Muslim Women in India Can Now Buy Lipstick without Worrying About Pig Fat

Finding the right balance between faith and beauty can sometimes be a tricky proposition for Muslim women. Many believers fear that mainstream cosmetic products might contain alcohol or by-products derived from animals forbidden by Islam.

Makeup also interferes with wudu, the ritual washing performed before prayers, which are observed five times in a day.

But now a Gujarat-based startup has launched a halal (lawful) cosmetic range—among the first of its kind in the country—that contains only vegetable and fruit extracts.

“We came to know about a huge demand for halal cosmetics in Southeast Asia and the Middle East,” said Dilip Vadgama, chief operating officer of EcoTrail Personal Care. “But India has the world’s second-largest Muslim population and there was not a single halal cosmetic brand.”

The products are also wudu-friendly because they can be washed away quickly with water, explained Vadgama.

Halal makeup is a small but fast-growing consumer segment. The global halal cosmetics and personal care market is valued at $18.33 billion, according to research firm TechNavio, as part of an overall cosmetic market worth $464 billion, but halal makeup is projected to grow at 13% annually. Malaysia, Indonesia, and Pakistan are seeing huge demand for halal cosmetics thanks to a fast-growing Muslim middle class.

The two-year-old EcoTrail has over 60 products in its portfolio, which are only available in Ahmedabad currently. Vadgama says they’ll be available on Amazon India in a month, ready to be shipped nationwide. The pricing is targeted at the middle-class: Rs 195 for the lipstick and Rs 100 for face wash.

They are also developing permeable nail paints, which would allow moisture to penetrate to the nail, and therefore will not invalidate wudu. Such breathable enamels were first created by a Polish cosmetic brand Inglot and have become a rage in recent years in many predominantly Muslim countries, a happy accident for the European company that was not targeting Muslim consumers initially.

“Muslims in India travel abroad and they come across such products in Saudi Arabia or Southeast Asia and they want them here too,” said Vadgama.

But there are challenges. Lack of awareness and limited access are two of the main problems, and the absence of an authentic global certification body also makes these products less credible.

“There is no overarching organisation that governs halal certification for cosmetic products, leading to various countries developing their own standards. Additionally, different sects of Islam have their own definitions of Halal so developing standards has been a stunted process,” TechNavio said in its latest report.

Source:http://qz.com/262902/muslim-women-in-india-can-now-buy-lipstick-without-worrying-about-pig-fat/

Global Halal Cosmetics and Personal Care Market 2014-2018 - Increase of Muslim Population to Spur Growth

The Global Halal Cosmetics and Personal Care market to grow at a CAGR of 13% to 2018.

One of the major drivers in the market is the growing Muslim population. This increase in the Muslim population has increased the consumption of these products as Muslims are the potential and primary consumers of the products. The major consumers of these products are the APAC region and the MEA region as these are the densely-populated Muslim regions.

The rapid growth in non-Muslim countries offers huge potential for the Global Halal Cosmetics and Personal Care market. Though Halal cosmetics witness huge demand in regions populated by Muslims, a significant contribution is being witnessed from the non-Muslim economies. Currently, Halal cosmetics and personal care products are widely accepted by other communities as they are considered safe, of high quality, and to have been prepared using hygienic procedures. Moreover, the integrity of the cosmetics is maintained during the production process. Hence, there is huge potential for the global market to grow during the forecast period because of the increased acceptance of and demand for the products in the developed non-Muslim countries.

Further, the report states that the certification of products by authentic bodies is a major challenge hindering the growth of the market. Certification issues are generally noticed in products exported by local markets. These certification issues may lead to numerous consumers losing confidence in the products' Halal status and stop purchasing them.

Source: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20140416005532/en/Research-Markets-Global-Halal-Cosmetics-Personal-Care#.U0-ExFWSxOI

Brunei: Brunei Halal has potential in Halal Cosmetics

The Embassy of South Korea is keen to facilitate the discussion of the use of Brunei's Halal brand in Korean cosmetic products, said the South Korean Ambassador to Brunei.

In an email interview with The Brunei Times, Ambassador of South Korea to Brunei His Excellency Choi Byung-Koo, pointed out that the world halal market is enormous and getting bigger as global Muslim population continues to increase.

“Here, I see a potential for cooperation between Korea and Brunei in cosmetic industry. Korea’s technique combined with Brunei’s halal reputation can create the best combination to compete in the blue ocean market of halal cosmetics.”

He said that he had held discussions with key people in the halal industry, including Ghanim (the company managing marketing of the Brunei Halal brand), BEDB (Brunei Economic Development Board), and MIPR(Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources), and that he had sent letters to major Korean cosmetic companies to let them know about the potential for cooperation with Brunei.

“Some companies showed interest. And there might be business coming in. My embassy will do its best to assist facilitating the cooperation in this area,” he said.


He also noted that Korean cosmetic products are very popular and well received in Brunei, noting many Korean cosmetic shops such as Laniege, Face Shop, Skin Food, Skin79, Etude, Holika Holika and Tony Molyhave been established in the country.

After speaking to owners and staff of those companies, he noted that the variety and high quality of the Korean cosmetic products were the reason behind their popularity.

“World wide popularity of Korean cosmetic products is also backed by the surge of K-pop and Korean dramas. This also led to the people’s interest to know more about Korea’s culture and society.”

He said that he viewed Brunei as a nature loving country, “second-to-none,” and by having best-preserved forest and biodiversity, Brunei also has a huge potential in pharmaceutical and cosmetics industry.

The ambassador noted that “Brunei’s pure and advanced image boosted Brunei’s international standing for Halal Brand”.

Earlier in June this year, A memorandum of understanding was signed between Universiti BruneiDarussalam and Gyeonggi Institute of Science and Technology Promotion, a South Korean commercial research institute, to utilise Brunei’s local biodiversity for potential commercial products such as pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.

By Koo Jin Shen, Brunei Times

Bright future for Halal personal care

With a worldwide recession looming, the Halal sector is one of the few industries bucking the trend fuelled by savvy consumers increasingly demanding purity of ingredients in their personal care products.Not only is the Halal sector not affected by the recession, it has followed its own growth path, with the Institute for Personal Care Science of Australia valuing the global Halal Cosmetics market at a staggering $13 billion and growing. Muslims and non-Muslims alike are inspecting ingredients with a keen eye and making buying decisions based on purity of the products they use on their skin. Consumers across the spectrum read labels for ingredients and have become increasingly smart about what goes into their skin care, shampoo, toothpaste, hair dyes and cosmetics. By the same token, there is little difference in the Halal sector, where consumers want products which take both health and religious compliance into consideration and therefore are certified as Halal. The case for organic has been made. Today the growing demand for Halal products is following suit. 

UK: Halal cosmetics store to open in Birmingham city centre

A BEAUTY shop offering Halal cosmetics is to open in Birmingham city centre.
Pure Halal Beauty will offer ethical beauty products and cosmetics, all free of animal products and alcohol and all Halal certified.
The store will open on the Lower Ground Level at The Pavilions Shopping Centre on December 11.
The woman behind the shop, 20-year-old Rose Brown from Birmingham said she was shocked that so many products contained animal derived ingredients.
As a vegetarian and keen follower of ethical issues she searched the world for products from Malaysia, United States, Holland and the UK that cater for female and male everyday use as well as a vast range of cosmetics, hair care products, specialist creams and serums.
“I wanted to be able to use beauty products and cosmetics but was not prepared to compromise anymore by using products that I knew to be unethical,” she said.
“Halal certification ensures the ingredients used in the products are free from all animal ingredients and testing.”

Courtey by: Bloomberg

UAE: Trend of Halal cosmetics

In a luxury resort in Dubai, Emirati wait next to the bronze statue of the ancient Egyptian Queen Cleopatra, smile and wait for the routine treatment of their weekend beauty treat. The resort is different from the others in which it uses some skin care products based on minerals and pork-free and alcohol-free materials as what Reuters reported yesterday (09-11-2010).
Charlotte Proudman, the products supplier, wants to obtain the statement that these products in accordance with Syariah Islamiyah (Islamic law) to join the growing trend on Halal cosmetics consumption in the Middle East. The Proudman said at the spa, which uses the range she launched in 2008: “I want to put this on the cover of our packages so our clients are convinced that our products are Halal and until they trust that these products meet their religious belief”. She added: “I really feel that Halal cosmetic have a future. I don’t think that any Muslim or Muslimah would abandon his/her trust on skin care product because they make him/her feel comfortable.”
The Halal cosmetic are produced using the extract of plants and minerals and not from the pork and alcohol derivatives forbidden in Islam which often used in cosmetics manufacturing.
The attractiveness of Halal cosmetics reflects the global trend of cosmetic products -which are not tested on animal or utilizing the animal substances- and also the increasing demand of some beauty care based on natural ingredients and gentle for hair and skin. This trend gets wondrous fascination from Muslim people in Europe, since it protects from every harmful action toward the environment.

USA: 10 Facts about the Muslim Consumer

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.