- Halal Cat Food Brand, Halal Products, Hurayra Pet Foods
How Hurayra Became the UK’s First Halal Cat Food Brand in Morrisons
- Saliha Ghauri
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TL;DR
Hurayra’s journey from identifying a market gap to securing shelf space in a major UK supermarket shows what happens when a brand listens to what pet owners actually want and delivers on it consistently. It’s not built on hype or discount-driven tactics. It’s built on transparency, ethical sourcing, and quality that doesn’t compromise. If you’re looking for clean, responsibly sourced nutrition packed with essential nutrients your cat will thrive on, find us in your local Morrisons.
Pick up most cat food tins and read the ingredients. You’ll likely see terms like “meat and animal derivatives” or “by-products.” But which animals? From where? Processed how?
For pet owners who care about what goes into their cat’s bowl, that lack of transparency is frustrating. Halal certification isn’t just about religious compliance. It’s a traceable standard that guarantees clean sourcing, pork-free ingredients, and no cross-contamination. Until recently, no major UK supermarket offered it.
This is the story of how Hurayra changed that. It’s about building trust through clarity, proving that ethical sourcing doesn’t require premium pricing, and earning shelf space by meeting a need the industry had overlooked for too long. If you’ve ever wondered what’s really in your cat’s food, or how a startup breaks into mainstream retail, read on.
The Problem That Led to Launching Hurayra Pet Foods
Every brand begins with someone noticing something’s missing.
For Aihtesham Rashib, Hurayra’s founder and CEO, the frustration was personal. As a cat owner himself, he couldn’t find high-protein cat food with proper ingredient traceability at his local supermarket. Not in the specialist aisle. Not in the mainstream brands. Nowhere.
He started asking around. Other pet owners shared the same concern. They wanted protein sources they could verify. They wanted grain-free recipes without hidden additives. They wanted to avoid pork-derived ingredients and cross-contamination risks. But their only options were expensive specialist brands or compromising on transparency entirely.
That gap wasn’t just a business opportunity. It was a genuine failure in the market, one that affected Muslim pet owners, ethically minded cat owners, and anyone who’d ever stared at the words “meat derivatives” and wondered what they were actually feeding their cat.
The decision to build Hurayra wasn’t just commercial. It was a commitment to doing something the industry hadn’t bothered to do: be honest about what’s in the tin.
Challenges Hurayra Faced in It’s Initial Stage
Building a solution meant navigating challenges most startups don’t face.
Sourcing came first. Finding suppliers who could provide HMC certified cat food at a cost that wouldn’t push retail prices into luxury territory required persistence and patience across months of searching. Then came the certification process itself, which included rigorous audits, full supply chain documentation, and proof that every ingredient met strict sourcing standards at every stage.
There were also misconceptions to overcome. Some retailers assumed halal certification would only appeal to a narrow demographic. Others questioned whether pet owners would pay attention to sourcing at all when cheaper options existed.
The founder’s response was consistent: this isn’t about limiting the audience. It’s about raising the standard. Clean ingredients, transparent sourcing, and accessible pricing shouldn’t be mutually exclusive. A halal-certified, grain-free cat food with named protein sources shouldn’t be a niche luxury. It should be a choice available to anyone doing their weekly shop.
Getting there took longer than expected. There were supplier negotiations that fell through, certification requirements that demanded rethinking the supply chain, and a market that needed convincing before it would listen. But persistence was the point. The difficulty of building it right was precisely what made it worth building.
What Certification Actually Guarantees
For pet owners unfamiliar with HMC certification, it’s worth understanding what the standard actually means in practice.
Halal certification for pet food guarantees traceable protein sources, no pork or cross-contamination at any stage of production, ethical animal raising and handling standards, and clean formulation free from alcohol-based preservatives. Combined with grain-free recipes that remove wheat, corn, rice, and soy, and named protein sources like chicken or tuna listed clearly on the label, the result is a product where the ingredient list says exactly what it means.
No rotating protein mixes described vaguely as “animal derivatives.” No hidden cereals dressed up as fillers. Just named ingredients, verified sourcing, and a supply chain that has been audited to confirm the label reflects reality.
The First Customers Who Made It Real
The first sale came from someone who’d found the brand online, read through the ingredient list, checked the certification, and decided to try it.
That purchase mattered more than the revenue. It proved there were pet owners actively searching for where to buy halal cat food and not because they had no other options, but because they wanted better transparency.
Within weeks, repeat orders started arriving. Customers weren’t just buying once out of curiosity. They were switching permanently. The feedback was telling: “Finally, ingredients I can actually trace.” “My cat’s doing well on high-protein, transparent sources.” “No more guessing what ‘meat derivatives’ means.”
These weren’t customers won through aggressive marketing. They were pet owners who’d been waiting for a brand that delivered clarity without charging premium prices for it.
Their trust became the foundation. Their repeat purchases proved this wasn’t a novelty. And their word-of-mouth recommendations started building momentum.
But online sales alone wouldn’t scale. If Hurayra wanted to genuinely serve UK pet owners, it needed to be where they already shopped.
Breaking Into Morrisons As The First Halal-Certified Brand
Getting shelf space in a major supermarket isn’t about submitting an application and waiting. It’s about proving your product fits their customers, your supply chain can handle volume, and your brand will still be around in a year.
Morrisons had never stocked ethical halal pet food before. Not because they were opposed to it, but because no one had made a compelling case that demand existed.
Hurayra’s pitch was built on evidence, not assumptions. The brand presented data on UK households seeking cleaner pet food options with full ingredient traceability. It highlighted the absence of halal-certified options in mainstream retail despite growing demand. It demonstrated strong repeat purchase rates from early customers which was proof this wasn’t a one-off trend.
Crucially, Hurayra also proved it could compete on price. This wasn’t positioning itself as a luxury product. It was offering certified, traceable nutrition at a price point accessible to families doing their weekly shop.
Morrisons recognised the opportunity of becoming the first major UK supermarket to stock halal cat food Morrisons shoppers could trust, giving Hurayra national visibility and giving pet owners a product they’d been asking for.
Seeing Hurayra on Morrisons shelves wasn’t just a business milestone. It was proof that transparency in pet food sourcing could be mainstream, not niche.
Industry Recognition And Media Attention
Retail placement is one form of validation. Industry recognition is another.
In 2024, Hurayra was named one of the “Most Influential” brands by Asian Standard, an acknowledgment that went beyond sales figures. It recognised the brand’s role in addressing a gap mainstream pet food companies had ignored.
Press coverage followed. Publications covering ethical consumerism, UK retail innovation, and the pet industry took notice. The story wasn’t “new halal cat food brand launches.” It was “UK’s First premium HMC cat food hits Morrisons shelves.”
That distinction mattered. It positioned Hurayra not as a niche player, but as a brand solving a real problem that had been overlooked for too long.
The coverage also helped educate pet owners who’d never considered certification before. Halal standards aren’t just about faith compliance, they’re about knowing exactly where your cat’s protein comes from, how it was raised, and how it was processed. Those values resonate with anyone who cares about food transparency.
Recognition built credibility. Credibility builds trust. And trust drives long-term customer loyalty.
The Road Ahead For Clean Cat Nutrition
Morrisons was the breakthrough, but not the finish line.
Hurayra is even available in the UAE, where demand for traceable, high-quality pet food is strong. The Middle East market represents significant growth potential, and the brand’s UK success provides a solid foundation.
Closer to home, development is underway on a wet food range. Many cat owners prefer feeding a mix of dry and wet food, and the same principles guiding the dry recipes will apply: high-protein source, grain-free formulation, full certification, and transparent sourcing.
Expansion beyond Morrisons is also on the roadmap. The goal isn’t just availability, it’s accessibility. That means exploring partnerships with other UK retailers and reaching international markets where pet owners are searching for the same standard of quality and transparency Hurayra has established in the UK.
But the wider mission goes beyond shelf space. Every time a pet owner reads an ingredient list and demands to know what “meat derivatives” actually means, the standard rises. Every stockist who carries halal-certified cat food sends a signal to the rest of the industry that transparency is an expectation, not a premium add-on. Hurayra’s role in that shift is something the brand takes seriously, because when more brands are held to a higher standard, every cat owner benefits, regardless of what food they ultimately choose.
The vision remains unchanged: make it easy for pet owners to feed their cats with confidence, knowing the food aligns with their values and genuinely supports their cat’s health.
Frequently Asked Questions
1 Which cat food brands are halal?
In the UK, halal cat food options are limited, but brands like Hurayra focus on ethical halal pet food with clean sourcing and no pork or cross-contamination. This approach appeals not only to Muslim pet owners cat food needs, but also to owners seeking higher transparency.
2 Does Morrisons have halal food?
Yes, Morrisons stocks a wide range of halal products, including meat and selected specialist items across stores. It’s also one of the few supermarkets offering halal pet food Morrisons shoppers can access easily.
3 What cat food do Morrisons sell?
Morrisons sells a broad mix of dry and wet cat food, including options focused on nutrition, digestibility, and protein quality. You’ll find high protein cat food Morrisons customers trust, alongside specialist lines like Hurayra cat food Morrisons.
4 What are the top 5 healthiest cat foods in the UK?
The healthiest cat foods are typically high in animal protein, free from unnecessary fillers, and made with clear sourcing standards. Many pet owners now look for grain free halal cat food or HMC certified cat food as part of a cleaner feeding approach.
5 What are the five cat foods to avoid?
Cat foods high in artificial additives, unnamed meat derivatives, excessive grains, or vague sourcing are best avoided. For those wondering where to buy halal cat food, choosing brands with transparent ingredients helps reduce these concerns.
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