There are more than 4000 religions on the planet. This can only mean one thing – that you cannot write off religion if you want to appeal to people. It stands up there with health and safety standards as far as product labeling and marketing is concerned. This is one of the main reasons why products today feature clear product labels that take care of the religious aspect. While this may sound strange, it is worth noting that there is a whole lot of consumer groups that skip everything else on a product but can never miss on second checking their desired goods to ensure they do not compromise their religious beliefs. The best you can do as a product labeling expert is to ensure you’re always in good books with such groups.
Halal
Islam followers are always particular about what they eat. There are halal goods – goods permitted. Then there are haram goods – goods that are not permitted or forbidden. While haram and halal are universal terms that apply to nearly all aspects of the Muslim faith, this categorization always features on food and beverage products. This can only mean one thing for anyone targeting the Islam demographic. Whatever you sell or intend to sell must be clearly labeled as halal. You may have to design halal labels in both English and Arabic Keep in mind that haram products include porcine and pork products, alcohol and just about any product that contains emulsifiers or enzymes made from animal fat like lard.
Kosher
This applies to Jews. Like Muslims, Jews categorize certain food products as permissible (kosher) and others as prohibited (treif). For instance, food and dairy products should never mix. Food products that are neither dairy nor meat may lose their purity once mixed with utensils, goods or just about anything else that was in one way or the other used to prepare, handle or cook treif products. Likewise, Jews will skip food products that are not marked ‘kosher’.
Jains
They are followers of an ancient Indian religion commonly known as Jainism. They observe stringent diets mainly because of their firm belief that all living organisms should be respected. In simple words, they are strict vegans. They dietary needs exclude seafood, meat and dairy. They also avoid potatoes, onions, garlic and ground nuts as they all grow beneath the ground. Staunch followers of Jainism do not eat before sunrise and after sunset. This is in a bid to ensure that they only eat what is visible to them. Such stringent rules seem to be fading. However, it is important to note that Jains will always be vegans. What you market to them should therefore be clearly labeled as vegan friendly.
Point To Note
There are so many religions are already mentioned. What matters the most is understanding your target market. Research if you have to. Religion, as you will find out is a crucial issue when it comes to consumables. Ignore one religious aspect and just like that, people lose confidence in what you have to offer however neatly packaged. Get your labels right and you can be sure of happy returns.
