What Hinders Non-Halal Certified Restaurants’ Adoption of Halal Certification? A Qualitative Study

Despite the halal certification is becoming important for many restaurants in Malaysia, the adoption of this halal certification is not mandatory. Some non-halal certified restaurants displayed ‘pork-free’ signage to attract more customers and gain more sales. Hence, this study is conducted to explore the perception of restaurant operators on halal certification adoption, explore factors that involved in adopting halal certification and explore restaurant operators’ perception towards the usage of ‘pork-free’ signage. This study employs qualitative research approach by using face-to-face interview. The data was gathered through semi-structured interview and a total of 12 restaurant operators from restaurants without halal certification but serving pork free food were interviewed. The interview data was analyzed manually by transcribing word by word. Findings revealed that majority of the informants perceived that halal certification is important. Six of informants did not apply for halal certification due to the presence of non-halal ingredients, certification application procedure and consumer-employee interaction. In addition, majority of the informants perceived that ‘pork-free’ signage had a poor effect on attracting Muslim customers due to customer faith and choice.