UNIVERSITY OF WAIKATO Hamilton New Zealand

Analyzing the Demand Characteristics of Muslim Consumers in the United Kingdom for New Zealand Halal Meat Riteshni Tarak and Mark Kilgour University of Waikato

Department of Marketing Working Papers in Marketing 01/15 June 2015

Corresponding Author Mark Kilgour Department of Marketing University of Waikato Private Bag 3105 Hamilton 3240 Email: [email protected]

Abstract New Zealand’s economy is highly dependent on its agricultural sector (dairy, beef and sheep farming). Agriculture accounts directly for approximately 4.5% of the economy’s real GDP and contributes over 50% of the total export earnings (The Treasury, 2014). Despite this, there has been a steady decline in New Zealand’s market share in the global meat market, with a ten year meat production growth rate, between 2001 -2011, of -0.2% (Coriolis, 2014). This highlights the need for New Zealand to have a defined business growth strategy in order to increase its market share. According to The Epoch Times, the Halal food industry is estimated to be worth $2.1 trillion worldwide, while the United Kingdom Halal meat market is estimated to be worth £3 billion (Morrison, 2014). This paper undertook a survey to analyse the demand characteristics of Muslim consumers of New Zealand Halal meat in the United Kingdom. The results showed that awareness, availability, transparency and, most importantly, trust were significant attributes sought after by the target market.

Key Words Halal meat marketing agribusiness consumer behaviour agricultural marketing

JEL Classification M31

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Literature Review New Zealand’s economy is highly dependent on its agricultural sector (dairy, beef and sheep farming) as agriculture directly accounts for approximately 4.5% of the economy’s real GDP and contributes over 50% of the total export earnings (The Treasury, 2014). New Zealand exported $5.27 billion free on board (fob) worth of meat and edible offal for the year ended 31 December 2013 (Zealand, 2014). This research paper focuses on the United Kingdom as it is not only the sixth largest economy in the world (third largest in the European Union), but it is also New Zealand’s fifth largest food and beverage export market, with meat being the most valuable export product. Even though China exceeded the United Kingdom in the 2012 -2013 season, by both volume and value, to become New Zealand’s largest individual market, the United Kingdom still remains New Zealand’s largest sheep meat market by value. The European Union was New Zealand’s highest beef export market by region, while Great Britain was New Zealand’s second highest lamb export market by country. According to the Meat Industry Association 2014 annual report, 131,322 tonnes of sheep meat worth $1.29 billion was exported to the European Union during the 2013 -2014 season. From this, 64,881 tonnes of sheep meat worth $551 million was exported to the United Kingdom alone, the largest market within Europe. In the 2012 -2013 season, 142,093 tonnes (an increase of 11,000 tonnes since the 2013 – 2014 season) of sheep meat worth $1.22 billion was exported to the European Union. In comparison 160,468 tonnes of sheep meat worth $809 million was exported to China during the 2013 -2014 season (Meat Industry Association, 2014). This meant that the average value per kilogram received from China was only $5.04 fob while exporters received $9.82 per kilogram from the European Union. According to Beef and Lamb New Zealand (2013) $537,950 million (fob) worth of beef (excluding veal), lamb and mutton was exported to the Great Britain between October 2012 to August 2013. Currently a third of the lamb consumed in the United Kingdom is directly imported from New Zealand (Ryan, 2014). This trading relationship dates back to 1882 when the first consignment of frozen carcasses was successfully shipped to the United Kingdom (Nicol & Saunders, 2012b), and is based on New Zealand’s and the United Kingdom’s opposing seasons which allows British consumers to purchase lamb meat all the year around. Over the years, New Zealand’s red meat industry has evolved to produce meat that can be customised specifically to meet their client’s needs worldwide, and has a sophisticated red meat industry that relies almost exclusively on free-range, pasture fed, naturally raised animals, producing meat that is healthy, tender and flavoursome. The meat industry of New Zealand can now guarantee products that are hormone growth free, antibiotic-free and chemical residue free. Additionally, with the launch of the government mandated National 3

Animal Identification and Tracing (NAIT) system in 2012, which is compliant with the European Union legislation, New Zealand can now offer added assurance to the importing countries that it can quickly and effectively manage any disease outbreak. It also offers the consumer three guarantees. Firstly a guarantee of food safety, whereby the consumers have the added assurance that the meat they are eating is free from adverse health effects secondly; a retention of identity of an animal from the time it was born to when it sold to the consumer as a cut of meat and, finally, a guarantee of authenticity which gives the consumer confidence that the meat they are purchasing is true to what is purported to be on the packaging and the label (Shackell, 2008). Despite New Zealand’s dependency on its agricultural sector, there has been a steady decline in New Zealand’s market share of the global meat market, with a ten year meat production growth rate, between 2001 -2011, of -0.2% (Coriolis, 2014). This highlights the need for New Zealand as a nation to have a defined business growth strategy in order to increase its market share. As Day and Schoemaker (2005) discuss, companies are often facing demographic shifts, new technologies, new rivals, competitors and new regulations, and unless they are constantly scanning their peripheral environment to perceive these changes they can be overcome by threats that seem to come from left field. Therefore to avoid any unanticipated threats and to pre-empt any further negative growth in New Zealand’s market share, the New Zealand meat industry needs to ask the question “What direction does the industry need to go in from here, and what business strategy is it that will enable the industry to achieve its goal?” (Thompson, Strickland, & Gamble, 2010). To overcome the negative growth, the New Zealand government in 2012, announced a bid to boost the real value of New Zealand export by doubling the value of exports by 2050, through improved collaboration and trade access (Guy, 2014a). While this provides the New Zealand export sector with a direction, the New Zealand meat industry still requires its own business strategy and direction. To provide a business strategy and a potential new direction for New Zealand’s meat industry, this research considers a relatively unexplored market direction. It considers the New Zealand Halal meat as the key the product feature/determinant, and the Muslim community currently residing in the United Kingdom as the target market. The current globalisation of the world, leading to a single market place, presents numerous opportunities to target niche communities globally, either by age, ethnicity, education, gender, wealth or religion. The Agribusiness Agenda 2014 report, undertaken by KPMG, states that by 2050, over 40% of the world’s population will have their eating practices based on religion alone, suggesting that these religious requirements will permeate the global food supply chain. Many of these religions, such as Islam (Halal meat) and Jewish 4

(Kosher meat) religion have strict requirements around how the food should be prepared and handled (KPMG, 2014). The research goes on to propose that if businesses are unwilling to align their operations and processes to ensure that foods are handled sensitively according to the dominant religion in the market place, then they stand to limit their business opportunities and risk damaging their reputation globally (KPMG, 2014). As such, this research aims to provide the meat industry with a small snapshot of the key determinants that drive the Muslim population to purchase Halal meat confidently, and how to develop a marketing strategy that addresses these determinants. In order to provide a marketing strategy, this research views the whole of the New Zealand meat industry as one firm/business organisation whose key role is to export New Zealand meat. Core Competencies and Sustainable Competitive Advantage With the termination of government subsidies in 1984, and the increasing demand from the European Union for better quality meat, the New Zealand meat industry was forced to restructure itself and move on from processing meat to a minimum quality standard, to operating to a standard demanded by their consumers, producing a high quality and tender meat products (Clemens & Babcock, 2004). Hence the ability to process meat to an internationally recognised standard can now be classified as New Zealand’s core competency. This core competency can be tested by using the guideline suggested by Prahalad and Hamel (1990), in that core competencies should provide potential access to a number of markets, it should make a significant contribution towards customer benefit and finally it should be difficult to imitate. The meat export industry of New Zealand is able to satisfy all three of these qualities. Today New Zealand’s primary industry is able to export red meat to over 120 countries with an export revenue of $6.5 billion (Meat Industry Association, 2014). New Zealand has worked relentlessly to achieve international recognition as an exporter of high quality, nutritious and safe food from a clean, green country that is free of major livestock diseases (Clemens & Babcock, 2004), making these same attributes harder to imitate by its competitors. New Zealand’s key sustainable competitive advantage lies in its collection of experienced and professional work force. The meat industry personnel and the government verifiers together bring a collection of skill-sets and capabilities that collectively forms a pool of invaluable resource, which allows the industry to respond promptly and efficiently to environmental threats or opportunities alike. It is an accumulation of talents that is valuable, rare, difficult to imitate and fully utilised by the organisation. It is these talents and skill-sets that allow the New Zealand meat industry to offer a product that is of a superior value and is able to satisfy their customers better than their competitors.

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In addition to its international reputation in food safety, New Zealand has utilised its core competency to innovate and deliver products specifically targeted to meet the consumer demand, such as meeting the internationally recognised Halal standards. In 2010, New Zealand became the first non-Muslim country to implement an official Halal notice under the jurisdiction of the federal government to protect Halal processing. As such, while the United Kingdom, in 2014, is still in the process of developing a Halal Quality Assurance Scheme, New Zealand already has a Halal Assurance Scheme enforced under Animal Products (Overseas Market Access Requirements for Halal Assurances) Notice 2013 (Ministry for Primary Industries, 2013). This Act establishes the national requirements that are essential for verifying the legitimacy of the Halal food, and mandates that Halal certificates should only be issued based on the exporter’s strict compliance to these requirements. This scheme makes provision for three key accreditations: 

Accreditation of the agencies that certify Halal meat;



Accreditation of Muslim slaughter men (all Halal slaughter men are required to have attained the necessary national certificates from the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) covering Halal slaughter and knowledge in Shariah law);



Accreditation of Halal systems at processing plants (Meat Industry Association, 2013).

The New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries, as at 8 August 2014, had four internationally-recognised Approved Halal Organisations (AHO), namely: 

Alkauthar Halal Meat and Inspection Limited (ALKAHMI) listed for Indonesia and Jordan.



Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand (Inc.) (FIANZ) listed for Indonesia, Kuwait, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Oman and Qatar.



New Zealand Islamic Development Trust (NZIDT) listed for Malaysia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar.



New Zealand Islamic Meat Management Limited (NZIMM) listed for Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman.

The Animal Products (Overseas Market Access Requirements for Halal Assurances) Notice 2013 requires these AHO to assess the implementation of the Halal programme at the approved export premises at least once every three months. These authenticity audits are holistic in nature and encompass the entire processing activities of an export premises. They are also mandated to cover all the applicable requirements of the Halal Assurance notice during these three monthly audits.

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Since the implementation of the Halal Assurance Scheme, New Zealand has regained its access to Malaysia, which is a significant Halal market (Meat Industry Association, 2013), and has considerably increased its export presence in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region with just under $200 million worth of meat products exported to GCC in 2013 (Guy, 2014b). Once the core competencies and the sustainable competitive advantages of a firm have been determined, it is imperative to determine the market segment that will be specifically targeted. Choosing the Correct Market Segment Yankelovich and Meer (2006) suggest that the true purpose of market segmentation is to discover customers whose needs are not being met or whose behaviour can be changed. They further propose that traditional demographic traits such as gender, age, education and income levels are no longer enough to be the key elements for marketing strategy, rather nondemographic traits such as personal values, tastes and personal preferences were more likely to influence consumer purchasing. Hence the market segmentation used in this research paper is based on the non-demographical trait (the personal values) which is further combined with a specific product category. The market segment chosen is the Muslim community currently residing in the United Kingdom, while the product category chosen is New Zealand meat, one of the highest export earners of New Zealand. According to The Epoch Times, the Halal food industry is estimated to be worth $2.1 trillion worldwide, while the United Kingdom Halal meat market is estimated to be worth £3 billion (Morrison, 2014). The Muslim population in the United Kingdom, according to the 2011 census, was nearly 2.7 million people, accounting for 5% of the nation’s population (Office for National Statistics, 2011). This figure is estimated to increase to 8.2% by 2030 (PewResearch, 2011). The Muslim population of the United Kingdom alone consumes 20% of the nation’s lamb and a small but an increasing amount of beef (EBLEX, 2010). The increasing demand for Halal meat within the Muslim population in the UK can be seen by the increase in the Halal meat presence within the major supermarkets. The current supermarket market share in the United Kingdom is distributed as below.         

TESCO ASDA Sainsbury’s Morrisons The Co-operative Waitrose Aldi Marks & Spencer LIDL (Ruddick, 2014).

28.9% 17.0% 16.6% 11.0% 6.4% 4.9% 4.8% 3.8% 3.6%

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Due to the increasing demand, the supermarket chain with the largest market share, TESCO, (which also sell majority of the New Zealand Halal lamb) now have some stores which have Halal only counters. Other supermarkets such as ASDA, Sainsbury, Morrisons and LIDL now sell clearly labelled Halal products (Poulter, Adams, Ledwith, & Chorley, 2014). Similarly there are now a number of fast food outlets that sell Halal meat, such as KFC (90 of its 80 branches are now Halal-only), Domino’s Pizza (all chicken sold at Domino’s is halal except for chicken wings), Subway (185 outlets out of 1,700 now use turkey meat instead of pork meat), Pizza express (now only uses Halal chicken), Nando’s (64 of 314 restaurants are now Halal only) and Gourmet Burger Kitchen (chicken used in burgers is now Halal slaughtered) (Poulter et al., 2014). In 2010 it was reported that, apart from the major supermarkets, a number of schools (Cheltenham College, Marlborough College), hospitals (Mid-Staffordshire, Guy’s and St Thomas), famous sporting venues (Wembley, Twickenham and Ascot racecourse,) and pubs had started serving meat slaughtered according to strict Islamic laws. Even Whitbread, the biggest hotel and restaurant group in Britain now uses Halal poultry (Mcgee & Delgado, 2010). While New Zealand does export a significant amount of meat to the United Kingdom, it does not specifically target a segmented market; rather the meat is sold wholesale, targeted at the general population. The current marketing technique used by New Zealand can be compared with what Perreault et al. (2009) terms mass marketing, a marketing technique aimed at the general population assuming that everyone has the same wants and considers everyone as a potential customer. Therefore in order to develop an effective marketing strategy, this paper now considers the consumer behaviour of our segmented market, the Muslim community of the United Kingdom, comprised of various ethnicities such as Pakistani, Bangladeshis, Indians, Somalians, Kenyans and Turkish people. Factors Influencing Consumer Behaviour Successful market segmentation requires knowing who your customers are and ensuring that they are getting exactly what they want (Weinstein, 2013). Therefore at this point of the research it would be imperative to ask the question as to what our segmented market wants. Prior to understanding the factors that shape a Muslim’s purchasing behaviour, it is imperative that the businesses understand the Islamic perspective on commerce (Alserhan, 2011). Islamic business ethics dictate that under no circumstances should vendors exploit their customers or be involved in any form of dishonesty, fraud or deceit themselves (Damirchi & Shafai, 2011). Businesses that neglect understanding the drivers of their target market and thus distance themselves from the Islamic principles and codes, risk alienating a significant proportion of their Muslim consumer target market (Saeed, Ahmed, & Mukhtar, 2001). 8

As Alserhan (2011) discusses, prior to engaging in business with a Muslim consumer, a firms needs to understand that for a firm to be Shariah-compliant it needs to perform Wajib, or the obligatory acts and duties which include being honest and transparent. This allows businesses to constructively harness the power of religion and achieve value maximisation in a manner that is acceptable to both parties. Moreover, in addition to the concept of Halal and Haram, which are discussed later on in this section, a significant point to note is that Islam provides, both detailed and general instructions on what is permissible and what is not permissible. While detailed instructions are provided on acts of worship, prayer and pilgrimage, only general instructions are provided for the daily affairs of life (Alserhan, 2011). The Muslim consumer behaviour can be further understood using Vaughn’s (1980) Foote, Cone and Belding (FCB) grid. The FCB grid discusses a consumer’s purchasing behaviour where either thinking (which requires a higher level of involvement) plays a significant role, or instances where feeling (requiring a lesser level of involvement) plays the predominant role. The predominant factor dictating the order of the consumer purchasing behaviour of either think-feel-do (cognitive-affective-conative) or do-feel-think (conativeaffective-cognitive) is based on two variables: 1.

Level of involvement necessitated by the product, and

2.

Whether the message appeals to emotion or rationality

Liu and Wilson (2010) use the FCB grid to argue that Muslim consumers tend to have a high level of involvement in all their product consumption due to their faith and their way of life, (code of conduct as defined by the Qur’an and the sayings of Prophet Muhammad). For Muslims this translates into either a cognitive-affective-conative (think-feel-do) or an affective-cognitive-conative (feel-think-do) purchasing behaviour (Wilson, 2011), whereby in either instances, a Muslim consumer thinks or feels prior to taking any action. The importance of the product, such as food, mandating Halal consumption only, dictates a high level of involvement which necessitates a greater need for additional information. This then effectively nullifies the two FCB quadrants that commence with conative attributes (dothink-feel and do-feel-think) (Wilson, 2011), as Muslim consumers being risk averse are less likely to purchase anything without prior information and confidence of the authenticity of the product. Once the cognitive and affective process has been satisfied through adequate and transparent information, a conative cue is established which leads to confident consumption (Wilson, 2011). Therefore marketers need to be aware of this behavioural attribute and should aim to satisfy the Muslim consumer need for additional information while building product awareness and promoting their product. 9

As such, for marketers to satisfactorily meet the Muslim consumer need for information prior to consumption, they first need to fully understand and embrace the essence of Halal themselves. As such this research paper now examines the essence of Halal and then goes on to discuss the emerging concerns surrounding Halal authenticity and how New Zealand has already placed protocols in place to meet these concerns in a transparent and a verifiable manner. The Concept of Halal The beginning of Halal pre-dates any formalised marketing or branding theory and stretches beyond the boundaries of marketing and branding, into cultural and social anthropological dimensions. As such, companies promoting Halal product have to adjust their branding and marketing approach in order to preserve the spirit of Halal (Liu & Wilson, 2010). The concept of Halal does not only relate to the slaughter process and the final end product, but embodies the entire farm to fork (Zailani, Arrifin, Abd Wahid, Othman, & Fernando, 2010) supply chain (i.e. from the initial step of sourcing the raw material, in this instance the animal from the farm, the slaughter process, handling, transport and storage through to the sale to the final consumer (Omar, Jaafar, & Osman, 2013)). For food of animal origin to be accepted as Halal under the Islamic Law, animals have to be slaughtered according to the requirements of the Islamic Law and the Codex Recommended Code of Hygienic Practice for Fresh Meat, which mandates that the animal should be alive or deemed alive (FAO, 1997) when the Halal cut is made to severe the arteries in order to drain the blood. The slaughtering device must be sharp and should sever the trachea, oesophagus and the main arteries of the animal in one movement (the slaughtering device should not be lifted off the animal during the process of slaughter) (FAO, 1997). The Halal pre-slaughter stunning process should not result in the death of the animal. The stunned animal, if it is not slaughtered, should be able to recover fully (Riaz & Chaudry, 2004). From the Islamic perspective, it is important that the blood is drained from the body as the blood is considered to be an impurity and should not be consumed. It is also crucial that the blood vessels are cut along with the trachea without decapitating the animals head during the process (Farouk, 2013). An additional requirement for the Halal slaughter is that the person performing the Halal slaughter has to be a practising Muslim who is knowledgeable in the Islamic slaughtering procedure, and has to invoke the term ‘Bismillah’ (in the name of Allah) before the slaughter or each animal (FAO, 1997; Riaz & Chaudry, 2004). The interpretation of the term Halal has minor variants, according to the different Islamic schools of thought, and what is considered lawful and unlawful slaughter of animals. As 10

such, the term Halal described here is derived from the definition provided by the Codex Alimentarius Commission of the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and World Health Organisation (WHO). Halal food has to be lawful under the Islamic Law and under this law all food is considered to be lawful except for food that is derived from animal sources such as pigs, boars, dogs, snakes, monkeys, carnivorous animals with claws and fangs such as lions, tigers, and bears, birds of prey with claws such as eagles and vultures and pests such as rats, centipedes, and scorpions, etc. and any other animals not slaughtered according to Islamic Law including blood of animals (FAO, 1997). Halal food permitted under the Islamic Law must fulfil the following conditions: 

It should not contain or consist of anything that is classed as unlawful under the Islamic Law.



It should not have been prepared, processed, stored or transported using any facility or appliance that had not been free from anything unlawful under the Islamic Law and



It should not have been in direct contact with any food that would have failed to satisfy the above two points (FAO, 1997).

New Zealand’s compliance with Halal requirements was substantiated in 2010 when Malaysia signed an agreement with New Zealand reconciling Malaysia’s Halal laws with New Zealand’s animal welfare requirements. This included Malaysia’s recognition and acceptance that New Zealand animals are stunned prior to slaughter (Groser & Wilkinson, 2010). In addition to Malaysia, New Zealand’s compliance to Halal slaughter requirements and New Zealand Halal meat is widely accepted in other Islamic countries such as the GCC countries, Egypt and Indonesia (Meat Industry Association, 2014). Emerging Concerns Surrounding Halal Authenticity In addition to consuming food that is Halal, it is also important for Muslims to eat food that is Halalan toyyiban, which translates into eating food that is free of tainted elements (Zailani et al., 2010), safe and not harmful to the body as highlighted by the Shariah law (Omar et al., 2013). O mankind! Eat of that which is lawful and good on the earth [Surah Al Baqarah 2:172] They ask you (O Muhammad SAW) what is lawful for them (as food). Say Lawful unto you are At -Tayyibaat (all kind of Halal foods) [Surah Al-Maidah 5:4]. (Words have been underlined for emphasis for this research paper) Additionally for Muslims, in order to be pious and to have taqwa (to protect oneself from the wrath of Allah by refraining from indulging in things that Allah specifically forbids), they

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have to consume food that is nutritious as well as Halal (Omar et al., 2013), as shown the by following verse: “[Allah said], "O messengers, eat from the good foods and work righteousness. Indeed, I, of what you do, am knowing”. [Al-Mukminun 23:51]. (Words have been underlined for emphasis for this research paper) The significance placed on the quality of food by the Qur’an is consistent with the importance placed on food safety and quality by the rest of society including international organisations such as the WHO, OIE and FAO. The New Zealand meat industry places the same emphasis on food safety as well making it an ideal, reliable and safe source of Halal meat. For consumers, to verify the legitimacy of food safety and wholesomeness during the process of purchasing, consuming and after consumption is extremely challenging, hence the stakeholders now expect the primary processors to implement food safety and quality assurance programmes such as the internationally recognised Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) (Codex Alimentarius Commission, 2003) and applied quality assurance systems (Bonne & Verbeke, 2008b). The meat export premises of New Zealand have operated and continue to operate under a risk management programme, which includes HACCP principles that are regularly audited by independent official government veterinarians. In addition to this, the official government veterinarian’s core tasks involve ante mortem inspection of the animals prior to slaughter, to ensure that the animals are suitable for human consumption and to identify any diseased or defective animal. This effectively places New Zealand as one of the trusted suppliers of safe and healthy foods. Supply Chain With the increase in Muslim population in non-Muslim countries the Halal meat supply chain has expanded to become complex and global in nature, adding a number of complexities in ensuring that the Halal product retains its Halal status from farm to fork (Omar et al., 2013), and leading to the questioning of the authenticity of the Halal meat being sold in supermarkets and fast food restaurants (Lever & Miele, 2012). Muslim consumers believe that for product to remain Halal, it has to be stored separately, not mixed or contaminated with prohibited food products throughout the entire supply chain of production, transportation and storage (FAO, 1997; Riaz & Chaudry, 2004; Spiegel et al., 2012). To combat this arising new issue of Halal authenticity a certain set of Halal standards was established by several governments such Malaysia, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), GCC and Austria.

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To ensure compliance with the Halal standards, it has been suggested by Spiegel et al. (2012) that verification in the form of audits should be used to confirm that primary processors are complying with the Halal standards such as the process of the ritual slaughter. Others such as Nakyinsige, Man, and Sazili (2012) suggest that critical control points should be established and monitored during processing, packing and storage. They also suggested that all Halal products should be received by Muslim inspectors and segregated during frozen storage. Riaz and Chaudry (2004) have further advocated that all products should be accompanied by a transfer certificate, attesting to the authenticity of the Halal food, providing assurance that the product is truly Halal in nature, free from prohibited/non- Halal contaminants and is thus safe for Muslim consumption (Nakyinsige et al., 2012). The establishment of the Halal Assurance Scheme enforced by the federal government of New Zealand was designed to underpin these concerns raised by the Muslim consumers in the Islamic countries. The Halal assurance scheme mandates requirements for Halal production and certification, and explicitly mandates a number of requirements which includes that Halal animal product are to be kept physically separate from non-Halal animal products and non-Halal animal species. Furthermore New Zealand’s strong dependence on agricultural export requires it to be highly responsive to the consumer demand and focused on satisfying the consumer throughout the entire supply chain. To obtain the premium price by servicing high end customers, such as the European Union, New Zealand also developed traceability systems, such as NAIT system in 2012. These systems, designed to serve the premium customers of New Zealand, have also placed New Zealand in a prime position to offer the same services to their Muslim customers; highly transparent and verifiable supply chain systems that are regularly verified by independent government officials and by officials from the AHO, which guarantee food safety and quality from farm to the fork. While it is important to undergo a thorough internal analysis; understanding our own corporate and business level strategies, core competencies and sustainable competitive advantages, it is equally important to undertake a comprehensive external analysis and no external analysis would be complete without understanding the competitor profile. Competitor Analysis While a third of the lamb consumed in the United Kingdom is imported from New Zealand, this figure has been noted to be decreasing. In May 2014 the United Kingdom reported that the New Zealand import volumes had decreased by fifteen percent (EBLEX, 2014a). In September 2014 a similar report stated that while New Zealand still remained the dominant 13

source of lamb import, the import volume had decreased by seven percent to 80,300 tonnes. The report attributed this decline in the import volumes to New Zealand’s focus on exporting meat to China at the expense of the other markets such as the European Union (EBLEX, 2014b). It was also highlighted that the gap left by New Zealand had been picked up Australia with a 36% increase in imports. Despite this, New Zealand still retains an advantage over Australia due to the low tariff-free quota access given to New Zealand (EBLEX, 2014a). For the lamb market, additional competition is faced on a smaller basis from Argentina, Uruguay, the Falkland Islands, Iceland, Macedonia and Chile. While New Zealand holds a key position in supplying lamb to the United Kingdom, it does not hold that privileged position for beef imports. In saying this, New Zealand has remained within the top six beef suppliers for the United Kingdom. Currently Brazil is the main chilled and frozen beef supplier, followed by Uruguay, Argentina, Australia and the United States of America (EBLEX, 2013b). Namibia and Botswana are also within the top eight beef suppliers, and hold an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union which provides them with duty and quota-free access (EBLEX, 2013a). In addition to this, New Zealand would face the strongest competition from the Halal meat industry of the United Kingdom itself and will have to contest for market share with the local butchers who currently hold a firm presence within the community and enjoy a strong customer loyalty. Research Questions The following three research questions emerged as a result of the internal, external and market segment analysis, which now guide this research in order to further progress this business and marketing strategy, and to provide a snapshot of the key drivers of the Muslim consumers currently resident in the United Kingdom: 1.

What are the key determinants that drive the Muslim consumer (resident in the United Kingdom) purchasing behaviour of Halal meat?

2.

Are there different target markets for Halal meat within the Muslim market segment in the United Kingdom?

3.

How can the New Zealand meat industry promote New Zealand Halal meat in the United Kingdom?

The fact that by 2050 there will be 2.22 billion practicing Muslims in the world (KPMG, 2014), of which nearly 3 million Muslims are current residents of the United Kingdom, makes this niche community an attractive market segment for New Zealand’s meat industry. However in order to meet the needs of this market segment it is imperative to understand what the specific needs for this particular segment of consumers are. 14

According to Razzaque and Chaudhry (2013) Islam plays an important role in defining and shaping all facets of a Muslim's life, including their purchasing and consumption behaviour, through a set of goals and values. Similarly Ahmed (2008) stresses that the Islam religion, is one of the most persuasive forces that moulds and controls a Muslims behaviour and viewpoints. In addition to the Islamic teachings, cultural and family traditions have a significant impact on an individual’s behaviour as well. Therefore while dealing with a group of people that have a strong religious and cultural view-point, it is important that we understand their beliefs and culture prior to attempting to build a platform of trust. We also need to understand how failure to meet these may have significant impact on the trust built between the two parties. This trust in turn makes it possible for the businesses to combine their value-maximization concept with the Islamic principles, which ensures respect and individual freedom of both the firm and the customer. Therefore to answer this, the research paper focuses on Research Question 1: What are the key determinants that drive the Muslim consumer (resident in the United Kingdom) purchasing behaviour of Halal meat? In saying this, as Jafari (2012) argues, just because people follow Islam does not mean that all Muslims have the same perception and understanding of the Islamic teachings. He further argues that it is a grave mistake to treat Islam as a unanimous culture of homogenous beliefs. A comprehensive study done on the Halal meat market by EBLEX (the organisation for the English beef and sheep industry in the United Kingdom) in 2010 showed that there are a number of variants within the requirements of this niche market, such as Muslim consumer’s concern for stunned vs non-stunned Halal meat, consumer increasing awareness around Halal certification, quality of meat and demand for value-added food such as Halal organic, Halal farm assured and Halal free range. The qualitative study, in the form of a focus group, done by EBLEX also showed a strong consumer preference to purchase Halal meat from independent Halal butchers (EBLEX, 2010). Despite this, the literature review and the current market analysis highlight an emerging market, with a shift in the purchasing behaviour of our chosen market segment, which is willing to purchase Halal meat from the major supermarket chains. This research explores these growing trends and aims to further differentiate the segment market into specific target markets, which leads to the Research Question 2: Are there different target markets for Halal meat within the Muslim market segment in the United Kingdom? While there has been several studies done on the European Halal meat market by Wilson (2011), Liu and Wilson (2010), Lever and Miele (2012) and EBLEX (2010), there is yet to be comprehensive study done on the viability of the market from a New Zealand perspective. Therefore the results gathered from the online survey of this research further leads to the final 15

Research Question 3: How can the New Zealand meat industry promote the New Zealand Halal meat in the United Kingdom? Methodology A quantitative approach, in the form of an online survey, specifically targeting Muslims currently living in the United Kingdom, was used as the primary research method for this research. Cultural and religious sensitivity was maintained at all times as the survey was targeting a group of people with a very specific religious belief. The survey which contained twenty questions (see Appendix 1) was generated and administered through the online survey-building software Qualtrics (www.qualtrics.com). The survey contained a mixture of Likert scale, dichotomous, open ended and multiple choice questions. The survey questions used were based on similar concepts used by the two studies done on the Halal meat market, one in the United Kingdom and the other in Canada, they were modified to suit the current practices and offerings of the New Zealand meat industry. Questions were asked in relation to the importance of Halal slaughtering, logos, certification and endorsements, the place of purchase, awareness of NZ Halal certification, key determinant attributes in meat purchases, as well as questions to determine spend, purchase frequency and demographic questions. Furthermore, external analysis of the chosen market segment, the United Kingdom, was done to gather current background information in-order to design the questionnaire, such as, what major retail outlet or supermarkets were the most common and what was the current average earning per household. This information was then incorporated into the online questionnaire in order to make the questions relevant to the respondent and the market segment. An invitation to participate in the survey was sent out to the general Muslim population through social media such as Facebook, and by emails to Muslim organisations based in the United Kingdom such as the Halal Food Authority, the Association of British Muslims, the British Muslim Forum and the Muslim Council of Britain. The survey was started on the 30th October and was closed off on the 10th December 2014. While fifty people started the survey only forty one respondents went on to fully complete the survey, hence the data used for analysis in this research are from the forty one respondents only. In addition to the primary research, a secondary research method, using trade magazines, online news reports, research done by other organisations including EBLEX and business and government documents was used to gather information that formed the background of this research paper. This secondary research had highlighted emerging target markets within the chosen market segment which required further exploration; hence it was decided to conduct an online survey in-order to further define these target markets. 16

Due to the geographical location of the chosen market it was determined that an online survey would be the best way to gather data. In addition to the secondary research, previous qualitative research in the form of interviews of marketing personnel in the meat industry, animal products certification personnel in the Ministry for Primary Industries and the Halal certification personnel had highlighted a lack of industry interest and initiative in targeting the Muslim population based in western countries (Tarak, 2013). Table 1: Gender and Age Demographics What is your gender?

Yes I consider myself to be a Muslim? No

How old are you?

Male

Female

Under 26

26 35

36 - 45

46- 55

56 - 65

Total

17

24

11

15

11

3

1

41

41%

59%

27.50%

35%

27.50%

7.50%

2.50%

100%

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

While the number of respondents was not high for this survey, the even distribution of the demographics (age, education level, employment status, gender, income, and marital status) of the sample indicates strong generalizability to the Muslim community living in the United Kingdom. Table 2: Age Demographic Age Under 26 26 - 35 36 - 45 46- 55 56 - 65 Over 65 Total

Statistics 11 15 11 3 1 0 41

Statistic Minimum Value Maximum Value Mean Variance Standard Deviation Total Responses

17

Percentage 27% 37% 27% 7% 2% 0% 100% Value 1 5 2.22 1.03 1.01 41

Figure 1: Age Demographic

The numerical data was then examined to identify significant relationships between two or more variables (Saunders, Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill, 2011) using the cross tabulation system of the Qualtrics programme. The cross tabulations were created by placing the independent variable in the column and by placing the dependent variable in the row. Once a cross tabulations was created, the data was analysed using the percentage value for each row and column and tested for significance using the test statistic, degrees of freedom (df), and based on these values, the probability (p-value) of the test result was derived to determine if the relationship between the variables had occurred by chance alone. Additionally the chi square test was used to determine the likelihood of two variables being associated (Saunders et al., 2011). Babbie (2007) in the Quantitative Data Analysis discusses collapsing response categories in order to incorporate all responses that consider a variable as either important or not important e.g. combining responses from ratings very important and somewhat important or combining responses from not at all important and not really important. This ensures that respondent’s opinions are appropriately gathered and not ignored especially if they have a low percentage. Therefore, in order to retain the richness of the data, the data analysis section of this research paper combines the two ends of each range of the variation. While it is good to provide respondents with the ‘don’t know/ undecided/ I am not sure’ options, the data obtained from these responses cannot be analysed, hence this research paper utilises the method of recalculating the percentages by excluding the responses as discussed by Babbie (2007). While the majority of the data obtained from the survey was either numerical or given a numerical value by the survey software, there were three open-ended questions which required written responses. These questions were: 18

Q8(b): Please explain the reason as to why you would not purchase Halal meat from the supermarket? Q12: Do you have any other recommendations that would increase your likelihood to purchase New Zealand Halal meat? Q17: Please state your ethnicity? The categorical data obtained from these questions had to be coded into a limited set of attributes which was then assigned a numerical value prior to analysis. A separate codebook was then created for each of these questions. For questions 8(b) and 12 the responses were coded into the following categories; Customer Value/Product, Cost/Price, Communication/ Promotion (included positioning and packaging attributes), Convenience/Place and People while Q17 was coded according to the person’s country of origin such as British, Islamic Nation and Other. What are the Key Determinants that Drive the Muslim Consumer (Resident in the United Kingdom) Purchasing Behaviour of Halal Meat? The analysis of the Research Question 1: What are the key determinants that drive the Muslim consumer (resident in the United Kingdom) purchasing behaviour of Halal meat?, has shown that the actual Halal slaughter process is the main determinant that drives Muslim consumer purchasing behaviour. In addition to this, the results also show that the Halal logo, Halal endorsement from a Halal certifying body, verification of the slaughter premises by an authorised Halal organisation and Halal separation during the supply chain are emerging attributes which play an almost equally significant role in the consumer decision-making process. This result supports the secondary research which highlighted these attributes as new factors that are beginning to play a significant role in the Halal consumer’s purchasing behaviour. It also confirms that the New Zealand meat industry is already ideally positioned to take advantage of these attributes while its competitors, such as the United Kingdom, is still in the process of developing programmes to meet these demands, providing New Zealand with a sustainable competitive advantage. In addition to the variables that are Halal specific, the target market segment also consider healthy, safe food with no adulteration, lack of hormones, antibiotics, chemical residues and additives, as essential variables that impact their decision making process while purchasing Halal meat; as food safety is now an important criterion in consumer purchasing behaviour and has become a significant public concern in the United Kingdom (Yeung & Morris, 2001). Once again, the New Zealand meat industry, with its years of experience and expertise in delivering safe food has a sustainable competitive advantage in meeting the 19

consumer demands. While these attributes can be imitated by New Zealand’s competitors, they are still difficult and costly, as seen by the United Kingdom’s ongoing effort (since 2010) to develop a Halal Quality Assurance Scheme. Hence New Zealand’s ability to meet and deliver these consumer demands is rated as sustainable competitive advantage, as opposed to a temporary competitive advantage. Additionally, the data also shows that when compared with the value and the emphasis placed on the authenticity of the Halal product, the price of the product is not considered a major decision-making factor i.e. the authenticity of the product takes precedence over the price of the product. Are there Different Target Markets for Halal Meat within the Muslim Market Segment in the United Kingdom? This section aimed to determine if there was a different target market(s) for Halal meat within the Muslim market segment in the United Kingdom (Research Question 2), for as Perreault et al. (2009) argues, a firm needs to identify a homogenous group of customers as a target market and carefully design an appropriate marketing mix in order to avoid direct competition. An analysis of the market-related and customer-related factors showed a significant correlation between the respondents that spend over £100 per week and those that exclusively purchase Halal meat from the mainstream supermarkets in the United Kingdom. It was also noted that within all income ranges 50% of the respondents purchased Halal meat from the supermarket. Additionally, taking the respondents written responses into consideration, it was noted that 50% of the respondents were either willing to purchase or already purchase Halal meat from a supermarket. These results support the mainstream supermarket’s stance that they are now offering Halal meat in Halal only section due to their customer demand (Webb, 2014), a finding which is in direct contrast to the findings of the survey conducted by EBLEX (the organisation for the English beef and sheep industry in the United Kingdom) in 2010. This shift in the consumer preference also supports this research paper’s perspective that there is an emerging market (as discussed under the sub-heading Research Questions), highlighting a shift in the consumer purchasing behaviour of our chosen market segment i.e. consumers who are now willing to purchase Halal meat from the major supermarket chains in the United Kingdom. A further profiling of the respondents showed that 80% of the respondents that currently purchase Halal meat from the supermarket and 50% of all the respondents that currently do not purchase Halal meat from the supermarket, agreed that the Halal meat produced under the 20

government regulated Halal assurance scheme in New Zealand was compliant with the Halal requirements. It was noted that a number of responses supported Ahmed (2008) theory that perhaps inadequate labelling and awareness was the main reason that Muslims preferred to shop from the local butcher as opposed to a major supermarket. Some of these responses included: lack of awareness that supermarkets sold Halal meat, lack of awareness that the supermarkets now have a designated Halal meat section, lack of the Halal logo and lack of a Halal endorsement on the packaging of the Halal product. An analysis of the customer-related factors showed a significant correlation between single respondents and their preference to purchase Halal meat from the supermarket. In an obvious contrast, a significant correlation was noted between married respondents and their preference of not to purchase Halal meat from the supermarket. Additionally, a significant correlation was noted between respondents with an education level of a Bachelor’s degree or higher (such as Post Graduate/Masters/PhD) and their preferences to purchase meat processed in a premises operating under a RMP. Finally another significant correlation was noted between females, under the age of 45, and the preference to purchase meat that was hormone and other adulterant free. As such, the data analysis shows the following target markets that can be targeted the New Zealand meat industry, based on the market-related and consumer-related variables: 

Single consumers that spend over £100 per week on Halal meat, who prefer to shop from the mainstream supermarkets and



Educated consumers that have a growing awareness of food safety and demand food that has been processed under verifiable hygienic conditions and



Females that prefer adulterant free, especially hormone-free meat.

How can the New Zealand Meat Industry Promote New Zealand Halal Meat in the United Kingdom? The data analysis attempted to search for variables that would allow the New Zealand meat industry to tailor an effective marketing mix in order to successfully promote the New Zealand Halal meat in the United Kingdom (Research Question 3). The data was analysed according to the marketing Pull strategies such as Customer Value, Cost, Communication and Convenience and Push strategies such as Product, Price, Promotion and Place (McManus & Powe, 2009). It was noted that while there is a certain amount of pull from the Muslim consumers for Halal meat to be sold in the supermarkets, there still remains a significant amount of distrust 21

between the respondents that do not purchase Halal meat from the supermarket and the supermarkets that sell Halal meat. This level of distrust has been increased by the recent adulteration (horse meat and pork DNA) scandals. Therefore, to avoid direct competition and to deliver superior customer value with added benefits, it is of paramount importance that the New Zealand meat industry gains the trust of the target market prior to implementing any of its marketing mix strategies. New Zealand’s credible and reputable food safety standards will be the founding element in gaining this consumer trust. In addition to food safety, New Zealand needs to promote and gain consumer trust for the entire Halal supply chain as well. It needs to establish that Halal authenticity is maintained during all stages of the supply chain i.e. during processing, storage and transport, and/or by working closely with a United Kingdom Halal certifying body such as HMC or HFA. It has been highlighted that price does not play a significant role when compared to the importance of Halal authenticity. Therefore, it is recommended that the New Zealand meat industry, when attempting to promote New Zealand Halal meat should use the Pull strategy by focusing on the customer cost as opposed to using the Push strategy and focusing on the price of the product. As mentioned in previously, this can be achieved by allowing the customer to shop for all their groceries in one location and under one roof, thereby reducing the customer’s cost of time and money. Similarly, the New Zealand meat industry, should focus on using convenience rather than place as a marketing tool, as this enables the businesses to connect with their customers and shifts the marketers into a mind-set of providing an overall optimal experience rather than just selling a product (Damirchi & Shafai, 2011). Finally, it was noted there is a great need to build consumer awareness and promote the sale of Halal meat in the major supermarkets in the United Kingdom. While promotion is clearly needed in this growth stage of the market, there needs to be clear communication that the marketers are aware and are genuinely endeavouring to meet the customer need for Halal authenticity and transparency through verifications by independent Halal authorities.

Managerial Implications The implications are provided according to the three questions that were used to guide this research. Research Question 1: What are the key determinants that drive the Muslim consumer (resident in the United Kingdom) purchasing behaviour of Halal meat? This research confirmed that Muslims in the United Kingdom consider Halal as the most crucial factor when choosing their meat and meat products. Similarly all Halal related variables such as the Halal logo, Halal endorsement, Halal slaughter and verification of the Halal process by 22

a Halal certifying body are also ranked as important by the target market. following implications and recommendations to the New Zealand meat industry:

Hence the

Form a Strategic Alliance The New Zealand meat industry has to ensure that all meat and meat products sold as Halal are genuinely Halal i.e. that they have been processed strictly according to the Halal standards. While New Zealand already has four internationally recognised Approved Halal Organisations (AHO) that provide Halal verification and certification, they presently hold very little recognisability and acceptance within our target market. In saying this, as EBLEX (2010), (Khalid, 2013) and (Razzaque & Chaudhry, 2013) highlight, currently there is a lack of any one globally accepted Halal certification authority that is accepted by all ethnicities or countries, hence it becomes imperative that New Zealand forms a strategic alliance with a Halal certifying body that is already recognised and accepted in the United Kingdom, such as either the Halal Monitoring Committee (HMC) or the Halal Food Authority (HFA). These strategic alliances will provide the New Zealand meat industry with new opportunities and resources. It will also enhance the sustainable competitive advantages of New Zealand and most importantly provide the consumer with a value-added product. New Zealand’s Halal food industry, in its current form, has enough credibility to promote and gain market share amongst the Muslim population of the United Kingdom. In spite of this, by forming a strategic alliance with an already reputable and credible Halal food certifying body will provide New Zealand with an established platform from which they can launch their Halal meat product. This will serve to save time and the capital required to promote the product. Additionally consumers who already recognise and trust the Halal food certifying body based in the United Kingdom, will be easier to convince to purchase the New Zealand product. Halal Logo and Halal Endorsement and the Importance of the Product Labelling and Packaging Given the importance that packaging and labelling plays in a consumer decision-making process, it is essential that in addition to the aesthetic and visual presentation of the product, the packaging also communicates the brand value of the product (Nancarrow et al. 1998). Generally the information provided on the packaging is the only means by which a consumer can identify the product, and for the Muslim consumers the Halal logo on the outer packaging identifies the product as food that is permissible for their consumption (Shafie & Othman, 2006), and serves a trust mark which indicates permissible for use and consumption for the Muslims (Ibrahim & Mohd Zhafran Helmi, 2010). In Malaysia, it is mandated that every Halal product contained in a box or package has to have the Halal logo printed on it (Ibrahim & Mohd Zhafran Helmi, 2010), while in the United 23

Kingdom, the Muslim consumers have to search for the Halal logo in the retail premises (EBLEX, 2010). While the Muslim consumers trust the local Halal butchers and do not seek for Halal certification in the Halal butcher shop, they tend to be more vigilant while purchasing meat from a mainstream store and tend to seek for reassurance by looking for Halal certificates or endorsements printed on the packaging (EBLEX, 2010). As Rundh (2005) argues, the increasing globalisation of business has forced firms to reevaluate their competitive advantages, and for some firms the packaging of the product may well be the key advantage. While New Zealand has other competitive advantages, the correct packaging and labelling of the meat product with clearly presented Halal logos and supporting Halal endorsements (such as the specific logo of the Halal certifying body) will serve as a value-creating attribute which will further enhance the product awareness. In addition to identifying the product as Halal it is also essential that the retail outlet maintains Halal separation at all times. Research Question 2: Are there different target markets for Halal meat within the Muslim market segment in the United Kingdom? The research analysis confirmed that there are specific target markets within the Muslim market segment of the United Kingdom, hence the following homogenous group of people are proposed as potential target markets: 

Single consumers that spend over £100 per week on Halal meat, who prefer to shop from the mainstream supermarkets and



Educated consumers that have a growing awareness of food safety and demand food that has been processed under verifiable hygienic conditions and



Females that prefer adulterant free, especially hormone-free meat.

Based on these target markets, the following recommendations are proposed: Consumer Purchasing Power Many countries, such as Australia, Brazil, Canada, USA and New Zealand are currently targeting predominantly Muslim countries as their Halal market (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 2011), and fail to realise the market potential existent in the Western countries. While the data analysis showed a significant correlation between the respondents with greater purchasing power and their preference to purchase Halal meat from the supermarket, it was also noted that respondents from nearly all income brackets purchased Halal meat from the supermarkets. These results support the secondary research information that Muslim consumers are willing to purchase Halal meat from the supermarkets, and it also confirms that consumers that have a greater spending power are more willing to purchase from the 24

supermarket. Therefore, while there is an obvious homogenous group of people with greater purchasing power that should be specifically targeted, consumers with lesser purchasing power ought not to be ruled out in the marketing mix. This segment of people with higher income and higher purchasing power with increasingly busier lifestyles, create a demand for convenience food that still conforms to the Halal requirements. A similar demand for convenience has been noted in the Muslim market segment in other regions such as the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and the North Africa (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 2011). The concept of convenience shopping is not new as Eugene Kelly (1958) highlighted, the two factors that are of utmost importance in consumer shopping behaviour are the need to achieve an equilibrium between commodity cost and convenience cost, and secondly that the convenience cost is assuming a greater importance now (Kelley, 1958). Therefore, the recommendation would be target this consumer group with higher purchasing power, who are seeking shopping convenience, while not willing to compromise on Halal authenticity. Presently New Zealand meat is sold to mainstream retailers such as the major supermarkets in the United Kingdom, therefore forming strategic alliances and collaborating with the major supermarkets to sell New Zealand Halal meat would not be a challenging task for the New Zealand meat industry. Food Safety Awareness Both the primary research and the secondary research highlight that there is a greater awareness of food safety amongst educated people such as respondents with higher education, preferring food that has been processed under a risk management programme and females that demand adulterant free, such as hormone-free, food. Consumers, including Muslims in the Western countries, now more than ever, are being influenced by the global health and wellness mega trend and are demanding healthy, adulterant free and safe food (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 2011). New Zealand’s internationally recognised reputation as a supplier of safe and highquality meat and meat products makes it well positioned to meet the consumer demand for healthy Halal products. As discussed earlier in the paper, New Zealand’s core competency is its ability to export high quality, nutritious and safe food that meets majority of the overseas market access requirements and is an attribute that is difficult to imitate by its competitors. Therefore, it is recommended that New Zealand uses it core competency as an engine for new business development, a pattern of diversification and market entry (Prahalad & Hamel, 1990). Additionally, as Prahalad and Hamel (1990) so aptly explain, these core competencies or these distinctive routines can form the basis of distinctive value-creating systems that adopt unique methods of addressing niche markets, and customers and lead competitive 25

advantages. Hence by continuing to do what New Zealand meat industry does well, it can provide value-added meat that assures food safety as well as Halal meat authenticity. Research Question 3: How can the New Zealand meat industry promote the New Zealand Halal meat in the United Kingdom? This research clearly highlighted that the New Zealand meat industry has a value-added product that meets the customer needs and can be utilised to build a bridge of trust between the retailers and the customers. Therefore, the recommendations include that the marketing mix should clearly communicate the convenient availability of this value-added product and promote New Zealand’s ability to verify the Halal authenticity in a transparent manner. As Kim and Mauborgne (2005) argue, competing in overcrowded market spaces, such as targeting Muslim consumers in predominantly Muslim based countries, does not sustain high company performance, therefore organisations should seek opportunities to create uncontested market space, or blue oceans. In blue oceans, it is the organisation that creates the demand and resulting opportunities for rapid growth. Ford Model T, Apple personal computers and Dell built-to-order computers were new entrants in unattractive market environments and yet have become pioneers in their industry. Similarly, the New Zealand meat industry needs to proactively embrace the new opportunities being presented by these emerging markets, even though they may be seen as daunting prospects, before they are seized by their competitors. Communicating the Customer Value As Khalid (2013) states, in the absence of alcohol in Islam, food plays an essential role, with third generation Muslim’s demanding greater assurance, convenience, quality and variety. While this suggests that here is a niche market for quality Halal meat, our target market remains predominately unaware of our product offering. Hence, prior to attempting to create the demand, it is recommended that the New Zealand meat industry generates product awareness within the target market by clearly communicating the customer value that it has to offer. Therefore, rather than presenting the product as Halal meat, the product should be promoted as a combination of both the functional and emotional attributes sought after by the target market i.e. an internationally recognised safe food (that is widely accepted in the United Kingdom) that is also authentic Halal meat (widely accepted as genuinely Halal within Islamic countries), verified and certified by independent AHO’s operating under the official jurisdiction of the New Zealand government.

26

Considering the adoption curve and the consumer appetite for risk (McManus & Powe, 2009), it is imperative that the marketing strategy is effective in reaching beyond the innovators (the initial 3% of the market that adopts a new idea or product) and the early adopters (the second 13% of the market that adopts the product after the innovators), to the early majority (the 34% of the market that follows the early adopters in the adoption process) (McManus & Powe, 2009). For it is only when the early majorities are reached, that a firms enjoys the benefit of strong sales (McManus & Powe, 2009). The data clearly highlighted innovators within the target market who are willing to “eat any meat that is halal no matter where it is from”. Therefore it is also recommended that the New Zealand meat industry’s marketing strategy specifically targets these innovators in the initial stages as they are the ones to exert influence on their peers (McManus & Powe, 2009). Building the Bridge of Trust For followers of Islam, their religion makes provision for a set of dietary laws which they are required to follow, with the concept of Halal (food which is permissible) and Haram (food which is not lawful) food being well established under the Islamic laws. While Halal food is very important to Muslim consumers, the authenticity of the Halal attribute itself, suffice to say, is impossible to determine either before or after consuming the meat, hence the supplierconsumer relationship in its entirety is based on trust. The Muslim market segment, until recently, had been largely ignored by the food industry with majority of Muslims purchasing kosher meat in order to meet the requirements of their religious belief. This trend has now changed with Muslim consumers in the Western countries making their presence felt socially, and requesting authentic Halal food that has been certified by Halal authorities (Bonne & Verbeke, 2008a). With the emergence of a Halal meat market there has been numerous illegal trades in Halal meat, especially in the United Kingdom (Pointing & Teinaz, 2004), and compromises on the authenticity of the Halal meat through cross-contamination such as horse meat and pork DNA (EBLEX, 2013c), has led to a build-up of significant distrust between the consumer and the retailer. Therefore the final recommendation to the New Zealand meat industry, based on the importance the target market places on Halal meat, is that they should build a bridge of trust that would sustain a long term customer relationship. Again New Zealand is already strategically placed to build this relationship of credibility and trust, by promoting the already established Halal supply chain that guarantees authenticity, transparency, verification and certification by independent AHO.

27

Limitations and Areas for Further Research Like most research, this survey also faced some limitations and should only be viewed as a snapshot profile of the target market - the Muslim population currently residing in the United Kingdom. The major limitation faced in this research was the relatively small sample group, with only 41 complete responses that could be used for the final data analysis. While the completed responses contained a diverse range of opinions and personal views, a greater sample size would have provided an added richness to the data and possibly highlighted other similarities within the target market. While the data for Research Question 1 showed a unanimous response across all the respondents, a greater sample size would certainly have increased the generalizability of the findings and provided more support to the recommendations made.. The relatively small sample size was partly due to the physical distance between the researcher and the targeted sample group, and partly due to the fact that the survey did not have any direct contact, support or backing from a recognised Muslim organisation. Secondly while social media, Facebook, was used to gather data and responses were received from an ethnically heterogeneous group of Muslim population across all cities in the United Kingdom, this sample collection method would have eliminated responses from people that currently do not use this type of social media. Given these limitations a more comprehensive representative sample is therefore required to support these tentative findings. Additionally, while this research discusses the price and the cost of the product as a marketing mix, no attempt was made during the research process to gather data on the actual price (£/ per weight) the respondents were willing to pay for the product. What is also unclear from this research is the relative mix of key determinant attributes that drive Muslim consumer’s decision making of Halal meat. While the results clearly indicate that Halal processes and systems are essential for almost all the respondents, this can be taken as a baseline that no longer acts as a differentiating factor once the majority of competitors meet these requirements. The extent to which alternative factors, such as the importance of hormone and chemical free, might work as differentiating factors amongst different groups is a crucial area for further research. Additional research is also needed to look further into awareness issues for New Zealand meat, and if problematic how this can be improved. While there was an indication that low levels of awareness may be an issue amongst this target group further research is needed to identify the extent of this issues amongst different sub-segments and ways to build

28

awareness. While some initial indications suggest at least three different segments with specific needs, a larger study is needed to confirm these results. Finally, this research has only focussed on evaluating the demand for New Zealand Halal meat in the mainstream retail outlets/major supermarkets in the United Kingdom. No attempt has been made to consider the market potential of New Zealand Halal meat in the other retail avenues such as sales in hotels, restaurants and other institutions. Research is needed in this area in order to determine the extent of the market potential of the different distribution outlets, and the most appropriate market entry strategy for New Zealand Halal meat into the United Kingdom. References Ahmed, A. (2008). Marketing of halal meat in the United Kingdom. British Food Journal, 110(7), 655-670. doi: doi:10.1108/00070700810887149 Alberta Agriculture, F. R. D. A., & (FFF), F. F. T. F. F. D. P. (2005). Canadian Halal Meat Market: An Alternative Market for Alberta’s Meat Industry. (pp. 27). Alberta Canada. Alserhan, B. A. (2011). Principles of Islamic Marketing. Farnham, Surrey, GBR: Ashgate Publishing Ltd. Association, M. I. (2013). Submission to the productivity commission on regulatory institutions and practice. http://www.productivity.govt.nz/sites/default/files/Sub%20040%20%20Meat%20Industry%20Association%20of%20New%20Zealand%20(Inc)%20PDF%20%20193Kb.pdf Association, M. I. (2014). 2014 annual report. New Zealand. Babbie, E. (2007). Quantitative data analysis. The practice of social research (11 ed.). Stamford CT: Wadsworth. Bakker, H., Jones, W., & Nichols, M. (1994). Using core competences to develop new business. Long Range Planning, 27(6), 13-27. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0024-6301(94)90161-9 Bonne, K., & Verbeke, W. (2008a). Muslim consumer trust in halal meat status and control in Belgium. Meat Science, 79(1), 113-123. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.meatsci.2007.08.007 Bonne, K., & Verbeke, W. (2008b). Religious values informing halal meat production and the control and delivery of halal credence quality. Agriculture and Human Values, 25(1), 35-47. doi: 10.1007/s10460-007-9076-y Byrd‐Bredbenner, C., Wong, A., & Cottee, P. (2000). Consumer understanding of US and EU nutrition labels. British Food Journal, 102(8), 615-629. doi: doi:10.1108/00070700010348505 Canada, A. a. A.-F. (2011). Global Halal food market. Retrieved 15 November, 2014, from http://www.ats-sea.agr.gc.ca/inter/4352-eng.htm#a Chen, H.-h., Lee, P.-y., & Lay, T.-j. (2009). Drivers of dynamic learning and dynamic competitive capabilities in international strategic alliances. Journal of Business Research, 62(12), 1289-1295. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2008.12.003 Clemens, R., & Babcock, B. A. (2004). Country of origin as a brand: The case of New Zealand lamb. Retrieved 31 October, 2014, from http://www.agmrc.org/media/cms/04mbp9_F4947FE073FE2.pdf Coriolis. (2014). iFAB 2013 Meat Review. New Zealand. Damirchi, G. V., & Shafai, J. (2011). A guideline to islamic marketing mix. Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business, 3(3), 1339-1347. Day, G. S., & Schoemaker, P. J. (2005). Scanning the periphery. Harvard business review, 83(11), 135.

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Appendix 1 Q1 I consent to my answers being used as part of this study, the contents of which are 100% anonymous? 

Yes



No

If No Is Selected, Then Skip To End of Survey Skip Logic

Q2 I consider myself to be a Muslim? 

Yes



No

If No Is Selected, Then Skip To End of Survey Skip Logic

Q3 Please choose the option, from not at all important to very important, that best represents your response to the following statements. Not at all important

Not really important

How important is it to you that the meat you consume is slaughtered according to Halal requirements? How important is it to you that the Halal meat you buy is identified as Halal certified (e.g. it carries the Halal logo)? How important is it to you that the Halal meat you buy carries a Halal logo AND a Halal endorsement from a Halal certifying body (e.g. The Halal Monitoring Committee)?

33

Don’t Know/Undecided

Somewhat important

Very Important

Q4 Please choose the option, from not at all important to very important, the factors that you consider the most important when purchasing meat. Not all important

Not really important

Don’t Know/Undecided

Somewhat important

Very Important

Convenient location of the store whether it is a supermarket or the local Halal butcher shop Price of the meat Selection of lean and prime cuts The country where the animal and meat originated from (country where the animal was raised, slaughtered and packed) The meat was processed in a premises operating under a food safety risk management programme The animal was slaughtered in a premises audited by an authorised Halal organisation The Halal meat was stored separately from non-Halal meat during production and transport The animal was grass fed only Traceable from farm to fork Antibiotic Free Hormone Free Natural with no additives

Chemical residues free

Q5 On average, how much money does your family spend weekly on halal meat purchases? 

Less than £49



£50 – £99



£100 – £149



£150 – £199



Over £200

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Q6 Please select the option that best describes how many times per week your family consumes the following halal meat group? 0

1-2

3-4

5-6

More then 6

Beef Lamb Chicken

Q7 Do you purchase halal meat/ meat products from a major supermarket (such as TESCO, ASDA, Sainsbury, Morrisons, The Co-operative, Waitrose, Aldi, Lidl and Marks and Spencer)? 

Yes



No

If Yes Is Selected, Then Skip To Are you aware that New Zealand export... Skip Logic

If No Is Selected, Then Skip To Please explain why you do not purchas...

Skip Logic

Q8 Please explain why you do not purchase Halal meat from the Supermarkets? Please choose as many options as apply. 

I am not aware that they sell Halal meat



I am not aware that the stores have the required designated Halal section for Halal meat



I am not confident that the supermarket sell genuine Halal meat



The Halal meat sold in supermarkets do not carry the Halal logo



The Halal meat sold in supermarkets do not carry an endorsement from a Halal certifying body



For other reasons not mentioned here

 If For other reasons not menti... Is Selected, Then Skip To Please explain the reason as to why y... Skip Logic

Q8(b) Please explain the reason as to why you would not purchase Halal meat from the supermarket?

35

Q9 Are you aware that New Zealand exports Halal certified Beef and Lamb to the United Kingdom? 

Yes



No

Q10 Do you currently purchase New Zealand Halal meat? 

Yes



No



I am not sure

Q11 New Zealand has a regulated Halal Assurance Scheme under the jurisdiction of the Ministry for Primary Industries. New Zealand meat carrying the universal Halal logo would have been independently verified by a Halal certifying body under the New Zealand government’s Halal Assurance Scheme. Not at all

Not Really

Don't Know/ Undecided

Maybe

Does this information provide you with confidence that New Zealand red meat is processed in accordance with Halal requirements with a (1) indicating not at all and a (5) yes definitely?

Q12 Do you have any other recommendations that would increase your likelihood to purchase New Zealand Halal meat?

Q13 What is your gender? 

Male



Female

36

Yes Definitely

Q14 How old are you?



Under 26



26 - 35



36 - 45



46- 55



56 - 65



Over 65

Q15 What is your current marital status? 

Single



Married without children



Married with children



Divorced/ Separated



Living with family



Single and living with family



Married and living with family

Q16 What is your total household income? 

Below £20,000



£20,001 - £40,000



£40,001 - £60,000



£60,001 - £80,000



Above £80,000

Q17 Please state your ethnicity

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Q18 What best describes your employment status? 

Employed full time



Employed part time



Currently not employed



Retired



Student



Homemaker



Student working part time

Q19 What best describes your level of education? 

Some high schooling



High school graduate or equivalent



Trade or Vocational degree



Bachelor's degree



Post Graduate or professional degree/ Masters/ PhD

Q20 In your household, are you the person that does the grocery shopping?



Yes



No

38