Halal food credence: do the Malaysian non-Muslim consumers hesitate?

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to introduce the variable of halal food knowledge (HFK) into the theory of planned behavior framework to investigate Malaysian non-Muslim consumers' decision-making process in purchasing halal food. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through 350 distributed questionnaires toward non-Muslim consumers on five most visited grocery stores (hypermarket-based) in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. The collected data was analyzed by using Statistical Package for Social Sciences and SmartPLS. Findings Purchasing halal food remain an uneasy task for the non-Muslim consumers, thus rely on their personal evaluation and closest relative's approval. Research limitations/implications This study is focusing only on two halal food credence attributes namely health attribute and animal-friendly attributes. Practical implications Both health and animal friendly credence attributes of halal food should be the main message to be conveyed to the non-Muslim consumers. In addition, the inclusion of non-Muslim consumers within the Malaysian halal ecosystem might provide a solution to tackle the resistance of halal food from foreign countries. Originality/value The value of this study is the finding of halal food credence attributes of health and animal friendly, which are the dimensions of HFK.