Halal.co.uk is the brainchild of a small group of businessmen based in Peterborough. It has been in development for a whole year and officially opened its doors to welcome in clientele for the new year.

The online marketplace platform is tailored towards marketing Islamic products and services to a business desired consumer.

Aaron Henderson, one of the co-owners, explained the need for such a platform in the modern age.

“A problem my business partner Imran Mubarak and I noticed was that halal or Islamic products, such as modest clothing, halal food and Islamic businesses in general, were very hard to find if you didn’t have previous knowledge of where to go.

“This fragmentation produces an obstacle, as there is a lack of accessibility for not only Muslims, but non-Muslims who would like to purchase from Islamic stores to help support local businesses.

"We found that this limits businesses in terms of their overall reach and reduces accessibility to unique services and products. The solution Halal.co.uk provides is a compilation of trusted products harmonised within one marketplace”.

The importance of being accessible online is a necessity in today’s day and age, as reports show that online shopping made up 30% of all retail sales in 2021.

“Collectively, we utilised our design and marketing knowledge to build a simple-to-use and accessible marketplace platform.”

Along with Aaron and Imran, the team also includes talented lead coder Kate Athanasouli who possesses in excess of 4 degrees from various universities.

“The hiring of Kate was very fortuitous for us, as she is a very intelligent coder with broad design skills who will work with businesses personally to help develop their brands and shopfronts on the Halal website.”

Kate explains: “Most local businesses use website templates to reach an online audience. These templates are very basic and often have bad user interfaces, consequently resulting in the brand looking less than professional.

“By working with our businesses personally, and developing their shopfront, we not only provide them with a personalised page that’s easier to use, but we also give them the additional bonus of being supported by our URL."

Sumaya Chaudhary, the team’s Social Media manager, explains: “Along with our amazing team, our unique selling point is the URL of Halal.co.uk."

She explains: “When consumers type in the word Halal, which is synonymous with Islamic vocabulary, our website will be one of the top hits on search engines, providing local businesses with much-needed online exposure through our website.”

The team also emphasised the need to work with and support local businesses within the city.

"We have been fortunate enough to have had support from our local councillor Shazia Bashir and Conservative MP Paul Bristow. Although our dreams are large, we want to start by working with local Islamic businesses within Peterborough to showcase their products and to help our community, since we are all Peterborough based.” explained project manager, Suhaylah Mubarak.

“We provide a 'London' design and marketing service at Peterborough prices, making something that would have otherwise been inaccessible to smaller businesses available for them to use and grow.”

Businesses can sign up to the multi-platform site free of charge, with no monthly subscription or registration fees.

To keep up to date with the latest developments, follow Halal.co.uk on Instagram by clicking here or visiting their website to register at Halal.co.uk.