Randall Frost on "Muslim" Brands

Rafi-uddin Shikoh is the founder of Dinar Standard, a business-strategy publication that has ranked the top 100 brands in 57 predominantly Islamic countries in terms of revenue and growth. He draws a distinction between brands that emanate from countries with large Muslim populations and those that specifically address the needs of practicing Muslims.Regarding the first category, "there's nothing religious or theological about most of these brands," he says. "They serve any of the regular consumer needs with regular products or services. They're just brands that are recognized domestically that may be sold by domestic or international companies…and have nothing to do with religious affiliation. "But then there's this other aspect...a smaller segment," he continues. "Just as you have various ethnic products and services that target specific ethnicities or affinities, there's a basket of products and services that cater to the Muslim's unique needs." Shikoh has trademarked the term Muslim Lifestyle Market to describe these lifestyle products and services. "The categories include food, clothing, travel service—even resorts, media, and publications. Islamic finance is a huge one," he explains. He estimates the worldwide customer base for Muslim Lifestyle Market brands at approximately 500 million. Dinar Standard's website lists Amana Mutual Funds as one example of a Muslim Lifestyle Market brand. The funds are administered by Saturna Capital of Bellingham, Washington. "The majority of people who come to us are interested in whether we are Sharia [i.e., Islamic law] compliant or not; do we abide by the Islamic laws that govern their life?" says Monem Salam, Saturna's director of investing. Customers often ask whether investments are made in Islam-forbidden industries like alcohol, pornography, gambling, or banking insurance.While most decisions to sign up for Saturna's services are faith-based, the nature of the company's offerings also requires that the prospective client be thoughtful about the transaction. The challenge for a financial institution like Saturna is to earn the consumer's faith and trust, especially in situations where investment risk is high. To do this, a Sharia-compliant firm like Saturna may send a sales team into the Muslim community to conduct seminars at community centers and mosques, and to attempt to build word-of mouth brand recognition. (Sharia-complaint financial service companies may retain an advisory board of Islamic scholars to reassure prospective clients that placing their faith in the institution is justified.) Shikoh does not see much potential for any Muslim Lifestyle Market brands to go global. "The sole purpose [of these brands] is to serve a specific niche market," he says. "They will always be niche players by definition. Their market is not universal." Still, with more than a billion Muslims worldwide, the notion of a global Muslim lifestyle brand is not easily written off. But then not everyone agrees that Muslims need a global brand. Anjul Sharma, director of the UK-based market research firm Synovate, says, "I would question the desire to create a global Muslim brand—on two levels. [First,] would we be having this conversation about a global Christian brand? One could argue that there are a lot of global Christian brands except they are not perceived to be [Christian, per se]. Also, given the complexity of these cultures, whether it's ever going to be possible [to create a truly Muslim global brand]." Sharma may have a point. But her first objection is rendered moot if one accepts Shikoh's characterization of Muslim brand types. On the other hand, her second point addresses a cogent issue: the diversity of the Muslim population worldwide. There is wide variation in the extent to which Western values have been adopted, the language spoken, and the level of education attained in Muslim communities around the world. Trying to target the various communities in the Islamic world—which vary by country and local religious practices—with a single brand message would definitely pose major challenges.