The effect of a Halal label and label size on purchasing intent for non-Muslim consumers

This study examined whether the purchasing intent of non-Muslim consumers in Taiwan was negatively affected by Halal labeling on meat products. Specifically, does a Halal label or the size of the Halal label have an impact on purchasing intention? A multinomial logit model with a random utility theory was utilized to determine the probability of purchasing Halal labeled meat products in Taiwanese traditional markets. The survey was distributed via Survey Monkey and 907 responses were collected. Results showed that a vast majority of non-Muslim Taiwanese consumers would still buy (33%) or try to buy (55%) Halal labeled meat products. Further, larger sized Halal labels did not keep non-Muslim consumers from purchasing the meat products. Rather, consumers showed higher purchasing intent with a larger Halal label, as long as the butchers adopted cold storage techniques to help keep the meat fresh. Therefore, governments, companies, and traditional market butchers should be less concerned about adopting Halal labels in traditional markets. The results of this study supports prior studies and confirms that non-Muslim consumers in Taiwan do not appear to be negatively influenced by a Halal label, regardless of the label size.