The koji mould (Aspergillus oryzae), formed by a fungus, has been used in Japan for over two millennia to react with certain foods (rice, soybeans, sweet potatoes, barley, and many others) and transform them into a new, culinary-enhanced ingredient. For example, rice koji is used in sake and certain vinegars, soybean koji is used in soy sauce and miso�all key ingredients in Japanese cuisine. Today, koji can be found in the dishes of many other Asian countries.

Koji paste has been said to give beautiful hands to the workers of sake factories, much like yeast in beer breweries! This anecdote inspired our inventors to put rice koji paste in some of our skincare products.