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| Source: Aladdin Group. Aladdin himself. |
Aladdinstreet.com.sg,
the world’s first premium-quality products and halal* e-marketplace,
has been formally launched. Serving the B2B and B2C communities, the
portal offers halal-certified products as well as premium-quality
products that do not require halal certification.
Three
months since its July 2016 announcement, Aladdinstreet.com.sg has
shortlisted 200 merchants for its site and finalised agreements with
close to 60 merchants. About half of these offer halal-friendly or
halal-certified products. Owned by Muslims and non-Muslims, the
businesses provide food, beverages, vitamins, cosmetics,
pharmaceuticals, fashion and other products or services.
Co-founder
of the Aladdin Group Dato’** Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Al Masrie does
not see AladdinStreet.com.sg competing against existing
marketplaces, instead creating a completely new marketplace that is a
milestone for trust in halal goods and services. "When I bought things
online I realised I wasn't sure of the quality," he explained. "I
worried if they were (genuine)."
 |
| Source:
Aladdin Group. From left: Dato' Sri Desmond To, Dato' Dr Grace Kong,
Zainul Abidin Rasheed, Dato’ Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Al Masrie, and Dato' Wesley Ong. |
“There has been a growing acceptance of
the health benefits for halal products even in non-Muslim countries,”
says Dr Al Masrie. “But manufacturers and producers of the halal
industry can only meet 20% of this demand because there is a lack of
reliable marketing platforms. In fact one of the biggest importers of
halal products is actually Singapore, and given the country’s good track
record in governance and high standards of halal compliance,
Aladdinstreet.com.sg will help these SMEs access this market to its
fullest potential.”
On the future of Aladdinstreet.com.sg, former senior Minister of
State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore, Zainul Abidin Rasheed, is optimistic
that the e-commerce site will create new brand purpose, values and new
avenues for growth, especially now that Singapore is experiencing an
economic slowdown.
"Singapore is well-known for its branding as
a business and financial centre, both in terms of its integrity and
quality standards, and this applies to its halal standards too," says
Zainul, who is currently the non-resident Ambassador to Kuwait and the Foreign Minister's Special Envoy to the Middle East.
Imran Musa, Advisor,
Aladdin Group and CEO of ARK, a halal competency developer specialist, noted that the halal opportunity is worth an estimated
US$3 trillion by 2019. "Halal is not just religious per se, (it is about) how you process
the food, the cosmetics, what kind of allergens are in there, these
are things that need to be properly examined. It is a guarantee of a
good product," he said. "There are 1.8 billion consumers. More than 600
million of them are IT savvy, they shop online, they do a lot of things
online. For Hari Raya, more than 50% of consumers shopped online;
that is something that is the way forward for all of us. Singapore is an
e-commerce and finance hub. That is why we started with (Singapore)."
Singapore Co-founder & President, Dato’ Dr Grace Kong added that
Aladdinstreet.com.sg is not just for Muslims because halal is about
making healthier choices for everyone including non-Muslims, and
everyone has become more socially conscious of their consumption
patterns. Dato’ Kong explains, “They want to know what they eat, wear,
what they apply on their face, where it comes from and how the animals
were treated. It’s about cruelty free, ethical and sustainable
consumption too.”
AladdinStreet
Singapore is also focused on educating the public that halal does not
only refer to food. Halal cosmetics, health and pharmaceuticals are
growing markets, and cosmetic giants from Europe and Korea are already
manufacturing halal cosmetics for Muslim markets, the Aladdin Group
notes.
"Singapore
is one amongst 15 countries which have a Muslim population with the
highest purchasing power, as revealed by the Economist Intelligence
Unit. The nation has been named the friendliest non-Islamic destination
for Muslim travellers for 2012-2014, according to the
Global Muslim Travel Index.
Countries like China and Japan look to Singapore as a benchmark for a
successful halal industry without disrupting social and economic
culture. So, Singapore is indeed fortunate to have such capabilities and
favourable factors. But doing business in Singapore has never been
about simply its local market. Plugging into Singapore's business
network and infrastructure typically serves as a powerful launch-pad and
gateway to the regional and global market," added Ambassador Zainul.
Various
companies have partnered with AladdinStreet Singapore to extend
their reach beyond Singapore and hope to increase sales by 40% in the
next 12 months. One of AladdinStreet Singapore’s merchants is
Singapore-listed Food Empire, a company since 2000, which has been
manufacturing halal-certified instant beverages, frozen food and snacks
to Muslim majority markets such as Malaysia, Central Asia and the Middle
East. All four of its factories in Malaysia are halal certified. Its
partnership with AladdinStreet Singapore aims to further expand its
halal business into Southeast Asia.
Artistic-Arrivo
offers the Atelo Collagen Jelly Mask on AladdinStreet. The
halal-certified product has ingredients that penetrate cells to
encourage collagen generation, smooth skin and reduce acne, the company
said.
Ice's Secret's
Pure Radiance Mask has skin brightening properties. It can be used for
the eyes and anywhere the skin is duller, and is suitable as foundation.
Apply overnight and wash off in the morning. 100% herbal.
ZAC Meat
has been supplying halal meats to restaurants and hotels from day one,
and recently expanded to supermarket shelves - and AladdinStreet, says
ZAC Business Development Manager Selvam S. ZAC's portfolio includes
sausages, cold cuts, ready-to-eat products as well as cheeses, dips, and
spices.
 |
| Two
Grayns rice cookers on display. To the bottom left is the strainer
which lets sugar-laden water flow through into the container in the
foreground, where it can be used for other purposes like watering
plants. |
Alcurea
is distributing the Grayns rice cooker, which strains out the sugar
content of rice, reducing its glycaemic load, as part of the cooking
process. Zahid Masauood, MD, Alcurea, said that the distributor had been
invited to join AladdinStreet as Dr Al Masrie had started off using
Grayns and liked it.
Note Cosmetics was established in
2015 after they noticed a lack of halal cosmetics retailers in the
market. The company has since seen an increase in sales from non-Muslim
customers, who have grown to appreciate their products because they do
not contain ingredients derived from animals.
 |
| Nadia
Nadzirah of Budinadia poses with her creations. She is modelling one of
her limited edition shawls, which has a subtle Western-style print. |
Budinadia
marries modern and vintage fashion to create limited edition clothing.
Founder and MD Nadia Nadzirah has abayas, jubahs with kain songket
embellishments, as well as shawls which make use of high quality fabric
with Western-style prints. Her collection also includes kurta-style tops
for men. Asked why she chose to go with Aladdinstreet Nadia said being
part of a community of merchants gives her opportunities to learn that
would not have been possible going it alone. (Hashtag:
#budinadiaofficial)
Tudung Ku Collection was set up in
2012 to address the modern Muslim woman who want easy-to-wear scarves
but with a touch of luxury. It has seen a 20% increase in sales over the
last four years.
 |
| Tea Ideas is a Singapore-based company offering tea wands as a new way to enjoy tea. |
 |
| Goshen Art Gallery will have art on sale at AladdinStreet.com.sg. Pictured is Wu Xueli's Rhapsody of Colours.
|
 |
| Dream
Sparkle offers green cleaning services using steam cleaning, which
deep-cleans and sanitises surfaces at homes and offices. Stains can be
removed easily from carpets, as the company showed in a demonstration.
The water used
is drink-quality, the company said. |
 |
| Sports hijabs from Juz Demure. |
Juz Demure is selling dri-fit sports hijab after the
company saw more Muslim women wanting to pursue an active lifestyle
without compromising on modesty. The hijab is designed to fit snugly and
securely even with a wide range of movement, and under conditions such
as under a motorcycle helmet.
The Camellia dri fit
hijab, at an introductory price of S$38, also has reflective lines and a
logo at the back for safety during night runs. The company has seen an
increase in sales of 20% since it started operations in 2015.
“Finally, a trusted and a convenient one-stop e-commerce site for halal
and quality products for me and my family, “ says Singapore football
legend Fandi Ahmad. Fandi will be launching his biography on the site in
the future.
In terms of its pricing strategy,
Aladdinstreet.com.sg does not plan to indulge in discounts and flash
sales often seen with e-commerce sites because its priority is quality
and integrity, values driven by its business integrity checks and
stringent halal compliance requirements. It is also rolling out a halal
educational programme for merchants to help them better understand the
halal compliance requirements.
Aladdin expects to be a
top 10 e-marketplace globally, hosting over 100,000 merchants and more
than 3 million unique products in three years. "Our vision is to become
No. 1 in halal e-commerce. The market is huge. We are focusing on
quality control, what is premium. We are hoping that in a short time we
will be as big as Alibaba," said Dr Al Masrie.
"The key
difference that sets Aladdinstreet.com.sg apart from other e-commerce
platforms is that our merchants and customers will enjoy support and
assistance from Aladdinstreet’s network offices located in 30 countries
in phase one and another 20 more in phase two - covering a combined
total population of approximately 5 billion consumers," said Dato'
Kong.
AladdinStreet Singapore is one of 29 countries
that the Group has since entered into joint ventures, including India,
Indonesia, Europe, the
Middle East, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Iran and the US. The next
announcement to come will be on AladdinStreet China, the Aladdin Group
executives said. Today, there are more than 20 million Muslims in China
where the domestic demand for halal by non-Muslims is also increasing
given the recent food scares there.
The
Aladdin Group is also on the verge of confirming an exclusive and
first-ever brand partnership with one of the world's biggest football
clubs, which will give consumers and merchants access to 650 million
fans in over 200 territories, allow for faster access into China and
helping to meet AladdinStreet Singapore’s target of S$50 million in
sales within the first year of its launch.
Dato' Sri Desmond To, Co-Founder and President, Aladdin Group,
disclosed that the company is also negotiating its own Islamic payment
gateways in various countries. The gateways will work like AliPay. In
Malaysia, the group is working with Maybank, while in Singapore the
partnering bank is UOB.
Interested?
Merchant
participation in Aladdinstreet is by invitation only. Listings on
Aladdinstreet undergo mandatory halal integrity audits by an in-house
team of halal experts before they can be included in the e-marketplace.
Read the
Suroor Asia blog post about
Cosmax, the Korean cosmetics company with Indonesian halal certification
Read the
Suroor Asia blog post about the
halal discussion at the Global Islamic Economy Summit
*In
Singapore, agricultural and biochemical products, food and beverage
(F&B), pharmaceutical and cosmetics products may be halal-certified.
Products in other categories are not covered by the certification
process by the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis), Aladdin
executives said. Different halal certification bodies around the world
have different rules on what may be certified and what criteria
constitute halal.
**The
Dato' Sri honorific in Malaysia is conferred on top performers to a
state by the ruler of that state. The title of Dato' is the next level
of honorifics conferred on people who have contributed significantly to a
state by the ruler of the state. Daro' titles may also be inherited in
selected noble families. See this article by Expatgo for more details.
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