The Level of Consumers’ Awareness and Perceptions in Consumption of Halal Certified Products

Abstract

Based on the fact that, officially, 99 percent of Turkey’s population is Muslim, the purpose of the study was to determine the consumers’ awareness about the concept of halal food and their perceptions regarding halal food certificated products. In this study it was also aimed to determine whether there is a relationship (or difference) between the awareness about halal food certificate and the religious values, and finally to put forth whether the levels of awareness differ according to demographic and socio-economic features. This study was conducted in Kayseri, located in the Middle Anatolian part of Turkey. The data were compiled from the consumers through face-to-face survey method. The sample size was comprised of 430 consumers. The data regarding halal food perceptions of the respondents were tested with factor analysis, MANOVA and t-test method, and then the findings were interpreted.

The fundamental findings of the study are as follows: (i) Most of the consumers (76 percent) stated that they heard about halal food certificate; (ii) there were differences with respect to religious values in awareness about halal food certificate; (iii) finally, demographic and socio-economic factors (education status, occupation, age, gender and marital status) were fairly effective about the consumers’ perception levels regarding halal food products.

Keywords: Islamic marketing, halal food certificate, consumer awareness and perceptions