home the point, backed by other technology companies, that businesses across Europe need to understand a series of digital “mega-trends” if they want to be able to reap the full benefits of what the Internet can offer. Recent trends include a shift to mobile, the adoption of Cloud-based technologies and online media could all help encourage innovation.
USA: Natural and Organic F&B expected to grow
U.S. retail sales of natural and organic foods and beverages expected to grow 103% between 2010 and 2015, with annual sales exceeding US$78B in 2015: Packaged Facts
Opinion: An Islamic approach to ethical consumerism
Until recently, halal foods were defined only by ritual slaughter and mass-market production. But today’s ethical consumer trends are making the industry take a second look at what halal really means.
USA: Ethnic Food Markets are Expanding
According to this article, if you enjoy discussing and researching food trends, you can earn thousands of dollars at home online generating and marketing ethnic food market reports on your computer and selling them for more than $3,000 each to industries.
Opinion: Of Faith, Finance, Food and fashion
An interview with Dinar Standard CEO Rafi-uddin Shikoh from Rushdi Siddiqui’s regular ‘Islamic Finance 2.0′ column in Business Times of Malaysia.
“We are defining the ’emerging Muslim markets’ as the inter-connected over US$7 trillion (RM21.35 trillion) OIC member country economies, the over US$1.8 trillion (RM5.49 trillion) global Muslim consumer market, and the over US$1 trillion (RM3.05 trillion) Islamic Finance industry. There is tremendous connectivity and opportunities that exist within these three segments and we feel that collectively they are as large as any other emerging market today.”
Opinion: Islamic Finance’s Real Economy Leadership Agenda
Dinar Standard founder Rafi’uddin Shikoh comments that if the vision of Islamic Finance is a financial system that seeks profits while ensuring the religious considerations of sharing risk and returns and supporting an ethical society with a potential to serve a global audience, then the reality of today’s industry value proposition is only partially hitting the mark.
Halal – a Badge of Honour
With a 1.57 billion-strong global Muslim population, and most of them coming from what we call the ‘next 11’ emerging economies, Halal is clearly a force to be reckoned with. Much has been said and written about the explosion of Halal and its immense potential, but not much about what really makes it tick and how it has become such a big cultural phenomenon.
Malaysia: Webse to go big on the web
After winning the platinum award in the technology/ICT category at the inaugural Star Outstanding Business Awards (SOBA) 2010, it has now set its sight to become the top global halal portal company.
The Mystique of Mainstream Middle Eastern Beauty
According to Euromonitor International, Middle Eastern women are more often combining their religious views with consumerism, and this is a trend that has been reflected in advertising campaigns with models wearing the hijab, or head scarf. This is an excellent article on the growing Beauty Market in the Middle East, and Halal cosmetics are the new way forward in this sector.
Summary of Ogilvy Report on New Muslim Consumer
A pioneering research study by Ogilvy & Mather, in partnership with TNS, has revealed the emergence of the ‘New Muslim Consumer’: young, proud of their religion and emblematic of the remarkable spending power embodied by the world’s fastest-growing religion. You can read the Executive Summary here…
Consumers spending more at restaurants, but…
New data released this week indicated that more consumers are spending money at restaurants in the United States, but the average dollars spent per check continues to decline.
Mainstream future food trends favourable to Halal sector
Euromonitor’s 2010 report on current and future trends in the food industry has many valuable lessons for Halal sector stakeholders. Particularly interesting is the news from the baby food sector, where the five top growth areas are all Asia and North African. Well worth reading…
France’s wealthy young Muslims fuel boom in halal food
An affluent middle class of young Muslims is driving a boom in sales of halal products, including alcohol-free sparkling wine and Islam-approved foie gras in France. The new consumers, known as the beurgeois – a combination of bourgeois and beur, slang for a French person of North African descent – have spending power worth an […]
Halal Food – a growing industry in France
A clip from France 24 TV station, on their International news section. This is a 15-minute interview with Cedomir Nestorovic, Professor of Marketing at ESSEC Business School and Nawal Dehiri, Research Analyst with Solis. The discussion covers some interesting points from both economic and political perspectives. You can see it here… http://www.france24.com/en/20100330-food-industry-economy-halal-islam-france
KFC increases their “Halal Trial” in UK to 74 outlets
In response to consumer demand, and no doubt with an eye on the bottom line, KFC have increased the number of outlets around the UK offering a Halal menu to seventy-three locations. This is an interesting move, and one that will probably provoke a mixed response – not least because of the Halal Food Authority ruling that allows ‘stun-to-stun’ prior to slaughter, a view that not all consumers are happy with. The fact that KFC have made their position and their definitions of Halal very clear on their website is a commendable move that others would do well to emulate.
Penang to become first halal leather trading hub
There’s always a new niche market and Malaysia trying one. The state of Penang is signing an MOU with a company in Britain to become the first international Halal leather trading hub
in the world. Distinguishing pig skin from cowhide can be a consideration for Muslims, but taking it to whether it is is Halal certified? You tell us!
Halal industry an ‘exciting’ prospect for Brunei: OBG expert
EXPERTS from the Oxford Business Group (OBG) have expressed
anticipation over the growth of Brunei’s halal branding and industry,
saying that it is a “very exciting” prospect and niche that Brunei can
capitalise on. “There are many (international) businesses wanting to register their
products here…This is a very executable business plan,” he said during
the launching of OBG’s The Report: Brunei Darussalam 2009 at the Empire
Hotel and Country Club on Tuesday.
Natural and Organic Food Consumers staying loyal to the category despite recession
A recent survey from market research firm Mintel shows that nearly
40% of consumers claim they haven’t changed organic product purchasing
habits because of the recession and only a mere 3% have stopped buying
organic products altogether.
The European Halal Market Outlook
The demand for Halal products and services in Europe is steadily increasing, and this is driving some changes in the industry that are likely to have ripples beyond the shores of the EU. Halal is now being seen as a potential engine of growth in economies all over the world, and it may well be that the next wave of initiatives in the market will not be coming from the more traditional markets of S E Asia of the Middle East, but from the West.
Islamic branding: the next big thing?
