A beautiful report shares what Ramadan means to young Muslims, and equips brands to meaningfully participate

Mojo Supermarket and House of Gül have joined together for The Ramadan Report – a research study surveying 140 Gen Z and millennial Muslims in the US, unpacking their experiences, beliefs and opinions during the holiday. The report traces multiple threads at once. With multi-layered design from House of Gül, it explores insights from those observing Ramadan, covering topics such as routine and community, but it also speaks directly to those outside of the community looking to participate authentically, particularly brands.

“Young Muslims aren’t looking for a John Lewis ad,” says the report. Instead, it illuminates the lack of products and services built specifically around solutions for the community. As one participant, Noor, puts it: “I’d love to see brands make their products and services appeal specifically to Muslims and what we go through. Where’s Uber Eats and Beyond Meat at?”

The report also invites the creative industry to get to know Muslim culture better, so the same attention paid to other holidays can be shared. “$2.5 billion is spent on holiday marketing each year, and almost none of that is spent on Ramadan,” says Siham Saleh, strategist at Mojo Supermarket. “There is little to no recognition extending beyond a social post, despite nearly 4M people in America celebrating the holiday.”

“As a Muslim American woman, I have grown up knowing all about Christmas, its traditions, and have a detailed understanding of that experience and what it means to those that celebrate,” Saleh continues. “Having some level of Muslim representation like that in marketing, can not only make the millions of Muslims in America feel seen, but also help demystify stereotypes and bring understanding to our community that is often overlooked or worse, othered.”

The Ramadan Report is accessible via an intuitive site, full of quotes and statistics. Scroll through and you’ll find insights on fasting, like the fact that 34 per cent of respondents say they feel physically stronger during Ramadan, and on socialising – 45 per cent say their social life becomes more intentional during the holiday.

Meanwhile, the identity for the report is beautiful. Visitors to the page are met with changing graphics signifying the five mandatory salahs (a daily prayer, and one of the pillars of Islam). The design direction was inspired both by feelings of joy, love and community during Ramadan, alongside the movement of sun and sunlight “and how that determines when you pray and fast,” explains House of Gül. “That laid-back joy of essentially doing nothing and opting out of hyper consumption and desires for the month is the way we approached it.” Elsewhere, the hand drawn pillars and Arabic calligraphy are “pulled from illuminated manuscripts from Islam, where spiritual typography and ornamentation are paramount.”

In pulling the report together, Mojo Supermarket saw first hand the lack of insights that exists into how Muslims celebrate Ramadan in the US. “In fact several market research companies couldn’t even help us because they had no way of reaching this audience of young Muslims in the US,” says Saleh. “That in itself showed us how critical conducting this type of research is.”