Tasa Meng launches Dassai soap line; Business boosted as COVID limits are eased

Taipei-based travel retailers are set for an early boost resulting from the easing of the Level 3 COVID-19 alert today to Level 2.

Tasa Meng General Manager Gary Chau said: “Small group local tours will resume and many Taiwanese will fly to enjoy their holiday at other Taiwanese islands.

“We expect our island duty free business [on the Matsu Islands] will bounce back from 27 July,” he said.

As reported, business has also been boosted by many Taiwanese flying to the USA and Mainland China to combine vaccine injections and holidays due to a shortage on the island.

From sake to soap – “Everyone who makes sake in a brewery has smooth hands”

In other Tasa Meng news, the retailer has introduced Dassai soap made from Japanese producer Asahi Shuzo Co’s sake kasu. Tasa Meng has been appointed distributor for the duty free and domestic channels.

As reported, Tasa Meng has just launched the same firm’s liquor brand Dassai Shochu at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. The retailer also introduced the Dassai facial treatment mask at the airport last month, marking the product’s travel retail debut.

Asahi Shuzo (Dassai) is Japan’s first sake brewery to introduce the centrifuge technique. The technique is notable for not applying pressure to extract the sake from fermented mash, creating a more elegant aroma and taste.

However, the sake kasu differs from the ordinary variety, which is usually reused in pickled foods. As centrifuge’s sake kasu is not suitable for such use, Asahi Shuzo chose to make soap instead of discarding it as waste.

(Above and below) Dassai soap is promoted by Tasa Meng at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport

“Everyone who makes sake in a brewery has smooth hands”, runs an old saying, a premise that spurred the soap’s creation. Ingredients in rice koji and sake kasu are known to be good for the skin and many cosmetics use Japanese sake as a raw material, Asahi Shuzo points out.

The distinctive khaki-hued Dassai soap contains no additives such as fragrance or colouring. It is suitable as a facial soap and for babies. It has a natural scent like Hojicha (roasted Japanese tea), without the smell of sake or alcohol.

Food & Beverage The Magazine eZine