Early bird: Gyudon giant Yoshinoya makes beauty entry to tap into cosmetic potential of ostrich oil

Yoshinoya Holdings is the company behind the eponymous chain famous for its beef bowl dishes, or gyudon.

On August 28, the company announced the launch of Speedia, a skin care brand centred around ostrich oil as its hero ingredient.

The brand has launched a lineup of products including a face oil, cream and mask.

Aside from ostrich oil, the products also contain vitamin C as well as spring water from Yuda Onsen in Yamaguchi Prefecture, which is famous for its skin-beautifying waters.

The products will be available online for now. However, the company is planning a series of pop-up stores to introduce the brand to the public and raise awareness.

In addition, the company said it was planning to launch a hand care and body care milk, which contains ostrich oil combined with keratin from ostrich feathers. This brings benefits to the nails as well as the skin.

This product was developed specifically for Yoshinoya’s employees.

“When considering expanding our product lineup, we developed this product because many of our employees' skin concerns were related to rough hands… We also made it fragrance-free, anticipating that it will be used by people in the food and beverage industry. It is currently being used by employees at Yoshinoya stores nationwide,” said the firm.

Currently, the firm has no launch date for the hand care and body care milk product.

Speedia Inc, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the firm that focuses on ostrich breeding, research, product development and sales. It also researches new functions of ostrich products and “developing ostrich-related business”.

The ostriches are raised locally in a ranch overlooking Mount Tsukuba in Ishioka City, Ibaraki Prefecture and raises approximately 500 ostriches.

Beauty benefits of ostrich oil​

Speedia's research into ostrich oil has revealed that ostrich oil enhances ingredient absorption and also boosts skin hydration.

According to the firm, research comparing skin before and after ostrich oil application shows that the oil effectively reduces water evaporation through the stratum corneum, leading to increased skin moisture content.

Further analysis demonstrates that ostrich oil not only improves skin hydration but also enhances the absorption of key beauty ingredients.

Fat-soluble vitamin C derivatives, show a 1.7-fold increase in penetration when used with ostrich oil.

Additionally, type I collagen and ceramide-like substances, crucial for skin firmness and moisturisation, exhibit a 1.3-fold improvement in absorption.

Notably, ostrich oil has a remarkable impact on niacinamide, an ingredient known for reducing blemishes and brightening the skin.

When combined with ostrich oil, niacinamide penetration can be increased 23 times, according to test tube studies using Franz cells.

The ‘fourth’ meat​

At the same time, Yoshinoya will offer ostrich meat as a new option in its restaurants in addition to beef, pork, and chicken.

According to its research, ostrich meat, particularly thigh meat, is rich in imidazole dipeptides like anserine and carnosine, known for their anti-fatigue properties, and coenzyme Q10. These components are expected to offer antioxidant effects, aid in fatigue recovery, and prevent vascular aging.

Furthermore, Yoshinoya hopes the introduction of Ostrich meat can improve food diversity.

“In recent years, there are concerns about population growth, climate change, food problems, and so on. In order to continue to provide safe, healthy, and rich meals to our customers, we believe that it is necessary to prevent the concentration of food types and maintain health through a variety of foods.

“Against this backdrop, we are proposing ostrich as one of the many options for people to live a sustainable and prosperous life. We have been focusing on ostrich since the 2000s, and have continued to research the diverse possibilities that ostrich can bring since 2017, discovering new functions in the fields of beauty and health, and finding that they can contribute to people's prosperous lives.”