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The Online Halal Meat Market in the United Kingdom: A Consumer

Perspective

A Qualitative Analysis

27 November 2015

RU Consultants - www.ruconsultants.com

The Online Halal Meat Market in the United Kingdom: A Consumer Perspective

Outline

Introduction: HalalCo & the halal meat marketResearch questions: What does the client want to know?Methodology: Direct & indirect methodsAnalysis: Content analysis, word counts & cognitive mapsResults: Themes & sub-themesDiscussion: The typical consumer for online halal meatLimitations: Mission accomplished. However, ……..……!Recommendations: HalalCo’s business strategyBrand: Brand and online global platformReferences

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Introduction - HalalCo Group (1/3)

HalalCo is a leading UK company in the halal meat and livestock industry

Trades along the B2B supply chain and owns farms, slaughterhouses, logistics operations and is active in livestock trading

Recently moved into the B2C space by establishing a chain of butchers with a presence in areas with high demand for halal meat

Considering offering halal meat online to the consumer as well as exploring offering other related meat products and services (e.g. Qurbani)

Online service will be offered by a newly created brand3RU Consultants -

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Halal: Originally an Arabic word meaning lawful or permitted. Halal is a universal term that applies to objects and actions.

Halal Meat: Halal meat refers to how an animal is raised and slaughtered in accordance with Islamic law as defined in the Quran.

Qurbani: The sacrifice of an animal during the Eid festival in commemoration of Prophet Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son. The poor and destitute receive meat from qurbani.


Introduction – Definitions (2/3)

Sales of all types of halal food combined totalled £2.6 billion in 2011 in the UK. (World Halal Forum)

Halal market grew by 15% in the past year. Muslim population is 2.7 million or 4% but accounts for 12% of meat sales. Only 0.5% of halal meat sales is through supermarkets. Over 50% of education authorities order halal meat. (Imarat Consultants)

Halal meat in the UK is certified by two bodies the HFA and HMC. HFA approves meat as halal despite the use of stunning. HMC has stricter requirements and only certifies meat as halal if stunning has not taken place.

The international halal food market is worth $1.1 trillion globally. (Datamonitor, 2014)


Introduction - Halal Meat Market (3/3)

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Research Questions (1/2)1- Will consumer confidence in the authenticity of halal meat and qurbani be low when sold online?

2- Will there be a reluctance of consumers to purchase halal meat online compared with a conventional halal butcher?

3- What are consumer attitudes towards halal meat sold online?

4- What are the consumer beliefs and motivations that might lead the consumer to switch from conventional shopping for halal meat to online shopping?

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Research Questions (2/2)5- Will a new and unfamiliar brand deter the consumer from using the online site?

6- What features can HalalCo incorporate so as to enhance consumer confidence in the service and halal status of the meat being offered?

7- What brand could serve as HalalCo’s new online platform?

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Methodology (1/2)Direct Methods

1- Focus Group2- In-depth Interview3- Survey

Indirect Methods1- Word Association2- Sentence Completion

HalalCo sponsored the project and provided funding of £[*]

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Methodology: Sampling Technique (2/2)

Purposive sampling was used for participant selection in both the direct and indirect methods used in the research

Participants were meat eaters that regularly either ate halal meat or shopped for it

The research team endeavoured to strike a balance, where feasible, between the number of males and females, nationals and non-nationals, young and old and different ethnic origins

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Methodology

FOCUS GROUP

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Direct Methods: Focus Group (1/3)[*] focus groups were arranged10 participants commenced each meetingRecruited from University of ReadingTook place on 3rd November 2015Held at the Harold Casey meeting room of the

Department of Agriculture, UoRSession was video recorded for the ninety minute

duration and thirty points of discussionParticipants were paid £10 each and lunch providedBudget £[*]

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Direct Methods: Focus Group (2/3)

Discussion questions based on literature and those drafted by research team

Initial draft of 100 questionsDraft questions ranked and a weighted

average score calculated prior to inclusion of discussion point on final list of questions

Final list of 30 questions producedA wide range of topics included resulting in a

comprehensive discussion

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Direct Methods: Focus Group (3/3)Advantages Disadvantages

Provided an overview of key consumer issues

Moderator bias

Results were easily understandable as opposed to complicated statistical data

Occasionally participants were restricted to brief comments due to time constraints

Saved time compared with individual in-depth interviews

[*]

Opinions somewhat reflected cultural view points, nationality and ethnic origin

Some participants hesitant to express thoughts, especially if too different to their peers (peer pressure)

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Methodology

In-depth Interview

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Direct Methods: In-depth Interviews (1/3)

[*] interviews were completed in the days following the focus group

Interviewees were from the general publicThe interviews were carried out in LondonSessions were audio recordedEach interview revolved around 10 pre-prepared

questions and lasted on average 15 minutes.Interviewees were paid for their timeBudget £[*]

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Direct Methods: In-depth Interviews (2/3)

Following the focus group certain topics emerged that culminated in a set of questions for the in-depth interviews

Initial draft of 30 questions producedDraft questions ranked and a weighted average

score calculated prior to inclusion of question on final list of in-depth interview questions

Final list of 10 questionsA wide range of topics included resulting in a

comprehensive interview

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Direct Methods: In-depth Interviews (3/3)Advantages Disadvantages

Provides rich data on a wide range of topics

Time consuming

Flexibility with regards to time of interview with the participant

[*]

Opportunity to validate FGD data

[*]

Explore deeper the issues raised in the FGD

[*]

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Methodology

Survey

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Direct Methods: Survey (1/3)

Survey Monkey50 questions[*] surveys taken to dateAnnual membershipGold service includes text analysiswww.surveymonkey.com/r/RUconsultantsBudget £[*]

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Direct Methods: Survey (2/3)Survey is cost effective over a long periodWhile not as comprehensive as other methods the sample

size is likely to be larger than FGD and in-depth interviewsInitial draft of over 100 questions producedDraft questions ranked and a weighted average score

calculated prior to inclusion of question on final list of survey questions

Final list of 43 questions on the halal meat market7 questions on demographics included for greater insight

into consumer profilesComment boxes added to survey to make use of text

analysis service

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Direct Methods: Survey (3/3)Advantages Disadvantages

Quick and easy to answer due to the closed nature of many of the questions

Highly dependent on questions asked. Further details might not be forthcoming due to use of the Likert scale

Elimination of moderator and peer bias

Limited scope of the question and answers

Larger sample size more likely to reflect the population

Time consuming due to the amount of pre-planning required for the questions and familiarisation with Survey Monkey

Absolute responses obtained due to participants being asked questions that are not deemed subjective

Survey might not be completed creating a missing value during interpretation

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Methodology

Indirect Methods (Projective Techniques)

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Indirect Methods (Projective) (1/3) [*] sentence completion exercises were completed with each

exercise including 5 sentences

[*] word association exercises were completed with each exercise including 8 words

Projective techniques used to validate the themes generated

during interviews and FGD

Supportive techniques complimenting the direct methods

Used to ‘break the ice’ prior to FGD and in-depth interviews

Completed either independently or prior to FDG and in-depth interview

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Indirect Methods: Word Association (2/3)Advantages Disadvantages

Inexpensive Misunderstanding results

Spontaneous Difficulty analysing due to the wide range of responses

Inner thoughts of participants obtained ‘brainstorming’

Highly trained researcher required to analyse results

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Indirect Methods: Sentence completion (3/3)Advantages Disadvantages

Fast and inexpensive Misunderstanding of the sentence can result in irrelevant response

Information unlikely to be revealed during the FGD and in-depth interview

Misinterpretation due to complexity of the data, [*]

Validation of other results as the anticipated answers for the sentences were the themes generated from FGD and in-depth interviews

Results can be unreliable and sentence can be subjective

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Analysis (1/2)Direct Methods

Content analysis was used

1. The interviews and group discussion were transcribed verbatim

2. Initial coding was generated from transcripts3. The coding was assembled into small units based on past

research findings4. The units were coded into themes (categories) 5. Inferences were made from themes based on participant’s

responses

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Analysis (2/2)Indirect Methods

‘Qualitative Analysis and interpretation is no different from other qualitative research in general’ (Donoghue, 2000)

1. Word count2. Constructing cognitive maps3. Connect results with themes coded in direct

methods

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Results (1/2)Themes Sub-themes

Cultural beliefs Obedience to religionSocial influenceCharacteristics of halal meatPurchasing halal meat

Product appearance LabellingPackaging Brand

Consumer attitudes to online

Perceived risksPerceived benefitsPreferred group

Consumer’s preferred seller

Well-knownMarketing, certifiedProduct descriptionObeying Islamic law

P1: The informal education of religion and culture at home plus living with Muslim communities in UK negatively moderates the relationship of product appearance, consumer attitudes and trust in producers to the perception of Muslims towards halal meat online

P2: Product appearance, namely halal meat, positively affects the acceptability of Muslims in UK towards purchasing halal meat

P3: The on-going innovation of online shopping and shifting lifestyles among Muslims in UK positively impacts on the perception of halal meat sold online

P4: The capability of producers/suppliers to build consumer confidence positively moves the perception of halal meat online.


Results (2/2)

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Discussion Majority of participants agreed that halal meat appearance

is important and that this result is supported by a study which states that halal labelling should be more emphasised to boost the shopping experience of UK Muslims

Some participants assumed that buying meat online implied not seeing the meat

Consumer confidence in retailer to some extent is a reflection of the seller’s halal certification by responsible bodies (persuades the consumer to purchase halal meat)

Participant emphasis on non-stunned meat due to religious perceptions

Online halal meat is favourable to younger generation while older generation preferred conventional shopping

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LimitationsLimited resources Time constraints Laborious Study design may not apply to seasonal products

(Qurbani)Sample size may not [*]Limited previous studies on similar topicsSubjective interpretations by research teamLack of [*]Limited consumer knowledge of online halal meat

market

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Recommendations to HalalCo (1/3)

[Confidential]

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Recommendations to HalalCo (2/3)[Confidential]

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Recommendations to HalalCo (3/3)[Confidential]

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Brand and Global Online Platform (1/2)

HalalCo’s global brand:

Halal meat is about religionModern brand with a religious connectionPremium domain name to enhance corporate image and serve

as a global online platformA brand that encapsulates qualitative research findings and

recommendations to HalalCo Use of the story of Abraham’s sacrifice of his son in a subtle

manner to support the halal authenticity of the meat sold

RU Consultants is pleased to announce HalalCo’s new global online brand and domain name acquired on 25th November 15

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Brand and Global Online Platform (2/2)

Sacrifice.comDon’t sacrifice on quality or time.

Sacrifice.com it!

www.sacrifice.com

Awan, H. M., Siddiquei, A., & Haider, Z. (2015). Factors affecting Halal purchase intention - evidence from Pakistan's Halal food sector. Management Research Review, 38(6), 640-660.

Ballin, N. (2010). Authentication of meat and meat products. Meat Science, 86, 577-587. Bonne, K., & Verbeke, W. (2008). Muslim consumer trust in halal meat status and control

in Belgium. Meat Science, 79, 113-123. Bonne, K., Vermeir, I., Bergeaud-Blacker, F., & Verbeke, W. (2007). Determinants of halal

meat consumption in France. British Food Journal, 109(5), 367-386. Donoghue, S. (2000). Projective techniques in consumer research. Journal of Family

Ecology and Consumer Sciences, 28, 47-53. Lever, J., & Miele, M. (2012). The growth of halal meat markets in Europe: An

exploration of the supply side theory of religion. Journal of Rural Studies, 28, 528-537.

Muhammad Ayyub, R. (2015). Exploring perceptions of non-Muslims towards Halal foods in UK. British Food Journal, 117(9), 2328-2343.

Nakyinsige, K., Che Man, Y., & Sazili, A. (2012). Halal authenticity issues in meat and meat products. Meat Science, 91, 207-214.

van der Spiegel, M., van der Fels-Klerx, H., Sterrenburg, P., van Ruth, S., Scholtens-Toma, I., & Kok, E. (2012). Halal assurance in food supply chains: Verification of halal certificates using audits and laboratory analysis. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 27, 109-119.


References

Thank you

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