CASE STUDY-Halaleat.com bringing freshly-prepared halal meals to Muslim households in the UK

Screenshot from Halaleat.com

OVERVIEW

Halaleat.com is a UK-based e-commerce platform that allows users to order halal food from restaurants for home delivery or pickup. It went live in March 2015, CEO and Founder Abul Rob told Salaam Gateway. The company has expanded from London to cover major cities in the UK, including Birmingham and Manchester, and will soon be launching in Melbourne, Australia.

OPPORTUNITIES BEING ADDRESSED

The global e-commerce market for halal products was estimated at over $100 billion in 2015, according to WTO data. The market is projected to grow to over $230 billion by 2020.

There are an estimated 3 million Muslims in the UK, based on research conducted by the Muslim Council of Britain. There is substantial demand among UK Muslims for halal food, and in particular, for convenient home delivery as is available through leading delivery websites.

The founder of HalalEat, Abul Rob, had previously worked for leading UK-based food delivery platforms Hungryhouse and Just Eat and saw a substantial opportunity in providing households convenient access to halal-verified restaurants, not only in the UK but on a global basis, in particular in non-Muslim majority countries.

STRATEGY

Intermediary between small restaurants and Muslim households

HalalEat seeks to bring halal-certified food products to Muslim households, working in a similar manner to established leading food delivery platforms. It has over 288 restaurants signed up to date, according to CEO and Founder Abul Rob.

Restaurants that sign up are able to market their halal products directly to Muslim households, and can register on the platform for a fixed fee of 49 pounds ($70), which can either be paid upfront or deferred, deducted from the first orders received. HalalEat also charges a transaction fee which ranges from between 10 and 12 percent, depending on the size of the restaurant chain.

HalalEat verifies the halal status of restaurants, identifying whether the restaurant has halal signage at its premises and also confirming whether it has been certified by one of the recognized UK certification bodies. HalalEat recognizes five certification bodies: Halal Food Authority, Halal Monitoring Committee, Halal Authority Board, Muslim Food Board and University Halal Agency.

The platform considers itself to be a key partner for restaurants in helping facilitate their growth. CEO Abul Rob commented, “A lot of restaurants tend to reach a certain size and may not grow beyond that. Our value is that we help them market to their core target market, and they see considerable financial benefit.”

Branching out in the UK and internationally

HalalEat started in London but has since branched out its coverage of restaurants across the UK, including to Birmingham and Manchester, and has ambitions to expand across Europe and internationally. To this end, the company has registered its domain name in several countries, including Belgium, Germany and South Africa.

The company has also launched eathalal.com.au, a sister website targeting Melbourne, Australia, and is also strongly considering New York, USA, where there is a sizeable Muslim population.

Hands-on approach to marketing and fundraising

HalalEat has taken a very hands-on approach to signing on new restaurants, with the founder himself heavily involved in the sales process. Abul Rob commented, “Sometimes I’ve had to wait a long time outside restaurants in my car for the owners to come back and to agree to sign up.”

The company has successfully raised an undisclosed amount of equity investment from private individuals and restaurant owners who not only signed up to HalalEat, but backed up their commitment through direct investment.

The company has undertaken a broad social media marketing campaign, with over 11,000 likes on its Facebook page and over 1,000 followers on Twitter.

The company is also actively targeting UK universities to access the lucrative student segment, a significant source of demand for web-enabled delivery services. Abul Rob commented, “We’re seeking to appoint brand ambassadors at a number of universities around the UK, including Kingston University, The University of Portsmouth and Queen Mary University.” These universities were selected because of relatively high Muslim representation among students.

CHALLENGES

While food delivery platforms are ultimately a profitability business, there is a ramp-up period, which to a large extent can be accelerated by fundraising. Discussing the challenges faced in online food delivery platforms, Rob commented, “It could take eight years to be profitable for an online delivery platform – to get sufficient scale to cover the fixed costs.”

Abul Rob also commented on the reluctance of members of the Muslim community to provide financial support, “I’ve struggled to get funding from the community – they understand the overall opportunity, but they don’t fully appreciate how big it is.”

Regardless, he persevered to find funding from alternative sources, including restaurants and private investors.

OPPORTUNITIES

With global ambitions, there is significant room for growth for HalalEat in a robust and largely untapped market opportunity.

To support this vision, the company is planning to undertake a crowdfunding campaign after Ramadhan to help it raise over 150,000 thousand pounds ($220,000). Speaking about his ambitions, Rob commented, “It’s not just about the numbers I’ve signed up - I want to start a halal revolution.”

The founder also sees substantial opportunities to provide a broader array of services for restaurants, including Shariah-compliant financing, as well as to provide an important marketing route to customers, capturing data on consumer trends and preferences.

“There are so [many] halal food companies, especially restaurants, and they all need access to customer preferences. Our data analytics can be tapped to provide some powerful insights for the industry.”

© Salaamgateway.com 2016