GIFU -- Aiming to promote the food culture of the Tokai region, two companies have teamed up to develop cosmetic facial masks using the properties of red miso fermented soybean paste.
Named the "Marude Misomitaina Facepack"("Just like miso face pack"), the product was created by Imokei, a miso and tamari soy sauce manufacturer in Gifu, and Amaze Plus Co., a beauty product sales company in Nagoya.
The facial mask sells for 1,980 yen excluding tax, and is now available at stores nationwide and on online shopping sites. It contains ingredients in miso that are said to have cosmetic benefits. It also imitates the red-brown color of miso.
Imokei was established in 1877, and has long contributed to the food culture of miso. Today, however, just a few major miso manufacturers are increasingly dominating the market, resulting in a drop in the number of small and midsize makers.
Yoichiro Kiho, 40, a sixth-generation executive of Imokei, debated what to do about this crisis.
One day, the image of his late grandmother at work suddenly came to his mind. Her hands were smooth and beautiful even in her last days.
"This must be related to miso," Kiho thought. In December 2017, he consulted with a senior member of Amaze Plus whom he had met at a management school in Nagoya about how to make a beauty product with miso. They agreed it would help vitalize the region, and immediately decided to develop it together.
They found research by a public research institution showing that linoleic acid, a substance included in miso, improves the skin. They blended linoleic acid into the facial mask, and also preserved a miso-like texture. After a process of trial and error, they entrusted the mask's production to several factories.
They asked Masashi Anraku, 43, an illustrator living in Nagoya who designs works evocative of the Showa era (1926-1989), to produce advertising panels. Anraku created an illustration of a young woman with the facial mask in front of the Nagaragawa river and Mt. Kinka in the evening sunshine.
"As a fellow company in the Tokai region, we want to contribute to regional revitalization," said Yusuke Kondo, 34, who was involved in the product's development at Amaze Plus.
Kiho said, "I'll be very happy if the facial mask gives people in this region an opportunity to renew their interest in miso and to reconsider the value of local food culture."
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