Sometimes, culinary trends and political ones move together. While a recent falling-out with the French led to the invention of “freedom fries”, Sauerkraut was renamed “liberty cabbage” when the U.S. was at war with Germany.

However sometimes they move in mysterious ways. Muslims haven’t always been made to feel welcome in America in an election season dominated by Donald Trump. And in the meanwhile adventurous millennial foodies in the country are embracing halal food as the sale of food prepared according to Islamic law, are surging and not just among the fast-growing U.S. Muslim population.

Shahed Amanullah, who launched a website to help Americans find halal food says halal is making inroads even among people who are wary of Muslims as he tracks 7,600 places where one can find it in the US while there were only 200 such places in 1998.

“Food is a great medium for cultural sharing,” Amanullah said.

Halal already occupies a small but rapidly expanding niche at t every level of the U.S. food chain. Research firm Nielsen estimates a 15 percent increase from 2012 in sale of such food as it reached $1.9 billion in the 12 months through August and halal food can be found now in grocery and convenience stores and similar outlets.

According to the Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America, which certifies halal food and promotes education on the topic, up by one-third since 2010, halal sales are projected at $20 billion this year from restaurants to supermarkets, overall.

With double-digit sales growth in each of the last five years, Whole Foods Market Inc., which has been among the pioneers, ranks halal among its fastest growing categories. It’s been running Ramadan promotions since 2011.

There’s been some flak, especially in the corners of social media where Islam comes under regular criticism, for early-adopting retailers.

It was criticized for failing to tout other religious holidays when Whole Foods ran its initial Ramadan campaign. The company wasn’t deterred, says Rick Findlay, global grocery coordinator for Whole Foods.

“People look to Whole Foods to be that trend setter. We’re happy to be on that cutting edge and take some risks,” he said.

Halal seem less of a risk when a look at the demographics is taken. According to Pew Research Center, sometime halfway between now and 20250, Muslims will surpass Jews as the largest non-Christian religious group in the U.S. from the present population of 3.3 million in the U.S. last year and projected to grow to 8.1 million by 2050.

And that’s not the whole story.

As many as 80 percent of consumers who buy his Saffron Road brand aren’t trying to follow Islamic law, estimates Adnan Durrani, chief executive officer of American Halal Co. They’re just food-lovers who want better frozen meals, he says. Saffron Road is sold at branches of Kroger Co., Safeway Inc. and Giant Food Stores, among more than 12,000 locations and is a star performer at Whole Foods.

Mondelez International Inc., the global snack giant, only sells a handful of halal products in the U.S. while it is a player in predominantly Muslim countries like Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, where halal is the standard. While in the US, Nestle, the world’s largest food company, mainly sells the food through its healthcare unit, which supplies hospitals, distributes hundreds of certified products across the world from its 151 halal factories – from Malaysia to Pakistan. Hence the market still hasn’t reached enough of a tipping point for some of the big names in packaged food to fully commit.

(Adapted from Bloomberg)

Categories: Economy & Finance