Can halal cosmetics and personal care products be the next big opportunity for Indian companies?

The halal cosmetics and personal care products market presents a significantly big opportunity for companies looking for newer areas of growth, according to a report published by India Briefing.

Although the halal industry in India is dominated by halal meat, there is a growing awareness of need for halal compliance in other industries, including the cosmetics and personal care segments. Being untapped halal cosmetics may therefore be high-growth territory for Indian companies exploring new growth opportunities to invest in.

According to Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), India’s grooming and cosmetics business is estimated to reach  $35 billion in 2035 growing from $6.5 billion in 2017. Some of the growth drivers of India’s personal care, cosmeceutical, and cosmetics industry are the rapidly expanding organized retail sector, large youth population, rise in the number of working women, changing lifestyles, growing demand for men’s cosmeceuticals, increasing disposable incomes, and rising affordability of luxury and lifestyle-oriented products.

With standards and regulations evolving for halal products across the globe, halal compliant cosmetics and personal care products can be a high growth business in the near future. While Malaysia was the first country that set up Halal Industry Development Corporation (HDC) to bring in halal standards for FMCG sector in 2006, many other Islamic countries came up with standards and regulations to ensure products are compliant with halal norms. Going a step ahead, UAE launched International Halal Accreditation Forum (IHAF), a non-government body with a network of accreditation entities spread across various countries to enforce halal standards.

India is a home to the second largest population of Muslims after Indonesia. Nearly 15 crore Muslims that live in India can be the primary market to target for halal cosmetics and personal care products, going forward. Moreover, given their attributes of vegetarian, alcohol-free, safety and quality features, halal cosmetics and personal care products can be suited even for the non-Muslim population in the country as well.

Read the full report here.