Japanese anti-ageing beer has arrived

Each can of the new beverage, being marketed as a beauty enhancer, contains 2 grams of collagen.

Suntory, a Tokyo-based food and beverage corporation, makes 'Precious' beer for the local market in Hokkaido, Japan’s most northern island.

“We contribute to the happiness of our customers by offering safe, reliable and high-quality products and services and by making our utmost effort to ensure integrity and transparency in all of our interactions with customers,” reads the company’s philosophy statement.  

Brands ranging from Pepsi to Jim Beam, Orangina to Lucozade, and Mountea to Frucor are owned by or partnered with Suntory in an array of markets worldwide.

And Suntory also manufactures functional drinks and other beverages in Japan that have been approved as FOSHU, or foods for specified health uses.

Indulgence marketing

Now, “the Japanese have come up with a new beer, that contains collagen, and promises to make you prettier,” reports ibcWorldNews.com

This product is hardly a standalone in the beauty industry.

Brands hoping to tempt consumers with everything from chocolates to coffee to chai tea are marketing consumables formulated with superfoods and supplements.   

Collagen delivery

Topical skin care formulas commonly include collagen or ingredients intended to stimulate its production. Additionally, collagen supplements are popular in numerous countries worldwide.

“Japanese women even buy supplements, powders and foods rich in the protein to maintain their young look,” explains ibcWorldNews.com.

Demand for collagen rich products has the industry looking for the next, best solution. In recent months scientists from the National University of Singapore, researching novel ways to deliver collage to deeper layer of the skin, innovated a patch that does so transdermally.

The research team, led by Dr. Kang Lifeng, “encapsulated collagen in the microneedles” of a patch and found through testing “that collagen can be delivered up to the dermis layer of the skin,” reported Michelle Yeomans, Editor of CosmeticsDesign-Asia.com