Halal chocolate takes off among Muslims with a sweet tooth
MUSLIM countries are turning into fast-growing markets for chocolate, and one Asian country is betting more people around the world are going to want candy and goodies that comply with the religion’s strict food laws.
Malaysia doesn’t grow much cocoa, but it has become the continent’s No. 2 processor by grinding beans imported from neighbouring Indonesia, the largest producer outside of Africa and home to the world’s biggest Muslim population. With a majority of its own people classified as Muslim, Malaysia already sells mostly cocoa products in compliance with halal principles – which forbid the use of alcohol and some animal products.
Islam is the world’s fastest-growing religion and may have 2.8 billion faithful by 2050, according to the Pew Research Center. Global sales of halal-certified chocolate confectionery will reach US$1.7 billion by 2020, growing at a five per cent annual rate that exceeds the four per cent gains expected for all chocolates, according to Euromonitor International Ltd. Malaysia is hoping the growth will help to boost exports that were a record last year.
“Halal certification is regarded as essential in emerging, Muslimmajority markets like Indonesia and Malaysia,” said Emil Fazira, senior research analyst at Euromonitor in Singapore. “In markets where Muslims have increasing purchasing power, halal-certified products are expected to be preferred over uncertified products.”
Based on the teachings in the Koran, the certification doesn’t apply just to food ingredients. Processing machines also must avoid alcohol used in cleaning products as well as many animalbased lubricants, including emulsifiers or gelatins extracted from hogs.
Dazzle Food Sdn., which sells speciality couverture and consumer chocolates such as the Mr. Coco and Marie Coco brands, became fully halal in 2009. In addition to the domestic market, it exports to Singapore, Indonesia, China and the Middle East.
The Selangor-based company, in an email response to questions, said the certification helped boost sales by 20 per cent to 30 per cent over the past three years. Demand may grow even faster this year, it said.
Muslim-dominated countries in central Asia and the Middle East provide some of the biggest opportunities for increased exports as their economies expand, according to the Malaysian Cocoa Board. In many, halal-labelled products aren’t niche markets but mainstream staples.
“For countries in central Asia, their confectionery industries are developing and growing,” Norhaini Udin, Director-General of the Malaysian Cocoa Board, said in an interview at the board’s Nilai office on the outskirts Kuala Lumpur.