Religious affiliation, halal labeling and food purchase intention: evidence from a desecularizing society

Purpose This study aims to investigate how Halal labeling shapes purchase intention for Halal-labeled frozen foods in North Macedonia, a religiously heterogeneous and desecularizing emerging market. This study examines whether the influence of Halal labels operates similarly for Muslim and non-Muslim consumers and whether trust cues linked to country of origin (COO) and Halal brand trust (HBT) strengthen or weaken this relationship. Design/methodology/approach Data was collected from retail shoppers in North Macedonia (February–June 2024) using a structured survey. The research model was tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling in SmartPLS 4 with bootstrapping (5,000 subsamples). Multigroup analysis compared Muslims and non-Muslims, and moderation analysis assessed the contingent roles of COO and HBT. Findings Halal label benefits positively predict purchase intention. COO and HBT also have significant positive effects on purchase intention, with HBT emerging as the strongest direct predictor. COO strengthens the effect of Halal labeling on purchase intention, while HBT weakens it, indicating a substitution mechanism in which trusted brands reduce reliance on labeling cues. Multigroup analysis shows that the effect of COO on purchase intention is stronger among Muslim consumers, whereas the effect of HBT is stronger among non-Muslims; the direct effect of Halal labeling does not significantly differ between groups. Research limitations/implications The findings of this study extend research on Halal consumption by showing that Halal labels operate simultaneously as religious legitimacy markers and secular quality signals in desecularizing, multi-faith contexts. They also clarify when labels matter most: origin credibility amplifies label effects, whereas strong brand trust reduces incremental dependence on labels. Originality/value This study advances Halal marketing and consumer behavior research by integrating Halal label benefits, COO and HBT in a unified model and testing cross-religious differences in a desecularizing Balkan setting, using frozen foods as a high-risk supply-chain category.