A large audience can look impressive on a report, but attention is not the same as trust. For many brands, the person who knows the local food scene, the neighbourhood running club, the parent group, or the regional music community can carry more weight than a celebrity with millions of followers.

A striking number tells the story: in Nourish Food Marketing’s 2022 Halal Shopper Study, 72% of surveyed Halal shoppers said they shop online, compared with 53% of the general population. That gap matters because it shows a shopper group that is not just buying differently, but often using online channels to solve real, everyday needs.

Canada’s Muslim population reached 1.78 million in 2021, according to Statistics Canada’s Census of Population. Ontario accounted for nearly 943,000 of them, making it the country’s largest provincial Muslim community by a wide margin.

Halal used to be treated as a food label for meat, snacks, and packaged goods. That view is now too narrow. Many shoppers who care about halal also look at what goes into their lipstick, body wash, vitamins, travel plans, and everyday household items.