Product sales are forecast to increase from $58 billion in 2021 to $116 billion by 2031 as supplement manufacturers see their sales double or triple.

Demand for halal certified nutraceuticals, from vitamins to health supplements, has surged since the COVID-19 pandemic spread around the planet, with consumers wanting to bolster their immune systems.

The global market for halal nutraceutical products is set to double over the next 10 years, according to recent research. A report from Dubai-based Future Market Insights, published last July, predicted sales of these products would increase from $58 billion in 2021 to $116 billion by 2031. The report points to the “adoption of uniform certification for halal products” as a driving force in the market.

The report said sales would be boosted by an increasing global and prosperous Muslim population, forecast to top 2.2 billion. It added that growing awareness about the quality of halal ingredients, and more lifestyle-linked health disorders (such as obesity and diabetes) will also expand sales. Islamic Services of America, a certification body, described the industry as “booming.” A focus on health care and healthy lifestyles is “becoming a trend among…millennials,” a key Muslim consumer demographic, the report said.

Demand for halal certification requests for vitamins and supplements has accelerated since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Shoeeb Riaz, operations director at The Halal Trust, an organisation which certifies products and services, based in Birmingham, UK, told Salaam Gateway.

“Most manufacturers of supplements have seen business double, or triple-digit growth,” he said, adding that the Muslim consumer in the UK “is adapting a similar cultural outlook for consumer behaviour as non-Muslim counterparts around wellbeing.”

The market, Riaz said, “is looking at a bumper couple of years with people understanding the link between vitamin deficiency and disease.” He added: “Muslim community middle classes are increasing [in size and wealth] and they have the option to go to the health store to buy supplements where historically they didn’t have sufficient income levels.”

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists and medical experts have indicated that taking vitamin D has helped people avoid suffering the worst effects of the virus with its immunity strengthening benefits – advice which has “impacted the market greatly,” a Future Insights spokesperson told Salaam Gateway. “Clinical recommendations have played a key role in impacting consumer preferences,” he said.

In the UK, Riaz said Muslim consumers are “increasingly disconnected from their historic roots where traditionally herbal remedies would have been relied on.” Thus many are turning to “products you would find in a high street health shop, such as high dose Vitamin D recommended to fight off COVID-19.” Halal lines are likely to be more attractive to such consumers.

Social media promotions will also boost growth in halal nutraceuticals, the Future Insights spokesman told Salaam Gateway. “Customer reviews are an important aspect that helps to advertise products by including authentic feedback from the target demographic,” he said.

In terms of country sales, Future Market Insights highlights the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a potentially strong market. Indeed, it was the country anticipated to have the largest halal nutraceutical market over the forecast period. Business statistics service Statista places the country’s overall national vitamins and supplements market at a value of $59 million currently – predicted to rise with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.8% by 2025. Indonesia is also expected to be a major market given decree number 748 issued by the country’s ministry of religious affairs in July 2021 that says health supplements must be labelled halal certified or non-halal when sold in the country with a 277 million population. This rule will become mandatory by 2026 at the latest.

Indonesian “market players are scurrying to get halal certification for the products, which is boosting market demand,” noted the FI report. The law defines food supplements as containing one or more ingredients in the form of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and/or other non-plant materials (fatty acids, probiotics, prebiotics, enzymes, isolates, metabolites, synthetic compounds) which can be combined with plants.

As for the West, demand for halal nutraceutical products “will remain stagnant” across the US, Germany, the UK and other European countries, according to Future Insights researchers. They said the high production costs of halal dietary supplements and lack of acceptance or awareness of halal standards by non-Muslims in European countries “might restrict the growth” within the market. This included high costs for halal certification in Europe and the USA, given these jurisdictions’ “stringent rules” for compliance with halal certification methods. This has meant producing “halal nutraceuticals…has become an intricate task for manufacturers,” forcing them to develop “technological advancements, increasing the cost of production.”

Of course, as usual, technical innovations have helped. The development of non-gelatine gummies has helped grow the halal vitamin market, the Future Insights spokesman told Salaam Gateway. Examples of such halal vitamin gummies include products made by UK-based Chewwies, and US-based Flamingo Supplements and Noor Vitamins.

A surge in chronic disease eased by vitamin supplements, such as obesity and type 2 diabetes, “in developed economies such as North America and Europe has fuelled demand for gummy vitamins,” he added.

Other innovators have been targeting this increasingly important halal segment. In 2021, Malaysia’s Duopharma expanded its halal nutraceuticals offerings, which have had strong sales during the pandemic. The company rebranded its Vitamin C tablets brand Flavettes, emphasising attributes for skin. The company is planning to exand its export markets to the Philippines and Indonesia in the coming years, while Thailand and Vietnam are considered potential markets.

In 2020, UAE-based Blue Angel Farm announced the launch of an Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology (ESMA) approved halal multi-vitamin and mineral named Essentials, developed to target unmet vitamin and mineral needs of Muslim women. For example, some Henry Ford Health System research has indicated Muslim women in the USA may attain lower than average levels of vitamin D in Michigan state, USA, if their clothing reduces exposure to sunlight.

And in 2021, Australia-based Swisse launched halal-certified Swisse Ultivite E-Senital multivitamins in Singapore. With this new launch, the company aims to expand its portfolio of halal-certified products and increase its footprint in Muslim majority markets. It said the product is “packed with essential vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and herbs [and] supports energy level and mental performance and a healthy immune system.” The subsidiary of the Hong Kong-listed H&H Group will be hoping the global halal nutraceutical market will continue to display such vigour.

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