Discover Quantum Computing in Japan’s Pore Care Innovation

The Mintel Most Innovative (MMI) awards recognize standout product innovations from around the world that reflect changing consumer needs and signal where markets are heading next. One of the 2026 winners from Japan in the Beauty and Personal Care category, DECORTÉ AQ Pore Blackhead Dissolver from KOSÉ Corporation, offers a new approach to pores and keratin plugs, long-standing challenges in Japan’s skincare market, through formulation design powered by quantum computing. This article explores why pore care remains an unresolved consumer concern, and what the product development process suggests about the future of skincare innovation. 

DECORTÉ AQ Pore Blackhead Dissolver is a rinse-off cleansing serum from DECORTÉ’s signature AQ line that focuses on keratin plugs in pores. According to KOSÉ, the Japanese cosmetics company behind the DECORTÉ brand, the product is designed to dissolve and break down pore-clogging keratin plugs, helping lead to smoother skin without blackheads or roughness. 

What sets the product apart is its use of quantum computing to optimize a formula from more than 100 billion possible ingredients and blending combinations. By targeting the lipids within keratin plugs, it is designed to remove stubborn plugs, blackheads and oxidized sebum that daily skincare often struggles to address, while remaining gentle on the skin. 

Its light, smooth texture and clean after-feel further strengthen the user experience. Suitable for targeted use or the whole face as an alternative to cleansing or face washing, it goes beyond conventional pore care by combining advanced formulation design with everyday usability. 

In Japan’s skincare market, visible pores and clogging caused by keratin plugs remain persistent concerns that continue to attract strong consumer interest. This is especially evident among younger women: 59% of Japanese women aged 18–29 and 56% of women aged 30–39 cite pores as a skincare concern (client-access only). 

This concern also translates into clear demand for products that help make pores less noticeable, with more than half of younger women seeking this benefit. This suggests that pore-related concerns are not a passing trend, but an ongoing theme for product development. 

The importance of pore care is not limited to Japan. In China, nearly half of women aged 18–59 cite enlarged pores as a concern, suggesting that there is growing room for brands to rethink pore care across Asian beauty markets. 

At the same time, this is not an easy issue to solve. Keratin plugs are composed of approximately 70% proteins (e.g. keratin) and 30% lipids (e.g. sebum), making them difficult to remove sufficiently through ordinary facial cleansing. 

This has prompted some BPC brands in Japan to explore more differentiated approaches to pore care, including charcoal- and clay-based adsorption, pH-based decomposition and formulas designed to loosen keratin plugs. However, the continued persistence of pore-related concerns suggests that no single approach has fully addressed consumer needs, leaving meaningful white space for innovation in both efficacy and user experience. 

This unresolved nature formed the context for the product’s MMI recognition. Rather than being recognized simply as another “pore care product,” the focus was on how it defined a complex issue that has long remained unsolved, and the method it used to address it.

MMI evaluates products not only for novelty or functional claims, but also for how clearly they define consumer problems and how appropriate the proposed solution is.

Angelia Teso, one of our prestigious judges, provided the following commentary about this year’s award-winning product: 

“Very impressive – to be able to pull off an advanced technology for cosmetics is a large achievement. I admired how they scoped consumer issues to the right level to utilise Quantum Computer Engineering to solve the formulation issue. This speaks to not just product innovation, but innovation systems change. DECORTÉ focused on the process of innovation in order to gain an edge and it has been successful.” 

— Angelia Teo, Founder, Futura Foresight Studio & Genue 

This evaluation shows that the product was recognized for incorporating a new solution approach from the formulation design stage to address the complex issue of pores and keratin plugs. In other words, its value lies not in adding another function within the existing pore care category, but in redesigning the way the issue itself is approached. 

The difficulty of addressing pores and keratin plugs lies in the fact that simply removing impurities is not enough. Because the condition of keratin plugs and the visibility of pores can vary depending on skin type and age, a one-size-fits-all approach may not always deliver visible results. 

Consumers also have conflicting needs: they want products that cleanse thoroughly while avoiding dryness and irritation. In fact, while nearly half of Japanese women seek facial cleansers that do not dry out the skin (client-access only), insufficient cleansing can also contribute to the appearance of visible pores. 

This makes pore care a particularly challenging area, as brands must deliver both cleansing efficacy and skin gentleness without compromising either benefit. 

So how did AQ Pore Blackhead Dissolver approach this complex challenge of pores and keratin plugs? At the MMI 2026 trophy presentation, Mr. Yoshikawa and Mr. Obikane of KOSÉ, who were responsible for developing the product, shared insights into the thinking behind its creation. 

Yoshikawa is a researcher with expertise built through hands-on experience in formulation design, while Obikane joined the project as a data scientist. 

The fusion of these different areas of expertise became an important factor in guiding a new approach to solving the complex issue of pores and keratin plugs, one that extends beyond conventional formulation development. 

Yoshikawa explains the point that was particularly important in the development process: 

Obikane also points out the following regarding the use of digital technology: 

“It is important to distinguish between the parts handled by people and the parts handled by technology.” 

These comments suggest that the value lies not simply in introducing quantum computing, but in designing a process in which people assess the possibilities explored by technology and determine how they can be translated into perceived skin benefits and viable formulations. 

In this way, the case is characterized by the coexistence of technology-led exploration and human decision-making.

The approach taken by this product also aligns with the evolution of pore care in Japan’s skincare market. In recent years, brands have begun to place more emphasis not only on stronger cleansing, but also on formulation design based on the composition of keratin plugs and age-related changes in pore structure, care tailored to skin condition, and the balance between cleansing and moisturization. 

Given restrictions under Japan’s Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Act that make direct expressions such as “shrinking pores” difficult to use, communications grounded in scientific evidence and formulation design that goes beyond ingredient or format innovation are likely to become increasingly important in strengthening a brand’s value proposition. 

Daisuke Fujita, Country Manager of Mintel Japan, who presented the trophy, explains that “MMI is not simply about recognizing ‘excellent products.’ Through examples that symbolize changes in consumer needs and the evolution of the market, it shows what kinds of innovation will be required next.” 

The case of DECORTÉ AQ Pore Blackhead Dissolver is highly suggestive because it shows not simply functional innovation, but how companies can rethink unresolved challenges and move closer to solutions by combining technology with human judgement. 

This case shows how the ways brands define problems, design solution approaches and use technology are evolving in response to long-standing challenges such as pores and keratin plugs. 

So, what other innovations are emerging around the world? And what implications might they hold for Japan and broader Asian markets? The MMI 2026 Winners Showcase brings together innovative products from around the world selected through this lens, helping readers understand changes in consumer needs, the direction of category evolution and concrete implications for product development and brand strategy. 

Use it not only to address the challenges in front of you, but also as inspiration for identifying the next market opportunity.