AN ANALYSIS OF HALAL BRAND NAMES IN THE MALAYSIAN FOOD INDUSTRY

It is undeniable that Malaysia is a well-known country and has become a role model for other countries due to its leadership in the halal industry, as mentioned in the Global Islamic Economy Report 2022 by Thomson Reuters. The industry in Malaysia continues to cement its status as a global leader in Halal. Malaysia has established comprehensive halal standards, halal certification, halal parks, halal incentives, and an extensive ecosystem-supported codex. Malaysia offers a complete halal ecosystem that includes production, services, infrastructure, government support, and human capital. Therefore, the industry incorporates brand elements into its products to enhance brand awareness and familiarity, as each element integrates strong values that contribute to brand equity. Brand elements serve as tools for identifying and differentiating products. The company chooses leading brand elements such as brand names, logos, slogans, and packaging to enhance their brand awareness and showcase the advantages and strength of their product. However, the focus of this research is on halal brand names. Many issues arise with halal brand names, as some companies engage in imitation, fraud, and misrepresentation to falsely present their brands as halal without providing any proof or evidence of their halal status. In addition, the current guidelines for halal brands are found to be insufficient and lacking in detail, which emphasises the need to develop a structure that can serve as guidance for the industry. Thus, the objective of this research is to analyse the application of halal brand names in the food industry and to propose a structure for halal brand names. This research employed qualitative methods to conduct in-depth interviews with 14 experts from various fields, including halal agencies, industry, consultants, and academia. The findings revealed five halal principles for the application of halal brand names: (1) The essence of Asl: Permissibility of Things; (2) The prohibition of things due to their impurity and harmfulness; (3) Anything conducive to the Haram is itself Haram; (4) Falsely representing the Haram as Halal is prohibited; and (5) Avoiding doubtful things. The application of halal brand names needs to be in accordance with halal principles to ensure the brand is not misrepresenting, misleading, or causing confusion for the consumer.