- HALAL MARKET : frozen halal products success in French Halal sector

France : by Hannah Duffy, Paris Office, Bord Bia – Irish Food Board

Halal frozen products category :
pizza halal, ready meals halal
and frozen halal  meat ...

Frozen products are becoming increasingly influential in the growing
Halalconsumer foods market. In 2010, Symphony IRI published
the findingsof its first study on the impact and the development
of Halal productsin French hypermarkets and supermarkets,
which showed an increasein sales of 25% in this sector.

A year later, their latest study shows that although the pace
of development has slowed, the category still has a very
significant growth rate (+10.5%).

Overall, annual turnover for Halal products sold in multiple retail increased
by 9% in 2011 to reach an estimated €157 million while the range
of availableproducts grew by 22%. The 10% growth rate in the overall
Halal marketis clearly driven by the frozen products category.

Savoury products alone total approx. €31 million (up 12%).
Frozen meats are one of the biggest contributors in terms of sales.
However, this is at the expense of volumes in the fresh meat category.

Sales of Halal starters and frozen pizzas grew by 19%, just behind
the ready meals category which increased by 20%.
In terms of distribution channels, Halal products have been more
successful in hypermarkets,where nearly 80% of sales are recorded
(against 62% of consumer foods on average).

Nevertheless, supermarkets have also realised the potential
of this categoryand as a result, significantly expanded their product
range in 2011 bringingthem on a par with the Hard Discount sector.

With an estimated six million Muslim consumers in France,
the increasingsuccess of frozen products in the Halal sector
is an interesting prospectfor Irish exporters, which is advantageous
in terms of distribution,as extended shelf life of frozen products
can offer easier and less expensive logistics.

Source Frozen products success in French Halal sector