Herbal Index Will Not Sell Essential Oils That Cannot Be Proven 'Genuine,' Even If Sales Drop. The Company Will Eliminate Adulterated Oils and Only Sell 'Safe Essential Oils.'
Key facts
- Herbal Index Will Not Sell Essential Oils That Cannot Be Proven 'Genuine,' Even If Sales Drop. The Company Will Eliminate Adulterated Oils and Only Sell 'Safe Essential Oils.'
- Herbal Index (Kohnan Co., Ltd., Herbal Index Company, CEO Takahiro Yotsuya) has announced a revision of its procurement standards for essential oils. It will only sell oils that meet requirements for complete documentation, clear origin, and passing sensory tests. This management decision prioritizes accountability over short-term sales declines.
- Source: PR Times
- Date: June 11, 2026
Direct answer
Herbal Index (Kohnan Co., Ltd., Herbal Index Company, CEO Takahiro Yotsuya) has announced a revision of its procurement standards for essential oils. It will only sell oils that meet requirements for complete documentation, clear origin, and passing sensory tests. This management decision prioritizes accountability over short-term sales declines.
- Citation
- Herbal Index Will Not Sell Essential Oils That Cannot Be Proven 'Genuine,' Even If Sales Drop. The Company Will Eliminate Adulterated Oils and Only Sell 'Safe Essential Oils.' (June 11, 2026), PR Times
- Source
- PR Times
- Date
- June 11, 2026
Herbal Index (Kohnan Co., Ltd., Herbal Index Company, CEO Takahiro Yotsuya) has announced a revision of its procurement standards for essential oils. It will only sell oils that meet requirements for complete documentation, clear origin, and passing sensory tests. This management decision prioritizes accountability over short-term sales declines.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: June 11, 2026 at 05:35
- 🔍 Collected: June 10, 2026 at 20:51
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: June 10, 2026 at 20:52 (1 min after Collected)
Herbal Index (Kohnan Co., Ltd., Herbal Index Company, CEO Takahiro Yotsuya) has announced a revision of its procurement standards for essential oils. The company will only sell essential oils that meet the following criteria: complete necessary documentation, clear origin, and passing a sensory test.
Essential oils that do not meet these standards will be excluded from sale, even if they present a sales opportunity. This may lead to a short-term decline in sales. Nevertheless, the company will not continue to sell oils whose source or quality cannot be explained.
This announcement is not merely about strengthening quality control. It is a management decision to prioritize accountability over sales.
Selling explainable essential oils, not just sellable ones.
This will be Herbal Index's sales policy going forward.
Eliminating essential oils of unknown origin from sales
Essential oils are products that are often chosen based solely on their scent impression and price. However, a good scent, a low price, or a 'natural' label alone cannot explain the oil's origin or quality.
Where was the plant harvested? What supply chain did it go through? Can the necessary documents be verified? Is there any unnaturalness in the scent? Does the seller have a basis to explain to the customer? The company will no longer sell essential oils for which these points cannot be confirmed. The target is not a specific company or product. The issue is the ambiguous distribution structure where the contents and background of essential oils remain unclear.
Criteria for Adopted Essential Oils
Adoption Criteria
Details
Complete Necessary Documentation
Confirmation documents regarding quality and handling, and information from the supplier must be verifiable.
Clear Origin
The origin of the raw plant material or the supply background must be explainable.
Passing Sensory Test
Any unnaturalness or discomfort in the scent, and suitability as a product, must be confirmed according to the company's standards.
Explainable to Customers
The seller must be able to explain why they are handling that particular essential oil.
These criteria are not exceptional. Rather, they are standard for a company dealing in essential oils.
However, to actually implement these standards, one must be prepared to reduce the number of products for sale. The company has made this decision with that resolve.
Background to Herbal Index's Decision
Herbal Index representative Yotsuya entered the natural and organic world by importing and selling the Australian natural cosmetics brand 'A'kin' in Japan. Later, through experience at a long-established jojoba oil company, he learned about the value of plant-derived ingredients and, at the same time, the difficulty of having genuine products correctly evaluated as genuine. Even if data shows high quality, it is not always the most important decision-making factor for consumers. Furthermore, many products labeled 'organic' actually only contain a small percentage of organic ingredients.
The contradiction between the philosophy of the ingredients and the form in which the product reaches the market. This sense of incongruity lingered within representative Yotsuya.
Later, upon entering the essential oil industry and becoming CEO of Herbal Index, he faced an even greater contradiction. The reality is that products with mixed origins, insufficient background explanations, and even those suspected of adulteration circulate as if they were genuine.
'Natural,' 'Natural,' 'Organic.' These are words that should be valued for health, lifestyle, and the next generation. However, the company feels a strong sense of crisis that products exist in the market where these words are used superficially, without the substance and evidence to back them up.
Herbal Index is a small company. Nevertheless, it believes that what should be left for the next generation is not embellished words, but genuineness and facts. In other words, being an 'essential oil shop that doesn't lie' is the company's promise to its customers.
Not Selling Ambiguous Oils Even If Sales Drop
If standards are tightened, the number of essential oils that can be handled will decrease. Sales opportunities will also likely decrease.
Nevertheless, protecting sales by continuing to sell unexplainable products is not the kind of company Herbal Index aims to be.
Essential oils are products that deal with invisible scents. That is precisely why there is a responsibility to explain the invisible aspects.
Origin, documentation, scent verification, reason for adoption. Being able to show each of these to the customer is necessary for essential oil sales going forward. While reports and press releases regarding adulterated oils are seen worldwide, the company aims to pursue transparency in essential oil sales within Japan and to create an environment where consumers can correctly choose essential oils.
Representative Comment
We believe that essential oils are not just about having a good scent or being cheap.
Having the necessary documents in order. Having a clear origin. Passing our sensory tests. These may seem like obvious criteria. However, if we try to thoroughly implement these obvious standards, there will be oils we cannot handle. Sales may drop. Even so, protecting sales by continuing to sell unexplainable essential oils is not the kind of company I want to build.
Herbal Index will become a company that deals in explainable essential oils, not just sellable ones. Our target is not a specific company. What we should target is the ambiguous distribution structure that allows essential oils to be sold without their contents and origins being clear. First, we will clarify our own standards. We will start from there.
And we want to create an era where all essential oil enthusiasts and all companies selling natural and organic products can choose essential oils with peace of mind.
Future Developments
This announcement is the first step, and the company will sequentially release initiatives to increase transparency in essential oil sales.
In the future, the company plans to provide essential oil information utilizing gas chromatography analysis data, and to more clearly convey the value of scents and plant components through Botafumu Technology, Medessence, and the essential oil perfume 'EMAKI.'
From an era of choosing scents based solely on sensation to an era of choosing them based on evidence.
As a first step, the company will shift to a policy of selling only explainable essential oils.
Company Overview
Item
Details
Company Name
Kohnan Co., Ltd., Herbal Index Company
Business Description
Planning, sales, and development support for essential oils, plant components, and beauty/wellness-related products
Announcement Content
New policy to adopt only essential oils that meet requirements for documentation, origin, and sensory testing
Future Plans
Sequential announcements planned for essential oils with GC data, Botafumu Technology, EMAKI, etc.
Contact for Inquiries
Kohnan Co., Ltd., Herbal Index Company
Contact: yotsuya-contact@herbalindex.co.jp
Official Website: https://www.naturas-psychos.com/
Essential oils that do not meet these standards will be excluded from sale, even if they present a sales opportunity. This may lead to a short-term decline in sales. Nevertheless, the company will not continue to sell oils whose source or quality cannot be explained.
This announcement is not merely about strengthening quality control. It is a management decision to prioritize accountability over sales.
Selling explainable essential oils, not just sellable ones.
This will be Herbal Index's sales policy going forward.
Eliminating essential oils of unknown origin from sales
Essential oils are products that are often chosen based solely on their scent impression and price. However, a good scent, a low price, or a 'natural' label alone cannot explain the oil's origin or quality.
Where was the plant harvested? What supply chain did it go through? Can the necessary documents be verified? Is there any unnaturalness in the scent? Does the seller have a basis to explain to the customer? The company will no longer sell essential oils for which these points cannot be confirmed. The target is not a specific company or product. The issue is the ambiguous distribution structure where the contents and background of essential oils remain unclear.
Criteria for Adopted Essential Oils
Adoption Criteria
Details
Complete Necessary Documentation
Confirmation documents regarding quality and handling, and information from the supplier must be verifiable.
Clear Origin
The origin of the raw plant material or the supply background must be explainable.
Passing Sensory Test
Any unnaturalness or discomfort in the scent, and suitability as a product, must be confirmed according to the company's standards.
Explainable to Customers
The seller must be able to explain why they are handling that particular essential oil.
These criteria are not exceptional. Rather, they are standard for a company dealing in essential oils.
However, to actually implement these standards, one must be prepared to reduce the number of products for sale. The company has made this decision with that resolve.
Background to Herbal Index's Decision
Herbal Index representative Yotsuya entered the natural and organic world by importing and selling the Australian natural cosmetics brand 'A'kin' in Japan. Later, through experience at a long-established jojoba oil company, he learned about the value of plant-derived ingredients and, at the same time, the difficulty of having genuine products correctly evaluated as genuine. Even if data shows high quality, it is not always the most important decision-making factor for consumers. Furthermore, many products labeled 'organic' actually only contain a small percentage of organic ingredients.
The contradiction between the philosophy of the ingredients and the form in which the product reaches the market. This sense of incongruity lingered within representative Yotsuya.
Later, upon entering the essential oil industry and becoming CEO of Herbal Index, he faced an even greater contradiction. The reality is that products with mixed origins, insufficient background explanations, and even those suspected of adulteration circulate as if they were genuine.
'Natural,' 'Natural,' 'Organic.' These are words that should be valued for health, lifestyle, and the next generation. However, the company feels a strong sense of crisis that products exist in the market where these words are used superficially, without the substance and evidence to back them up.
Herbal Index is a small company. Nevertheless, it believes that what should be left for the next generation is not embellished words, but genuineness and facts. In other words, being an 'essential oil shop that doesn't lie' is the company's promise to its customers.
Not Selling Ambiguous Oils Even If Sales Drop
If standards are tightened, the number of essential oils that can be handled will decrease. Sales opportunities will also likely decrease.
Nevertheless, protecting sales by continuing to sell unexplainable products is not the kind of company Herbal Index aims to be.
Essential oils are products that deal with invisible scents. That is precisely why there is a responsibility to explain the invisible aspects.
Origin, documentation, scent verification, reason for adoption. Being able to show each of these to the customer is necessary for essential oil sales going forward. While reports and press releases regarding adulterated oils are seen worldwide, the company aims to pursue transparency in essential oil sales within Japan and to create an environment where consumers can correctly choose essential oils.
Representative Comment
We believe that essential oils are not just about having a good scent or being cheap.
Having the necessary documents in order. Having a clear origin. Passing our sensory tests. These may seem like obvious criteria. However, if we try to thoroughly implement these obvious standards, there will be oils we cannot handle. Sales may drop. Even so, protecting sales by continuing to sell unexplainable essential oils is not the kind of company I want to build.
Herbal Index will become a company that deals in explainable essential oils, not just sellable ones. Our target is not a specific company. What we should target is the ambiguous distribution structure that allows essential oils to be sold without their contents and origins being clear. First, we will clarify our own standards. We will start from there.
And we want to create an era where all essential oil enthusiasts and all companies selling natural and organic products can choose essential oils with peace of mind.
Future Developments
This announcement is the first step, and the company will sequentially release initiatives to increase transparency in essential oil sales.
In the future, the company plans to provide essential oil information utilizing gas chromatography analysis data, and to more clearly convey the value of scents and plant components through Botafumu Technology, Medessence, and the essential oil perfume 'EMAKI.'
From an era of choosing scents based solely on sensation to an era of choosing them based on evidence.
As a first step, the company will shift to a policy of selling only explainable essential oils.
Company Overview
Item
Details
Company Name
Kohnan Co., Ltd., Herbal Index Company
Business Description
Planning, sales, and development support for essential oils, plant components, and beauty/wellness-related products
Announcement Content
New policy to adopt only essential oils that meet requirements for documentation, origin, and sensory testing
Future Plans
Sequential announcements planned for essential oils with GC data, Botafumu Technology, EMAKI, etc.
Contact for Inquiries
Kohnan Co., Ltd., Herbal Index Company
Contact: yotsuya-contact@herbalindex.co.jp
Official Website: https://www.naturas-psychos.com/
FAQ
What are Herbal Index's new criteria for adopting essential oils?
The four criteria are: complete documentation, clear origin, passing a sensory test, and being explainable to customers.
Why is Herbal Index adopting this policy despite expecting a sales decline?
It is a management decision that continuing to sell oils whose origin or quality cannot be explained is not the kind of company they aim to be.
What is the background concern behind this policy?
A sense of crisis about the ambiguous structure in the essential oil industry where products with mixed origins or suspected adulteration circulate as if genuine.