Halal Food + Middle Eastern Flavors

What is halal food? It’s food that’s permitted under Islamic Law (as opposed to haram food, which is forbidden). Islamic law designates certain guidelines for how, when and what types of animals are slaughtered for food.

Traveling Tastes

As we’ve noted in previous trend reports, Millennials like to travel. They experience Middle Eastern flavors while traveling and want to bring those experiences back with them. (Google Trends)

No Press is Bad Press

Growing in search volume steadily for the last three years, interest in halal food first saw an uptick in interest when McDonald’s faced a lawsuit for allegedly serving food falsely labeled as halal in 2013. The lawsuit only impacted two McDonald’s locations, but press coverage was nationwide.  (USA Today)

Growing Demand

By 2016, halal food was a $20 billion industry in the U.S. seeing 33% growth from 2010. Instead, many attribute this growth to an increasing Muslim population in the U.S. Whole Foods has even said it’s one of their faster-growing sectors. (Business Insider)

Try It For Yourself

Saffron Road Foods offers frozen meals and snacks that are halal-friendly and boast Middle Eastern flavors. We also recommend Curry N Kebob and Ali Baba Grill in Boulder.

What This Means For Brands

Continue to test new flavors. Look to incorporate flavors from around the world in both your content and product development.