Most checklists tell you to “verify their certification”. This one tells you what to verify and where.
Three you can answer yourself right now
- Do they hold the OEM category? Without it they are a brand, not a contract manufacturer.
- How many brands have been certified at their plant? Not how many SKUs — how many separate brand owners have been through the process there. That is accumulated experience.
- When do their product certificates expire? JAKIM's records carry the dates. This is not automatically a red flag — renewal is routine — but it is a fair question.
All three are in our directory. For context, here is the state of the halal cosmetic factory pool as a whole:
| Across all halal cosmetic factories | Figure |
|---|---|
| Factories in the pool | 76 |
| Publish a website | 52 of 76 |
| Have a product certificate expiring within 90 days | 21 |
| Typical number of brands certified | 11 (highest: 75) |
Seven you have to ask
- Who holds the NPRA notification — you or them?
- In whose name is the halal certificate for my product issued?
- Minimum order quantity for a first order, and for repeat orders? The two are usually different.
- Do you have existing formulations I can use, or is everything developed from scratch? This changes the start-up cost completely.
- Who prepares the raw material documentation for the halal application — you or me?
- How long from approved formulation to first delivery?
- What happens to my formulation if we stop working together? That answer belongs in a contract, not a conversation.
The tenth question, and the most useful
“Can I visit?”
Records show what is certified. They do not show the state of the plant, its housekeeping, or whether the person you have been speaking to actually works there. A visit answers all three in one morning.
What this checklist does not cover
Price. We do not collect it, JAKIM does not publish it, and a quotation depends on your formulation, packaging and volume. Compare at least three.
Where these figures come from
Counts on this page are taken from JAKIM's own Halal Directory, captured on 8 August 2026, and regenerate whenever a fresh capture is loaded. Certification status changes; check any specific company against JAKIM's records before relying on it.