Market Trends: Kosher- and Halal-Certified Foods in the US - an in-depth analysis of the US kosher and halal markets, emphasizing the opportunity to capture the mainstream market.

This report explores the many similarities between Halal food and Kosher food.

Both sets of dietary laws come from ancient scriptures.

Both emphasize respect for the animal in ritual slaughter.

Human hair, animal feathers and otherwise unacceptable ingredients are prohibited, and US government agencies also concur with this.

Food production standards are even stricter than those required by the US government. The two also have significant differences.

Jews make up a very small proportion of the US population, less than 2%, and are on a declining trend both in the US and worldwide.

In the US, a considerable portion of kosher food consumers are not Jewish. They buy kosher food because it is safer, healthier and better.

Muslims make up less than 1% of the US population. On the other hand, one in every five people worldwide is a Muslim believer.

'Halal' applies to all aspects of Muslim life, from banking on a large scale to toothpaste on a small scale.

Most Americans do not yet have a clear concept of halal and the attributes of halal food.

Market trends: In the US, Packaged Facts believes that mainstream kosher-certified products have reached a certain limit, and that many consumers go directly to the kosher counter to shop. As for halal, few Americans understand or have even heard of it. To grow this part of the market, enterprises need to let consumers understand the advantages of these products and third-party certification. The following points are very promising:

Most consumers are concerned about food safety and are skeptical of food labels.

Those who do not eat gluten or are vegetarians.

Asian Americans, who, compared with most Americans, rarely eat dairy products or drink alcohol.

The kosher food market has many facets and no fixed parameters, so it is difficult to compile accurate sales data. Packaged Facts uses innovative methods to uncover the complexity of this market. By integrating government departments, syndicated research, and information resources from industry executives and consumers, Packaged Facts is able to provide sales data for different branches of the kosher food market.

It is worth mentioning that Packaged Facts calculated kosher food sales as growing from US$150 billion in 2003 to US$200 billion in 2008, with the market's compound annual growth rate being twice that of the entire food industry. This is attributed to the increase in kosher-certified foods and in consumers who go directly to the kosher counter. Packaged Facts did not see traditional or 'ethnic' kosher food contributing greatly to the market.

Packaged Facts expects the kosher food market to reach US$260 billion in sales.

Because halal-certified food is a relatively new market phenomenon, and Muslims make up only a very small portion of the US population. Many countries with large Muslim populations have also only just begun to monitor the market and quantify sales data, so exact figures do not exist. Packaged Facts examined all the data and, treating Muslims as both followers of the faith and American consumers, painted a portrait of the American Muslim.

Currently, no other market research report provides extensive, comprehensive data analysis of these two major consumer groups, nor unique insights into their similarities and differences. Packaged Facts analyzed, for halal and kosher food manufacturers, the opportunities to capture the US mainstream market and several promising markets, such as Asian Americans, ethical consumers and 'foodies.'