Consumer giants court Muslims with halal face creams, shampoos

Jakarta

SOME of the world's biggest consumer groups are making halal face creams and shampoos for Indonesia ahead of a new labelling law, part of a broader push to cater to growing Muslim populations as sales in many Western markets slow.

Unilever, Beiersdorf and L'Oreal are among the multinationals converting their supply chains for the world's biggest Muslim-majority nation.

The law, the first of its kind, requires food to be labelled halal or not in 2017, followed by toiletries in 2018 and medicines in 2019.

The companies said that demand for beauty products that are halal, or target-specific issues such as veiled hair, will grow as…