BRUNEI’S overdue attempt at entering the international market could
mean that the Sultanate would have to wait longer to penetrate the
market as its branding capabilities have not developed yet, said a
visiting speaker at the fourth International Halal Market Conference
yesterday.

During a press conference, visiting fellow at the
Oxford Said Business School in the United Kingdom (UK), Dr Paul
Temporal advised local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to join
forces in getting the Brunei Halal brand recognised on the
international shelves as this would benefit them in the later stages.

“There’s
a lot of competition out there and if you look in markets, even Muslim
minority markets like the UK, if you go to places that sell halal
foods, you can see many different countries with many types of
accreditation stamps, so it is a crowded marketplace,” he said, adding
that Brunei will have to work hard to, first of all, obtain awareness
on the brand as the Sultanate came late to the market.

Another
area which the country has to work on, said Dr Paul, was on getting
accepted into big supermarkets or into retail chains which he believed
would take a longer time. “They are going to have to position
themselves as being different from the other competitors, and this
takes time.

“You can’t do a brand overnight and there’s so much to do.”

He
added that since Brunei is focusing on big markets like the UK, Europe
and the Middle-East, it will involve a lot of energy, resource, skilful
branding and some considerable investment to get the exposure and the
acceptability as well as the trust and confidence in the market with
the particular brand.

“Having said that, if you do it right,
then it’s worth it because at the moment, from our (Oxford) research,
in terms of the different halal producing countries, there’s no one
that really stands out above the others, so there is an opportunity now
I think, if you do the branding well, to gain the position of a firm
superiority.

“My concern, I think for Brunei is that it needs
more branding capability, I think the branding know-how and the
branding skill and talent is not here yet,” he added.

Dr Paul
said that local SMEs will obtain additional credibility once the Brunei
Halal brand gets recognised, in addition to their own branding that
they have to develop themselves.

“It’s like an additional
endorsement if you like. You might have a celebrity endorsing your
brand but if you’ve got the Brunei Halal logo endorsing your brand as
well, then it means something… as long as the Brunei Halal logo means
something to the marketplace,” he said.

He explained that
benefits will then be transferred from Brunei Halal brand to SMEs, if
the brand is recognised, well-respected and is seen as different or
better than other accreditation or other brands. Dr Paul said depending
on how well the brand does in the market, theoretically it should be a
win-win situation for local SMEs. “They should support the brand, in my
opinion, because if they do, as critical massive companies with that
brand, then it’s gonna make the brand more effective in the marketplace
and then that image is going to come back to them.

“It will benefit Brunei and benefit them,” he said. (AFS1)

The Brunei Times