BPJPH: Consumer awareness of halal value continues to increase

Jakarta — The head of the Indonesian Halal Product Assurance Agency (BPJPH), Ahmad Haikal Hasan, has stated that consumer awareness of halal product values continues to increase alongside strengthening halal literacy among the public.

Haikal said in a statement in Jakarta on Wednesday that this condition is also creating a natural market mechanism that encourages businesses to ensure their products are halal certified.

“Social law will work. Products without halal certification will ultimately be abandoned by consumers,” he said.

Furthermore, he noted that increasing public awareness of the importance of halal products is a crucial factor driving the wider adoption of halal certification in Indonesia.

According to him, halal certification is no longer viewed solely as a regulatory obligation, but has evolved into an increasingly tangible market necessity.

“Product halal assurance provides consumers with a sense of safety whilst building consumer trust in choosing the products they consume or use,” Haikal said.

The high level of consumer attention towards product halal aspects is also reflected in the results of a Populix survey conducted in March 2023.

The Populix survey, which involved 1,014 Muslim respondents aged 17–55 years in Indonesia, showed that the halal logo is a primary consideration in product purchase decisions.

As many as 83 per cent of respondents stated that the presence of a halal logo is an important factor in selecting a product.

In addition to the halal logo, the survey also revealed other considerations in Muslim consumers’ purchasing decisions, namely clarity of product content information (80 per cent), product suitability to needs (75 per cent), environmentally friendly packaging (52 per cent), and whether the product is domestically produced (25 per cent).

“This finding shows that the halal logo is the most dominant factor in product purchasing decisions, whilst also reflecting the strength of halal awareness among Indonesian consumers,” Haikal said.

Furthermore, he emphasised that strengthening the halal supply chain is not only related to regulatory compliance but also represents an economic development strategy with broad impact.

“A strong halal ecosystem is believed to be able to serve as one of the important drivers of national economic growth,” Haikal said.