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Driving Malaysia’s global Halal leadership through holistic initiatives spanning education, industry development and supply chain excellence
With a decades-long commitment to Halal, Nestlé Malaysia continues to play an active role in Malaysia's Halal landscape. Today, alongside the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM), this commitment was showcased through the SYNERGY (Strengthening Your Network and Ecosystem for Resilient Growth) Halal Nestlé Malaysia dengan Kerjasama JAKIM initiative. Anchored on the theme 'Memacu Halal, Memperkasa Komuniti', the event demonstrated how stakeholder partnerships can help to foster an inclusive, sustainable, and future-ready Halal industry, strengthening the nation’s position as a global Halal leader.
Building on a shared commitment to Halal excellence, the programme highlighted JAKIM’s recognition of Nestlé Malaysia’s end-to-end Halal ecosystem. From its early involvement in pioneering Halal practices in the 1970s, Nestlé Malaysia has consistently contributed to shaping industry standards. Today, this Halal commitment extends far beyond its own operations, spanning education, community engagement, industry development, and supply chain capability-building. Furthermore, as the Global Centre of Halal Excellence for the Nestlé Group, Nestlé Malaysia plays an important role with practices and capabilities developed locally being shared across the Group’s global network, helping to build trust and stability in Halal standards worldwide.
Juan Aranols, Chief Executive Officer of Nestlé Malaysia, said, “Malaysia has built a global reputation for Halal excellence, and Nestlé Malaysia is honoured to support this journey. Our commitment is a trusted responsibility we uphold every day across our operations and value chain, from our Halal-certified manufacturing facilities to the communities we serve. With JAKIM and like-minded stakeholders, we have cultivated a holistic Halal ecosystem that empowers youth, supports entrepreneurs and strengthens the local supply chain. We will continue to work closely together to scale up our efforts and drive the growth of Malaysia’s Halal industry.”
Ustaz Muhyidin bin Aziz @ Saari, Director of Halal Management Division, JAKIM, added, “The development of a strong and credible Halal ecosystem requires consistent collaboration between regulators, industry players and the wider community. As a recognised point of reference for Halal standards by many countries, JAKIM places strong emphasis on upholding rigorous and trusted standards at every level. Initiatives such as those demonstrated by Nestlé Malaysia reflect how industry can contribute meaningfully towards strengthening Halal standards and building capabilities. This complements national efforts and multiplies positive impact, supporting Malaysia’s position as a leading global Halal hub.”
Over the years, Nestlé Malaysia has implemented a wide range of initiatives to cultivate Halal awareness and capability. At the grassroots level, Halal@School with Institute Fatwa and Halal, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) has reached more than 6,000 students across Peninsular Malaysia to date, including a state-level programme in Melaka and a Mega Halal@School edition, introducing foundational Halal knowledge and values to young Malaysians. Complementing this is Halal@STEM, launched in 2025 in collaboration with the Halal Products Research Institute, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). The initiative has engaged over 300 secondary school students from Melaka and Terengganu, sparking interest in science and technology through a Halal-driven lens. The inaugural HalalSTEM Expo, organised with International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) Kuantan, drew participation from 500 students across Pahang.
For aspiring entrepreneurs, the Nestlé Youngpreneurs Programme has equipped 200 students from UPM and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia with practical business insights and Halal best practices. Meanwhile, the SME Mentoring Programme, established in 2010 in collaboration with Halal Development Corporation (HDC) and SME Corp, has supported more than 1,200 Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in their Halal certification journey. Extending these efforts, Nestlé Malaysia recently introduced the first Halal certification mentoring initiative for third-party logistics providers together with JAKIM, engaging 50 participants from 27 logistics companies to strengthen Halal compliance in the supply chain.
Alongside community outreach and industry engagement, Nestlé Malaysia has worked to expand public understanding of Halal through a podcast collaboration with Institut Kefahaman Islam Malaysia (IKIM). To date, the series has reached over 120,000 listeners on digital platforms and nearly 600,000 radio listeners nationwide.
Collectively, these initiatives showcase Nestlé Malaysia as a company that has internalised Halal not only as a regulatory requirement, but as a core value permeating throughout the organisation. Looking ahead, Nestlé Malaysia will continue to build on its strong foundation by expanding its existing initiatives to further deepen its impact. This includes ongoing efforts to nurture future Halal talent, enhance industry capabilities and support the broader Halal value chain through collaborative and scalable programmes.
Nestlé Malaysia remains committed to advancing Halal standards and fostering greater collaboration across the industry, contributing to Malaysia's continued leadership in the global Halal economy.
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About Nestlé Malaysia: Nourishing Malaysians for Over a Century
Since 1912, Nestlé has been dedicated to nourishing Malaysians and building their trust through our high-quality brands and products. We contribute to food security as well as to the health and well-being of the Rakyat through our trusted brands and a long-term commitment to Malaysia in the form of investments, employment, and various initiatives that uplift local communities. Today, we operate six factories, employing over 5,000 Malaysians, and we are the Halal Centre of Excellence for Nestlé globally. We are committed to providing halal, nutritious, and high-quality products with sustainability at the heart of our business practices - Made in Malaysia, by Malaysians, for all Malaysians.
As the world's largest food and beverage manufacturer, with our headquarters based in Switzerland, Nestlé operates in over 180 countries. With a workforce of over 270,000 dedicated employees, we are driven by our purpose to unlock the power of food, enhancing the quality of life for everyone, both today and for future generations. Our commitment to nutrition, health, and wellness guides our performance, ensuring we deliver on our promise of GOOD FOOD, GOOD LIFE.
To discover more about our century-long journey of nourishing Malaysians, please visit our website at https://www.Nestlé.com.my/ask-Nestlé/we-are-Nestlé.
For more information, please contact:
Shaheen Zaffar
Nestlé Malaysia
Tel: (+603) 7965 6456
Mobile: +6012-235 6865
E-mail: [email protected]
Nik Wardah or Yasmin Kadir
Commas PR acorn communications
Tel: (+603) 7958 8348
Mobile: +6011-377-3620 (Wardah) or +6017-237 9048 (Yasmin)
E-mail: [email protected]
