Itadaki Malatang Appoints Sarika as Official Ambassador and Signs Partnership Agreement

Itadaki Malatang / Ouchi de Malatang Inc. announced that Sarika has been appointed as the official ambassador and public relations representative for Itadaki Malatang, with a partnership agreement now concluded. The company, a group company of Nexter Inc., which operates in SNS marketing, develops an integrated food distribution and sales business centered on the Itadaki Malatang brand. It operates the frozen malatang D2C brand “Ouchi de Malatang” for consumers, while also expanding B2B wholesale channels for retailers, bathing facilities, and accommodation businesses. Starting from Itadaki Malatang Shin-Okubo Main Store, described as the birthplace of Japanese-style malatang, the company plans to develop directly managed stores and franchise locations while building a store model that connects the entire food value chain. The brand vision is to make Japanese-style malatang a new specialty of the Reiwa era and a new pillar of Japanese food culture. Its mission is to establish malatang as part of Japan’s food culture and grow this Japanese-style malatang into the representative form of “Japan’s malatang.” “Ouchi de Malatang” is a frozen food D2C brand that allows customers to easily enjoy the taste of the renowned Itadaki Malatang Shin-Okubo Main Store at home. The product is positioned as a delicious, healthy, and beauty-conscious food that can be prepared quickly and easily, and has been gaining attention across Tokyo and Japan. The company highlights the appeal of malatang as an example of “medicine and food sharing the same origin.” Malatang, a soup dish originating in China, uses many medicinal spices and is widely associated with wellness-oriented eating. Itadaki Malatang uses gluten-free glass noodles made from starch, making it suitable for health-conscious consumers and those sensitive to gluten. The soup uses carefully selected Japanese ingredients including domestic chicken, yuzu from Tokushima, flying fish from Kagoshima, and Hatcho miso from Aichi. The included glass noodles are original, unbleached noodles produced in Nara Prefecture. In recent years, malatang has gained attention in Japan through the growth of specialty shops and social media exposure, particularly among health-conscious consumers. Itadaki Malatang features a low-calorie, low-carbohydrate, gluten-free design, together with the numbing sensation of Sichuan pepper and the heat of chili peppers. The company says it aims to make malatang an everyday food choice rather than a temporary trend, which led to the partnership with Sarika as official ambassador. Sarika commented that she works as a model, fashion stylist, poker event companion, and social media creator focused on beauty, fashion, and lifestyle, sharing the theme of women shining in their own way. She regularly values wellness, participates in projects related to Japan’s bathing culture, and visits saunas about once or twice a week. She discovered Itadaki Malatang through post-sauna meals and was attracted by its warming, delicious, healthy, and satisfying qualities. As ambassador, she plans to share the appeal and ways to enjoy Itadaki Malatang together with sauna and wellness culture. The company also stated that it complies with Japan’s stealth marketing prevention guidelines. Since October 1, 2023, regulations under Japan’s Act against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations have been strengthened for advertising conducted by third parties at the request or instruction of businesses. The company says it signs NDAs with creators and ensures confirmation of the Consumer Affairs Agency’s stealth marketing prevention guidelines. Itadaki Malatang is also promoting its “sauna meal” concept in the bathing and sauna industry through a sauna-specific malatang product. The product is designed to replenish minerals such as magnesium, potassium, and sodium lost through sweating in saunas. It uses sea lettuce rich in magnesium and potassium, fresh glass noodles made from sweet potato starch and potato starch, and more than 30 original blended spices. The company also provides marketing support to bathing facilities that carry the product, including possible PR outreach through brand ambassadors. Ouchi de Malatang reportedly has more than 200 ambassadors with a combined follower base exceeding 20 million. Sustainability and well-being are also central themes for the brand. The company says it is evolving beyond food-loss reduction by creating a circulating food culture across three channels: home consumption, wholesale supply, and local stores. By adding leftover household or restaurant ingredients and local produce to its medicinal soup, the company aims to transform “waste” into gratitude, promote regenerative food design, and circulate the energy of nature, people, and local communities through a single bowl of soup.