The research and development department at Zensho Group is constantly researching ways to further improve the taste and freshness of ingredients, and to develop products and services that will delight our customers.

This time, we'll introduce "Kita Sarara," a health-conscious onion variety developed using the latest technology.

"Kita Sarara" is a "healthy onion" jointly developed by Zensho Holdings and the Plant Breeding Research Institute Co., Ltd. (headquartered in Hokkaido). The reason it's called a "healthy onion" is because it contains more than twice the amount of the health-promoting component "quercetin" compared to ordinary onions ^*. Quercetin is a polyphenol widely found in vegetables and fruits, and is expected to have various health benefits, such as antioxidant activity and assistance in fat breakdown.

To let more people know about the delicious taste of "Kita Sarara," we held a tasting of "Kita Sarara" onion soup at supermarkets of Zensho Group, which sells the product.

Customers who sampled the product commented that it was delicious, and the research and development team said, "The delicious taste of the onions remains the same, but the amount of quercetin has doubled. We're glad that customers were able to appreciate the quality of 'Kita Sarara'."

The research and development team made dozens of trips to Hokkaido to develop the delicious "Kita Sarara" onion. "We want to continue our research and development so that we can provide new value to our customers through onions," they said enthusiastically.

Beyond the development of "Kita Sarara," Zensho Group's research and development department is engaged in a variety of research projects.

In 2019, we conducted research on "the contribution of Gyudon toppings and side salads to postprandial blood glucose control" and presented our findings at an academic conference (Japan Society for Food Science and Technology).
Zensho 's research and development information can be found here.