The Indonesian branch of South Korean cosmetics manufacturer Cosmax has officially secured halal certification, paving the way to enter the global cosmetics market targeting Muslims.

Cosmax said Tuesday its manufacturing facilities in Indonesia received certification from major halal certification agency Majelis Ulama Indonesia. MUI is acknowledged by about 40 countries in the world.

Halal -- which means “permissible” in Arabic -- certification ensures that a given product strictly complies with Islamic dietary law from formulation and packaging to storage and distribution.

“Having received halal certification, we will do our best to become the hub of Korea’s halal cosmetics exports,” said Lee Kun-il, who heads Cosmax Indonesia.

“We will work to meet the needs of our Muslim beauty consumers in not just Southeast Asia, but also the Middle East and other parts of the world in the future.”

Cosmax Indonesia currently produces various makeup products ordered by local Indonesian cosmetics brands as a contract manufacturer, or an original equipment manufacturing company.

Powered by its halal certification, the firm plans to expand into the original design manufacturing segment, in which the company would sell their self-developed products to its clients.

Cosmax is among many local and global cosmetic companies eyeing growing demand for halal cosmetics from Muslim beauty consumers.

According to Techviano, the global halal cosmetics market was valued at $23.4 billion in 2015 and is expected to grow annually by 14.3 percent to reach $45 billion by 2020.

By Sohn Ji-young (jys@heraldcorp.com)