The Halal Cosmetics Industry: A Comparison between Qatar and Malaysia

The global halal industry is exponentially booming. One slice of this industry is halal cosmetics, which includes beauty products such as creams, make-up and nail-varnish, estimated to be currently worth approximately USD 26 billion. Malaysia has always played a key role in the sector, and Qatar, due to the decline in oil and gas consumption worldwide, is diversifying its economy, with a keen eye on this up and coming industry. This study compares young Malay and Qatari women in their current perceptions and usage of halal cosmetics through 21 semi-structured interviews and recent reports from the World Bank and OECD surveys. The key finding of this thesis is that for both the Malay and Qataris the awareness and understanding of halal cosmetics does not necessarily lead to their consistent purchase for different reasons. The Malays, relative to the Qataris, have a better understanding of halal cosmetics, due to the widespread and clearly visible labelling and promotion in the beauty advertisements, yet other factors, such as personal recommendations, play a far more significant role in their decisions. For the Qataris, they have a limited understanding of halal, viewing it mainly in terms of permissible ingredients without including wider ethical considerations or other issues. Since the country’s laws only import products with halal ingredients, they assume that all available cosmetics are halal, in their restricted understanding, and therefore do not feel the need to specifically seek out halal products.