It's almost June and that means that Japan's muggy summer days are imminent.
Sure it will be uncomfortable. Who wants to go around all sweaty and sticky and smelly?
Well, consumers need worry no more—that is, if they're concerned about the "smelly" part.
Kanebo Foods, Kracie, which is a division of Kanebo, Japan's second largest cosmetics company, has put some of its extensive research to a new use and has invented a gum containing fragrance essences that are emitted from your body's pores when you perspire.
It's called Otoko Kaoru, which literally means "men's fragrance," and contains rose and menthol ingredients to keep chewers smelling minty floral fresh right through the rainy season and the scorching days that follow. Apparently, the active ingredients are geraniol and "fragrance micro capsules."
The gum, which was introduced as a limited item last year, was so popular that the factory couldn't produce enough of it.
This season, it's being released region by region to prevent shortages.
It's already out in Tokyo and the Kanto region, and will be made available in Osaka, Kyoto, Nara and other areas of western Japan starting June 4.
But consumers will be disappointed if they go looking for it at supermarkets and train station kiosks. Otokogaori is only available at conveniences stores.
