‘Man Scent’ Chewing Gum

Earlier in Summer you may have missed the a new chewing gum phenomenon, “Otoko Kaoru” (Literally: ‘Man Scent’).

What’s unusual about this gum is that it causes a rose fragrance to be emitted from the chewer’s body for about one to two hours after its chewed. The Rose Menthol flavoured gum, contained a fragrant component geraniol, which is found in roses. According to Kanebo’s food research laboratory, the component is easily emitted from the body’s sweat glands, in much the same way as garlic or alcohol is.

With its black, ‘this will make you sexy’ design, the gum is marketed at Japanese men. Its been hugely popular, showing that guys here are very concerned about the way they smell. In Japan, it is often reported that young women cannot stand the smell of men, and are particularly put off by the scent of older guys. Apparently this product is an attempt to cash in on the insecurity that such reports have generated.

The gum has proved so successful, that the manufacturer, Kanebo, published a statement to say that they were unable to keep up with demand and the gum had been pulled from the shelves until further notice. A strange way to do business you might say until you take into account that chewing gum sales in Japan are driven through convenience stores. Due to their just-in-time distribution systems, these large chains can’t take on products with a questionable supply.

Is it likely we’ll see more pheromone inducing substances hitting the market soon? Tell us what you think.

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9 Responses to “‘Man Scent’ Chewing Gum”

on 15 Nov 2006 at 6:49 am 1Brit6

I wonder if this would be even more popular in Korea… all that kimchi has got to make worry about how they smell. But maybe you’d just end up smelling like a kimchi smelling rose!

on 15 Nov 2006 at 8:16 am 2John B

In Korea, the girls smell like Kimchi too hey? They’ed need and “onna kaor” chewy that smells like ginseng or soething..!

on 15 Nov 2006 at 10:09 am 3Mr. Mori

hey do they have ossan kaoru? I’d buy that.

on 15 Nov 2006 at 12:17 pm 4Sotei-guy

Does that mean that eating a lot of rose jam works, too? (Don’t they eat a lot of rose jam in Russia???)

on 16 Nov 2006 at 6:59 am 5G3

I have bought a ginseng’s chewing gum for the souvenir. However, my friend was not pleased. Because the chewing gum smelled very much like soil and mud.

on 27 Jan 2007 at 10:03 am 6Marvin

Cool product. Might improve the smell of my feet. Let us know when you see it on the shelves again.

on 14 Feb 2007 at 12:16 pm 7ed

Hmmm.

1. Marvin; wash your feet, use talcum powder, let them dry before putting on socks, make sure to use cedar shoe trees to dry out your shoes and have enough shoes to rotate their use with at least 2 days between wearing.

It’s the latter that’s the important part. Otherwise the moisture from your feet won’t dry out and it’ll be a suitable environment for bacteria.

2. What? Kimchi doesn’t smell like roses *now*??

I’ve been lied to … *sob*.