COSMAX Passes Halal Certification, Mining the Tens-of-Billions Halal Market

On 15 March 2016, the factory opened in Jakarta, Indonesia, by the well-known Korean cosmetics OEM company COSMAX officially obtained Halal certification. This means COSMAX will produce cosmetics bearing the 'Halal' certification mark to enter the Muslim cosmetics market, becoming the first Korean cosmetics company to obtain this certification.

The Halal certification of COSMAX's Indonesian factory was authorized by the Indonesian Council of Ulama (Majelis Ulama Indonesia, i.e. M.U.I.), and this Halal certification is recognized by about 40 countries worldwide.

It is reported that Indonesia, as the world's fourth most populous country, has nearly 220 million people, of whom about 87% are Muslim, making it the country with the largest Muslim population in the world. The Indonesian government stipulates that food and cosmetics on the market must be approved by Indonesia's MUI, and food can only be sold after obtaining 'HALAL' certification.

Generally speaking, most ordinary cosmetics on the market use alcohol as the main solvent during production, and some even contain animal products, all of which are prohibited by Islam. Halal-certified cosmetics, on the other hand, are more careful in selecting raw materials and are free of alcohol, animal fats, etc., better conforming to Islamic teachings. Clearly, after obtaining Halal certification, the business scope of COSMAX's Indonesian factory will not be limited to the original Southeast Asian market but will also meet the beauty consumption needs of the Middle East and other Muslim countries.

Shen Yingjie, a relevant person in charge at COSMAX (China) Cosmetics Co., Ltd., told reporters: The HALAL application is indeed quite complex and takes at least 2 months. The certification also follows the product; if the product formula is to be changed, a new application is required.

According to preliminary estimates by Techviano, the global Halal cosmetics market in 2015 was expected to be about US$23.4 billion, equivalent to about RMB 151.8 billion. At the same time, the global Halal cosmetics market's average annual growth rate is expected to exceed 14%, which means that by 2020 the global Halal cosmetics market is expected to exceed US$45 billion, equivalent to about RMB 291.9 billion.