Hawzah News Agency-The second Muslim Lifestyle Expo took place in Manchester over the weekend, bringing together a diverse selection of activities and entertainment catering for the diversity that is the British Muslim population.

From luxury car displays to cooking to comedy to a catwalk fashion show, thousands of visitors had a chance to discover over a hundred exhibitors covering everything from traditional items associated with Muslim culture to displays from a local museum showcasing objects of Islamic heritage. And if excessive dining at one of the many food stalls was a problem, even the Muslim Doctors Association had a presence on site offering everything from general advice to basic checks, such as one’s BMI.

More than 100 businesses from 15 countries set up their stalls at Manchester’s Event City on 29 and 30 October.

Among the food stalls was Haloodies, a brand delivering convenient Halal certified meat products both on-line as well as in our leading supermarkets.

“The Muslim Lifestyle Expo in Manchester is an important event in the calendar for brands aimed at millennial Muslims like Haloodies,” the company’s co-founder Managing Director Imran Kausar said.

“There are still very few occasions where brands can engage with consumers, face to face, in order to build rapport and gauge feedback on important sensory perspectives (taste, flavor, etc). Feedback which can’t be reliably given on social media.

“For halal business to thrive the entire consumer ecosystem needs to exist – consumer events are an important part of this. We look forward to returning next year.”

There was also great excitement for the artwork on display.

The draw of the event was such that attendees could meet with and interact with a diverse set of individuals.

“I remember when I went to the first screening of Freesia, the first movie to tackle Islamaphobia, and today, proud to be presented with a DVD copy (by the director, Conor Ibraheim),” Seima Iqbal said.

“The thing that struck me the most was the artwork, simply stunning,” she added.

As the UK’s biggest Muslim lifestyle event, traditional as well as Muslim centric brands are in a stage of learning. The global Muslim consumer market is growing and will continue to do so as education empowers individuals granting them higher disposable incomes.

The days of simply adding a ‘halal’ stamp on a product are also fast disappearing as empowered with better awareness; the Muslim consumer is seeking a better quality of product.