Matsukiyococokara adds a lip cream and hand cream to its men's PB Knowledge
Japan's largest drugstore group is widening its men's grooming private brand Knowledge with a lip cream and a hand-and-nail cream launching October 11, a small but telling step in how far the country's biggest drugstore operator will push its own-label shelf.
Matsukiyococokara & Co. said it will add two products to Knowledge, its men's skincare and haircare private brand developed with Mandom, launching nationwide on October 11.
The lip cream, priced at ¥1,650 including tax for 1.7g, is formulated with what the company calls ten moisturising ingredients including penetrating hyaluronic acid and CICA extract, leaves a matte finish, and carries no fragrance or menthol, according to Matsukiyococokara. The hand-and-nail cream, priced at ¥1,540 for 40g, uses a ceramide-based ingredient the company calls "Ceramide Byosel" together with panthenol for nail care, is fast-absorbing, and carries a citrus-floral scent, the company said.
Both products will be sold at Matsumotokiyoshi and Cocokara Fine stores nationwide, excluding some locations, and through the company's online store, Matsukiyococokara said. Knowledge was built to address dryness around the lips, hands and nails while keeping a clean, business-appropriate look, according to the company.
The launch is modest set against the group's scale, but it says something about where Matsukiyococokara — formed from the 2021 merger of Matsumotokiyoshi and Cocokara Fine and now Japan's largest drugstore operator by store count — wants its own-brand shelf to grow next: not just skincare's usual battleground of women's cosmetics, but the narrower, less-contested men's grooming aisle, where a national chain's own label competes less against rival own-brands than against simply persuading men to buy skincare at all.