Malaysia  Online food and grocery delivery platform foodpanda has launched ‘bekal by foodpanda’ in Malaysia, with which users can now avail of halal food item deliveries. The newly launched delivery fleet is the first and only brand globally within the Delivery Hero group to be certified halal by the Department of Islamic Development (Jakim).

bekal by foodpanda ensures that from the moment an order is placed with a halal-certified merchant on foodpanda to the minute the order is delivered to a customer’s doorstep, the product’s halal integrity and purity will be safeguarded in every step of the delivery process. 

To ensure that the last-mile delivery stage of the online food delivery process is halal-compliant, bekal by foodpanda has also built a dedicated fleet of delivery partners who have been equipped with halal-compliant delivery bags and provided with specialised training on halal awareness and sertu (ritual cleansing).

Meanwhile, foodpanda likewise shared that non-halal-certified merchants can also look forward to plans by bekal by foodpanda to provide halal training and coaching certification in support of the Malaysian government’s priorities in growing the ecosystem of halal vendors.

“We’re seeing an increasing demand amongst customers for an end-to-end halal-certified delivery service, especially in Muslim majority countries. Today, I’m very proud that we have launched a fully halal-certified food delivery fleet – the first in the Delivery Hero group,” said bekal by foodpanda Chief Executive Officer Sayantan Das.

Das further added that bekal’s Muslim customers be assured that their dedicated delivery partners are well-equipped to deliver halal-certified food in a safe and secure manner, without putting the food at risk of cross-contamination with non-halal products.

“With the halal certification, we are proud to be able to contribute further to the halal economy in Malaysia directly. It is estimated that the halal food sector in Malaysia will be worth RM201.02 billion by 2025, and we want to demonstrate our commitment to our Muslim customers that bekal by foodpanda is fully equipped to ensure the purity of their halal food items, even when they order food online from foodpanda,” he concluded.

bekal by foodpanda currently operates in Putrajaya, Malaysia and will be expanded into all areas in Klang Valley by July 2023, with an eventual nationwide roll-out planned. Customers within the bekal by foodpanda designated zones can order their food items from halal-certified merchant partners listed on the dedicated ‘bekal’ section on the app.

Just last month, foodpanda also launched a campaign called ‘Double Tips, Double Love’, which spotlighted the importance of delivery partners’ role in the delivery ecosystem.