This research investigates consumer purchase intention for halal certified products in India and the motives which influence the consumption behavior of these consumers. Globally, marketers and researchers have discovered a consumer segment that is halal market, with a very high potential. The potential of global halal market, excluding Islamic finance, is USD2.3 tn. As this is a largely untapped market, the current research focuses on understanding India’s large Muslim consumers’ segment. The study employs a survey instrument based on the ‘Theory of Planned Behavior’. Apart from the three variables of original model, viz. attitude towards behavior, subjective norm and perceived behavior control, religiosity is also considered in the model to check its impact on purchase intention for halal certified products. Hypotheses are tested using correlation and regression analyses. The study finds that attitude and perceived behavior control are the significant and most important factors influencing the purchase intention for halal certified products. On the other hand, it finds that religiosity and subjective norms are insignificant factors, which is against the common sense belief considering the religious connotation of the products in question.

Globally, marketers and researchers have discovered a consumer segment with a very high potential, that is, the ‘halal’ consumers. There are many halal certification companies worldwide, which test the products offered by the brands for halal standards and certify the compliant brands as halal. Halal is essentially a co-brand and/or certification scheme. The global halal market’s potential, excluding Islamic finance, is USD2.3 tn. It is now up to India, as a country with 15 crore Muslims, to tap the opportunity.

Lately, there has been great effort taken on the part of business organizations and companies to capture the newly discovered market. This market comprises a religious segment, which is growing very fast by virtue of high birth rates and by growing conversion rates (Hanzaee and Ramezani, 2011). This phenomenon is ‘halal marketing’ or in a broader sense ‘Islamic marketing’.

Today halal market is estimated to be around $2.3 tn (excluding Islamic finance and banking), and among this halal food has the largest share of around $634.6 bn (Salehudin, 2010; and Daud et al., 2012).

Consumer Behavior, Factors Influencing Halal Products, Purchase Intention in India, Preliminary Investigation