Four Major Trends in the International Halal Industry 2025: Supply Chain, Ecosystem, Blockchain, and Halal Ports

Four Major Development Trends in the International Halal Industry for 2025

Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the world due to its young demographic structure and relatively high fertility rates. The Pew Research Center predicts Islam will become the world dominant religion around 2075. Consequently, the global Halal industry is a rapidly growing sector covering not only food but also cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and service industries such as hotels, restaurants, cafes, hospitals, logistics, media, travel and tourism. The Halal industry offers an extremely attractive market that no sector can afford to ignore.

The international Halal market is a dynamic field. For enterprises and factories, having products that carry the trusted Halal mark can maximize sales and enhance brand reputation in the Halal market. Enterprises also need to understand future development trends in the Halal industry and proactively meet Halal requirements across different regions to build globally trusted Halal brands. Based on relevant statistical data, the international Halal market development in 2025 will exhibit the following four major trends.

1. The Halal Industry Requires Supply Chains and Increasingly Value Chain Approaches

Halal certification requirements are shifting from products to Halal end-product supply chains and value chains. In terms of Halal supply chains, certification requirements need to extend from product origin all the way to the consumer purchase point, such as retail stores, restaurants, and e-commerce platforms.

Due to different or lacking Halal supply chain practices (such as in sea and air freight), point-to-point Halal supply chains are inherently unstable, and Halal integrity performance is unpredictable. This is a concern not only for consumers but also for brand owners, Halal certification bodies, and governments.

Although many advanced Halal certification standards assume point-to-point Halal assurance, in practice this has been limited to upstream supply of animal-derived ingredients. To address this issue, Indonesia enacted relevant regulations years ago. Under Law No. 33, from October 17, 2024, food products circulating in the Indonesian market must have Halal certification certificates to prove product Halal compliance. Mandatory Halal certification for cosmetics and pharmaceuticals will also take effect from October 17, 2026. Other OIC member countries are expected to adopt similar regulations within the next five years.

This trend requires enterprises and factories to plan ahead: determine whether export target markets belong to the Halal market, fully understand local policies regarding imported product circulation, whether Halal certification certificates are required, and prepare early to ensure smooth product exports.

2. Development of Advanced Halal Ecosystems in Asia and the Middle East

As various Halal market studies indicate, the Halal industry is a multi-trillion-dollar industry with steady annual growth driven by population expansion.

The main issue for the Halal industry is not its market size and growth, but the shortage of raw materials, which has become a serious bottleneck limiting its full potential. For Halal-certified food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals, there are strict requirements on raw materials and packaging used, which must comply with Islamic law. Research shows that systematic raw material shortages exist across all three Halal industry sectors.

This also presents enormous potential market opportunities for domestic upstream raw material suppliers and packaging material producers in the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetics industries. According to SINOQUAL internal data, in recent years enterprises applying for Halal certification have expanded well beyond the single food industry to cover all sectors, with pharmaceutical companies, cosmetics enterprises and their raw material suppliers, and packaging companies showing year-over-year growth.

3. Halal Blockchain Introduced by Certification Bodies

Discussions at Halal conferences over the past two years indicate the growing importance of Halal certification bodies in better protecting certified products and services. Over the past decade, fraud cases in OIC countries have increased, damaging consumer trust in products and services bearing the Halal mark. Halal certification bodies increasingly agree that technology should be applied to better protect the authenticity of the Halal mark for consumers.

QR codes combined with blockchain (or similar technology) are expected to be launched by leading Halal certification bodies from 2025 onward. This will enable better traceability and enforcement of Halal authenticity for certified products and services. QR code technology will also allow brand owners in non-OIC countries to share Halal certification status with consumers without displaying a physical Halal mark on products.

For brand owners, communicating Halal status to consumers via QR codes may be more practical when serving non-majority markets (such as Europe) where Islamophobia is increasing, rather than displaying no Halal information at all on product labels or restaurant outlets.

4. The Rise of Halal-Compliant Ports

According to UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) data, over 80% of food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical ingredients and final products are imported to OIC countries via sea transport.

For OIC countries, the Halal integrity of imports is crucial to ensuring that food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and other consumer goods in their markets meet the requirements of consumers and local customs. Ports and shipping are a clearly missing link in today point-to-point Halal supply chain.

Although one might expect Halal-compliant port initiatives to originate in majority-Muslim countries, it has actually been European ports - Rotterdam (Netherlands), Zeebrugge (Belgium), and Algeciras (Spain) - that have been the birthplace of Halal-compliant port initiatives. In Asia, Malaysia has led the way through Northport, Penang Port, Johor Port Authority, and Kuantan Port.

While there is currently no dedicated Halal-compliant port terminal standard, general Halal standards and Halal supply chain management system standards have been used as frameworks for Halal reference and certification. Currently, OIC/SMIIC is finalizing a port module based on its international Halal Supply Chain Management System Standard OIC/SMIIC 17, expected to launch in 2025.

Following the lead of European ports highlights the importance of Halal compliance in port operations. More Halal-compliant port terminals are expected to be developed across Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Shipping companies will also launch Halal maritime logistics solutions in the coming years, providing door-to-door Halal transport via sea to meet OIC country import requirements.

The major trends shaping the Halal industry in 2025 and beyond are reshaping the Halal business landscape, providing opportunities for enterprises to address industry problems, needs, and emerging requirements. SINOQUAL will continue to cultivate deeply in the international Halal certification field, providing domestic enterprises and factories with the most cutting-edge consultation and professional certification services, helping enterprises sail far in this blue ocean market.