The market for Islam-compliant products is getting more and more important due to the high
impact of religious obligation on Muslim consumer behaviour. According to studies the market
for Muslim-compliant brands has increased dramatically with a global worth of $1.5 trillion a
year. However the market for Islam-compliant brands seems to be underdeveloped in Europe when
compared to the rest of the world. Surprisingly little research is conducted in this highly
attractive segment although Islam is assumed to be the fastest growing religion with a total
of 1.6 billion followers. Furthermore especially young Muslim consumers constantly demand
brands which enable an Islamic lifestyle. When creating brands the concept of brand identity
is highly important as it provides brand uniqueness and the main idea of what a brand stands
for. Furthermore this concept is a fundament for making target-group-specific decisions in
brand management. The central question within this study concerns the fact that within the
global environment Muslims especially in non-Muslim countries do not know whether a brand is
compliant with Islamic standards and can thus be consumed. This study contributes to close the
gap in this segment by identifying several brand identity factors which can help to create an
Islam-compliant brand identity. A model is created which helps to manage brand identity in
order to attract Muslim consumers. Furthermore it allows balancing each brand identity
according to the needs of a target group and consequently enables Muslim consumers to
identify a brand as Islam-compliant.
