Germany Wakes Up to Halal Muslim Food

(page 2 of 2)

Because the Islamic faithful in Germany belong to different organizations, there is no overall monitoring body to give a commonly accepted halal certification. As a result, there's a large market of halal certifiers who control the raw materials, the production process, the hygiene standards and the suppliers.

Meemken, the northern German sausage maker, has just successfully passed its halal audit. Its 60 halal products already account for half of its entire production. The firm mostly supplies food retailers outside Germany but recently added Germany's Netto chain to its list of halal food customers.

The machines are being painstakingly cleaned to remove any trace of pork from getting into the sausages on the days when halal food is produced. The company plans to install a new machine so that halal food can be produced separately in future. "We're definitely going to expand this segment," says managing director Rolf Meemken. "We're registering disproportionately strong growth with halal."

Poultry producer Wiesenhof has had its products certified as halal for years. But it's up to the food retailers to decide whether to label the products as being halal. "German companies are too cautious," says Levent Akgül of ethnic marketing agency Akkar Media in Hanover. "They don't know the different culture and they can't calculate the risks." In addition, German food retailers are worried that putting halal food products on grocery store shelves will deter non-Muslim customers, says Akgül. Advertising for halal products in Germany is still taboo for many German companies, he says.

Disproportionate Growth With Halal Food

Not for much longer, though. "The halal trend is unstoppable," says Peter Grothues, head of the food industry segment of Cologne's trade fair company which will host an exhibition later this month for more than 800 halal food producers. Most of them are foreign companies that have been exporting to Germany for years. At present their products are still confined to Turkish corner shops in German cities. "But halal is becoming an increasingly important pillar of the trade," says the Federal Association of German Food Retailers.

That's not surprising given that people of Turkish descent in Germany have an estimated purchasing power of €20 billion per year. Nestle already earns more from halal products than it does from organic food.

Halal foods aren't just sausage or meat. All food can be halal, from cheese without animal enzymes to biscuits, herbs and coffee, provided that the producers clean their machines with detergents that contain no alcohol.

"The halal market is far from satiated," says Derya Altay of the German Federation of Turkish Wholesalers and Retailers. "Where German consumers can choose from countless brands, the Muslim can only choose between two or three." The German industry would be well-advised to broaden its horizons and embrace the halal market, he says.

Provided by Spiegel Online—Read the latest from Europe's largest newsmagazine

Business Exchange

Track and share business topics across the Web.