Jama Masjid, Old Delhi. Photo by Gavin Barrett

Eid Mubarak to any of our friends, clients or vendors celebrating Eid ul Adha this weekend. And to those on their Hajj journeys, inward, outward, onward, we say khuda hafiz.

Much of the western world tends to think of Eid as the festival that immediately follows Ramadan - or Ramzan - as we call it where I grew up. They are not wrong.

The austerities of Ramadan culminate in the celebration of Eid ul Fitr - literally, the feast of the breaking of the fast. Eid al Fitr celebrations are marked by a spirit of generosity and hospitality is lavished on friends and family.

But it is Eid ul Adha, also known as Greater Eid, or the Eid of the Great Sacrifice, that is the most important feast in the Muslim calendar. Back in India, it was known to all by its colloquial name, Bakri Eid (Eid of the Goat). The name springs from the Eid tradition in which a goat is ritually slaughtered and shared among family, friends and the poor.

For three or four days our Muslim friends around the world set out in brand new clothes, to visit and celebrate with each other and to pray on one of their faith's great solemnities. Unsurprisingly, food and spending on food is a big part of the celebrations and in places with large Muslim populations, messages from major advertisers reflect this focus, as we can see in this ad for McDonald's in India.

In Canada, Muslims now account for nearly 3.2% of the population. At just over a million people, they are the second largest faith group in the country according to the much maligned 2011 census. The linguistic diversity updates from the 2016 census tell us that the fastest growing non-official languages in Toronto after Tagalog are Arabic, Farsi and Bengali - all of them are largely languages of Muslim immigrants. Calgary's Baitun Nur Mosque is believed to be the largest in North America and serves a large, growing congregation.

So, it's somewhat surprising that very few Canadian marketers have taken note of the opportunity, with some notable exceptions like Metro's Adonis grocery store banner and brands like Maple Leaf's Mina Halal and Maple Lodge's Zabiha Halal. Delivering halal products at moments of need and significance to this market of one million-plus hungry consumers is going to be phenomenal for business - especially for those who move first and move fast. It's time to wake up and smell the za'atar. It smells delicious — as most billion dollar opportunities do.

Gavin Barrett is Ideawallah at Barrett and Welsh, an award-winning multicultural advertising Toronto agency that specializes in the new Canada, a magical place where all cultures are understood, shared and enjoyed and the ideas are delicious, meaty and aromatic with spices.