CASE STUDY-Instituto Halal, Spain’s gateway to the global Islamic market

Photo: Photo: CORDOBA, SPAIN - MAY 16: View of Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba on May 16, 2012. It is one of the most visited tourist sites in Spain / nito / Shutterstock.com

COMPANY OVERVIEW

Instituto Halal is the largest halal food certification body in Spain, with international recognition by leading global certifiers including  IFANCA and MUI. The institute is also a member of the World Halal Food Council. Due to the institute’s strong international reputation, the Spanish companies it certifies are able to access OIC export markets.

ACHIEVEMENTS

1. Recognized by leading certifiers MUI, MUIS, and in the process of receiving JAKIM recognition, as well as accreditation by ESMA
2. Close to 300 companies certified

OPPORTUNITY BEING ADDRESSED

Instituto Halal plays a key role in addressing the substantial domestic demand for halal food in Spain, as well as enabling the country’s halal food industry to access foreign, international markets.

Spain’s 1.9 million Muslims spent an estimated $3 billion on food and beverage in 2015, up from $2.9 billion in 2014. This expenditure is expected to reach $3.5 billion in 2020, based on a 3 percent cumulative annual growth rate (CAGR) underlined by the increasing demand for the availability of halal food that is driven both by local Muslims as well as Muslim tourists.

Spain is also the sixth largest exporter of meat and live animals to Organisation of Islamic Cooperation countries; its exports were valued at $436.7 million in 2015, according to ITC Trademap data. The three largest OIC markets for Spain in 2015 were Algeria, which imported $52.5 million, followed by Morocco, importing $21.7 million, and the UAE, which imported $17.7 million.

STRATEGY

Acting as a gateway for Spanish multinationals to access OIC markets

Instituto Halal supports the development of the halal industry in Spain, helping companies address Muslim consumer needs, and by positioning itself as a gatekeeper to high-growth markets.

Its main activity is undertaking halal certification in the country, covering all aspects of the halal food sector, as well as cosmetics and tourism. It has close to 300 clients, including leading Spanish multinationals Repsol, Mondelez International, and the Alanda Hotel.

“Our revenue comes from certification. We are dedicated exclusively to this activity,” Tomas Blanco, Director at Instituto Halal, told Salaam Gateway.

“The services included within our certification are very comprehensive and include: training, accompanying companies to international fairs, promotion of halal products and services in Spain and abroad … We believe we go beyond the services that are offered by many other European certifiers,” he added.

Speaking of the benefits of receiving halal certification, David Ventura Garcia, Sales and Marketing Director at Grupo Carinsa, a leading European flavors and fragrances manufacturer, said during the Halal Congress at Spain’s Alimentaria Food and Beverage Exhibition in 2016, “After we got certification [from Instituto Halal], we were able to access multiple OIC markets across the Middle East, and now have a presence in 30 countries.”

Active presence through leading industry events

To help raise awareness and to build its client list, Instituto Halal actively attends events globally, and has highlighted the halal opportunity at Alimentaria Food & Beverage Exhibition in 2016, Spain’s largest Food & Beverage exhibition, which gained interest from prospective halal market entrants in attendance.

“We mainly attract new clients through attending conferences and holding follow-up meetings with the companies. We are also in the process of undertaking a roadshow around Spain with ICEX, the Spanish government entity responsible for promoting the internationalization of Spanish companies, to show to the Spanish companies the main business opportunities offered by the halal market,” said Blanco.  

Gaining recognition internationally by leading bodies

An integral part of the institute’s services is its recognition globally by leading certifiers. It is already recognized by MUIS, MUI, IFANCA, and other leading bodies internationally, and is in the process of getting accreditation through ESMA and recognition from JAKIM.

Its international reputation provides it with a compelling value proposition and it maintains this reputation through applying stringent halal standards.  

“These recognitions and accreditations are the work of years trying to make things right and trying to get our certification process consistent with halal international standards,” explained Blanco.

“Thanks to this our certified companies can export their halal products to over 60 countries in the world. In Spain we are the only halal certification body that has international recognition and accreditation. This is one of the facts that gives us prestige and allows us to be credible in the market,” Blanco added.

CHALLENGES

A fundamental challenge facing all certifiers is the lack of common halal standards globally, which hinders access to export markets for many multinationals.

“A key challenge is to get a halal standard for Spain and Europe,” said Blanco.

OPPORTUNITIES

Promoting halal tourism is a key next step for the institute - with 2 million Muslim tourists arriving in Spain in 2015, there is significant scope to further develop the availability of Muslim-friendly hotels, tours and halal restaurants.

 “We have a great opportunity to grow with the development of the halal tourism industry in Spain,” said Blanco.

“For this reason, we recently launched a Halal Tourism Platform—Halal International Tourism—in order to achieve two goals: a) provide information on halal tourist offerings (hotels, restaurants, museums, shops, etc.) in Spain to Muslim visitors, and b) facilitate the necessary knowledge to the Spanish tourist agents and means to enable them to exploit the business opportunities offered by halal tourism.”

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