Abstract
The main purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of socio-cultural variables on consumers’ perception onhalal food products (food prepared according to Islamic dietary laws). We assume that a number of socio-culturalfactors affect consumers’ purchase of food products especially education, religion, occupation and socialstratification. As the Halal principles are taken from the Syariah law (Law of Islam), how do consumers inMasvingo, Zimbabwe view the food products that are prepared under Islamic dietary laws? This study wasrekindled by the contention that Zimbabwe is largely a Christian country and may prefer to be guided byChristian values founded on Biblical laws. We had four hypotheses which were tested using Spearman’s rankcorrelation coefficient. The results revealed that indeed socio-cultural factors have little or no influence on anindividual consumer’s perception on consumption of halal certified food products. However, it was found outthat the Islamic consumers and other religious groups other than protestant, catholic, baptist and apostolic arehighly sensitive to their socio-cultural orientations.
Highlights
The Zimbabwean culture is likened to a bowl of salads as it is adorned by individuals and groups of people with diverse and largely dynamic backgrounds
As the Halal principles are taken from the Syariah law (Law of Islam), how do consumers in Masvingo, Zimbabwe view the food products that are prepared under Islamic dietary laws? This study was rekindled by the contention that Zimbabwe is largely a Christian country and may prefer to be guided by Christian values founded on Biblical laws
The research was based on the analysis of the correlation that exist between the four socio-cultural variables and the individual consumer’s perception and consumption of food products in an urban set up
Summary
The Zimbabwean culture is likened to a bowl of salads as it is adorned by individuals and groups of people with diverse and largely dynamic backgrounds. It is this dynamism in culture that is fast driving and reshaping consumer perceptions on consumption habits. Food preference has since time immemorial been directly influenced by the religious orientation of people and such has been the case with Halal foods. The Moslem culture is part of a large macro-culture that has drastically changed the manner in which food has been considered as permissible or unacceptable for consumption. Especially for convenient food products are fast embracing this emerging cultural force by becoming Halal sensitive. The question which will arise is: Is Zimbabwe, a predominantly Christian nation being dragged into unconditionally accepting and appreciating the Moslem dietary guidelines, considering that the Moslems constitute only 3% of the Zimbabwean population, a very meagre representation compared to a 70% (seventy percent) for Christians and the balance practise traditional African religions (http://churchmousec.wordpress)?
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
