The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf(CBTL), Business strategy case study
Shahed amanullah, tipping point for halal ihmc 2010, day 1 session 2
1. The Halal tipping point
and beyond
Examining emerging market
and social opportunities
Shahed Amanullah, creator of zabihah.com
and founder of Halalfire Media LLC
2. About zabihah.com
Founded in 1999 in
Silicon Valley,
zabihah.com helps
over five million
people a year search
from over 10,000
restaurants and
markets and read
from over 35,000 WINNER
user reviews 2008 Travel &
Hospitality Award
World Halal Forum,
Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
4. Which Halal economy?
• There aremarkets in the Muslim and non-
the Halal
qualitative differences between
Muslim worlds
• Each market has its own opportunities
• Both are reaching their own tipping points
• The the greatest prospectsWest, however,
has
Halal economy in the
for economic
and social benefit
7. Growth of Muslim-run
establishments is strong
9,000
Number of outlets in US/CA/UK
offering halal food or products
6,750
4,500
2,250
0
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Source: zabihah.com
8. Driving the Halal market
Halal
Halal Halal Halal Markets & Halal
Producers Authorities Distributors Restaurants Consumers
With over 5 million queries a year,
zabihah.com is the only significant
connection that the Halal industry has
with consumers seeking Halal food
9. Ease of use drives demand
Location of searches for Halal services from the iPhone
(15% of all zabihah.com traffic) in an average day
10. Mainstream businesses
are seeing the opportunity
1,500
Number of mainstream outlets in
US/CA/UK offering halal SKUs
1,125
750
375
0
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Source: zabihah.com
12. Revenue tipping point
New business from
Muslim customers seeking
Halal goods & services
Lost business from
customers turned off from
serving Muslim customers
13. The good news: The bad news:
• Mainstream entrants
buy into the market
• Mainstream entry
into the Halal market
opportunity is still very tentative
• Halal suppliers are
meeting mainstream
• Still spooked by
resistance from
specs & quantity hostile customers
• Most non-Muslim
customers are
• The Halal “brand” can
still be tainted by
indifferent geopolitics
18. We are halfway there
Modernization Modernization of
production & supply
chains has helped to
increase the supply of
quality Halal goods and
services
Marketing Marketing will help to
increase the demand for
quality Halal goods and
services among Muslims
and non-Muslims alike
19. Marketing Halal:
A fork in the road
Do we continue Or should we
to market Halal incorporate
solely through universal values
values embraced that others can
only by Muslims? appreciate?
21. Incorporate universal values
Organic One of the best ways to ensure a halal
production chain (for meat in
particular) is to go organic
Humane Halal requires humane treatment of
animals (i.e. comforting before
slaughter)
Financial Islamic economic principles stress
social justice and absence of harm to
the less fortunate
22. Reinforce the Halal brand
• Incorporate universal themes in your Halal
marketing materials
• Support mainstream companies when they
take a risk on the Halal market
• Halal certifiersto non-Muslims,case certify
Halal matters
must make the
and
that
for universal Islamic principles
• Move towards standardizationcertifications
and socially responsible Halal
of organic
24. More than just money
• If we market itas a significant contributor to
non-Muslims
right, Halal can be seen by
global society
• Non-Muslims can see Muslims promoting
Halal values (social responsibility,
stewardship of the earth, economic justice)
• This will counter the prevailing media
narrative of Muslims only contributing
violence and hatred to the world