Fermented For Health: The Secret of Saké-Powered Skincare

Rice and water. With only two main ingredients, saké is a deceptively simple thing. However, it is with so few components that the care given to each becomes all the more critical – a secret well-understood by the finest saké makers in the world – and not least among them, a brewery by the name of Fukumitsuya.

Since 1625,

Fukumitsuya has honed its family recipe through exceptionally careful sourcing. The water, which they call hyakunensui, filters down from Mt. Hakusan (a dormant stratovolcano) in Kanazawa where the brewery operates today. It’s said to take one hundred years for this water to reach the well at the mountain’s base, a time during which it’s imbued with all of the minerals needed for successful fermentation.

As for rice, Fukumitsuya settles for nothing less than Yamada Nishiki. This variety is cherished by brewmasters for its ideal shinpaku, or the starchy core at the center of each grain. With equally outstanding water absorption, it’s all but required to make delicious, premium saké.

Ingredients of this caliber serve as the foundation for Fukumitsuya’s success. A success which would eventually lead them to test their award-winning formula in a wholly unfamiliar industry, but one that values great ingredients just the same. After all — skincare, much like saké, pairs best with simplicity.

And thus, FRENAVA was born.

Having already perfected the art of rice fermentation, it was clear what the key to Fukumitsuya’s skincare line would be. This fermented rice solution (dubbed FRS) incorporates the same rice, water, and koji used in the brewery’s award-winning saké, but without any of the unwanted alcohol. Better still, it could be refined further into powders, oils, and extracts that lend themselves to various cosmetic applications while maintaining all of the vitamins and amino acids from the initial ferment. FRENAVA unites these saké-powered ingredients with a host of botanicals native to Mt. Hakusan, like the Japanese kuromoji tree. Here, its essence imparts an alluring, citric aroma and skin purifying properties to boot.

Natural inspiration saturates every aspect of the FRENAVA Skincare Collection — from its 100% organic formulation to each colorful box and bottle adorned with local plant species. In line with the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals, this packaging also prioritizes the use of glass, recycled plastic, and earth-conscious paper wherever possible. It’s Fukumitsuya’s way of celebrating the land that, since the Edo period, has given them everything. Rich mountain water, pristine rice, first-rate saké, skincare, and so much more — all of it thanks to nature’s generous bounty.