POLA Orbis launching Japan's first FOSHU-certified skincare food supplement next year

26-Nov-2018 - Last updated on 26-Nov-2018 at 02:14 GMT

POLA Orbis will launch a dietary supplement to prevent dryness of skin. ©Getty Images

Cosmetics and skincare manufacturer POLA Orbis Holdings will launch Japan's first skincare nutricosmetics product certified as Food for Specified Health Uses (FOSHU) in January next year.

Named Orbis Defencera, the product was granted FOSHU status from the Consumer Agency of Japan in December last year.

The specified health use for this product lies in its ability to prevent skin dryness, a spokeswoman from POLA Orbis told NutraIngredients-Asia.

Glucosylceramide extracted from rice germ is the active ingredient of the product.

It prevents skin dryness by “making it harder for moisture to escape from the skin,” the spokeswoman said.

The firm has conducted clinical trials with 133 men and women.

Subjects who ingested glucosylceramide daily were found to retain more skin moisture within 4 weeks’ time.

Besides Japan, the firm will sell the product via e-commerce to China next year and hopes to achieve 1 billion yen sales within a year.

The product, which comes in powder form, will be sold at 30 packs for 3,456 yen (with tax included). The recommended consumption is one pack per day.

FOSHU refers to food that can exert an effect on the physiological functions of the body.

To sell FOSHU certified food in Japan, firms must first obtain the FOSHU status from the consumer agency.

1,053 products were FOSHU certified as of Sep 3 this year, according to the Consumer Agency of Japan.

China a target

POLA Orbis expects to achieve a breakthrough in the Chinese market with the new product.

It will start selling the product to China in February next year and will partner Tmall Global in doing so.

As the product is the first FOSHU certified nutricosmetics, the firm believes that it will generate a huge amount of interest in China.

“With this product as a foothold, we will expand the presence of the Orbis brand in Japan and China, aiming for further growth of the skincare-centred business,” the spokeswoman said.

“China is one of the countries that the Orbis Corporation regards as the most important for its overseas business strategies,” she added.

Prior to this partnership, POLA Orbis has earlier participated in Tmall’s Super Brand Day sales event in September this year.

Plans to launch the product in Taiwan and Singapore are also underway, however, the firm has yet to finalise on the launch dates.