The rise of halal cosmetics: a blend of beauty and faith

Often, we come across the halal stamp on cosmetics, don’t we? If you too, like us, want to stay ahead of the game when it comes to the world of beauty products, then here’s a crash course on what entails halal cosmetics and why was it the buzzword at the recently concluded Beautyworld Middle East hosted in Dubai. The beauty trade exhibition discovered that there is a growing share of USD150 million on the annual market for sharia-compliant products such as cosmetics, perfumes and personal care in the UAE alone. “Muslim women have long been among those who spend the most on beauty. But when it comes to buying products that conform to Islamic rules, they have always had to pay a higher price. That’s why the halal cosmetics market, made up mostly of niche brands, was worth $23 billion in 2018,” said Katarzyna Lechowicz, CEO, BOSQIE, a Polish beauty brand that was present at the exhibition. “We want to provide our customers with high quality, clean, natural products of great value, that will be safe and effective for use, as well as be inclusive to their beliefs.” We dig deeper to know what’s on offer and how.

Why was the halal beauty range not in prominence so far?

“Mikyajy was already halal-compliant but last year we decided to take the extensive journey to become halal-certified, meaning certifying the entire production process. It was a massive strategic decision and we needed to ensure that it was relevant in the market,” said Jim Ragsdale, Deputy CEO, Mikyajy. Interestingly, Mikyajy conducted market research to determine their consumers’ needs and found out that their customers associate halal products with hygienic and pure products. “What’s interesting is that when we surveyed our Gulf customers, the responses they came back with made us realise that, for them, halal is kind of proxy for what customers elsewhere in the world are calling clean or sustainable,” added Ragsdale. Their first experience with halal-certified products was with a nail enamel line which proved to be a success. The customers have also indicated that while they want to buy halal-certified makeup, they are not willing to compromise on the product’s quality of performance in terms of longevity and steadfastness and resistance to heat and humidity, especially for this part of the world.

purva@khaleejtimes.com