Quick answer
TOA Inc. — the company most buyers still know as Nihon Kolmar — is Japan’s largest cosmetics OEM/ODM (Original Equipment / Original Design Manufacturer) and, in my judgement, the benchmark Japanese partner for skincare brands that arrive with volume and want the factory to write the formula. Founded in Osaka in 1912, renamed TOA in June 2024, it reports 2,448 employees, ¥69.6 billion in FY2025 sales, around 200 researchers and eight production sites in Japan (company-stated, checked 26 September 2026). My verdict: endorsed for established brands, retailer private labels and multi-SKU launches. Not the right first call for a 1,000-unit test batch — and before you sign, make sure every document names TOA Inc., not an entity that no longer trades under that name.
The name change your supplier list missed
Start with the housekeeping, because it trips up more buyers than you would think. In June 2024 Nihon Kolmar Co., Ltd. changed its corporate name to TOA Inc. — "Total Outsourcing Access" — to reflect the full-service model it already sold (TOA official About Us page, checked 26 September 2026). Same Osaka headquarters, same plants, same people. But trade-show directories, Alibaba-style supplier lists and even some 2026 "top Japanese OEM" roundups still print the old name — and a buyer searching only for "TOA" will find a dozen unrelated Japanese companies first.
Two practical consequences. First, if you are searching registries, audit reports or old quotations, search both names. Second, Kolmar Korea is a completely separate, Korean-listed company that grew out of a 1990 joint venture — it is not the Japanese parent, and a quotation on Kolmar Korea letterhead is not a quotation from Osaka. Confirm which legal entity will sign your manufacturing agreement and which plant will fill it.
The scale, measured in the company’s own numbers
TOA is big in a way that matters to buyers, not just to league tables. The company states 2,448 employees as of 31 March 2026 and sales of ¥69.602 billion for fiscal 2025 (TOA official). For perspective, that is roughly four times the revenue of Nippon Shikizai, a listed Japanese peer we review later in this series. Its domestic plants sit in Yao, Kashiwara, Izumo, Shizuoka, Yuki (N and S — Yuki Plant S started operating on 3 March 2025), Iga and Hiroshima, with further operations in Suzhou and Hangzhou, China, and in Vietnam.
Spread matters in Japan. Eight domestic sites across different prefectures is disaster insurance: an earthquake in Kansai does not stop Shimane or Ibaraki. Shimane Prefecture’s own investment register records the company’s expansion of production in Unnan City, where the Izumo plant sits (Shimane Prefecture). For a brand whose best-seller cannot go out of stock, that geographic redundancy is worth more than any brochure claim.
The formulation bench: why brands come here
The single strongest reason to call TOA is that you do not need to bring a formula. The company states about 200 researchers and that 90% of the formulas it commercialises are developed in-house (TOA official). In a 2021 interview, then-president Yoshihide Kanzaki described issuing around 8,000 new SKUs a year for more than 480 clients, with skincare at roughly 45% of revenue, makeup 35% and hair care 15%, and a policy of not launching brands that compete with its clients (The Worldfolio, 10 May 2021). Those interview figures are five years old and company-stated; treat them as direction, not as a current count.
What that bench means in practice: a brief along the lines of "a lightweight vitamin C serum that stays stable in a clear bottle, for humid Southeast Asian summers" is a normal starting point here, not an exotic request. The same interview mentions proprietary actives (a grape-peel extract, DELAMYTH, positioned for UV-damaged skin). Ask which of its in-house raw materials can be exclusive to you, and on what terms — that is where a large ODM’s R&D stops being a slogan and becomes your moat.
Quality system: what is stated, and what to ask for
TOA describes an independent QC/QA organisation that sits apart from production and R&D, and its history notes a Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS) certified plant as far back as 1988 (company-stated). The 2021 interview described the Izumo factory as cleared by the US FDA, which in practice usually means a registered facility that has been inspected — ask for the current FDA registration number and the last inspection outcome if the US is on your roadmap.
What I could not find on the English site is a plant-by-plant list of ISO 22716 (cosmetic GMP) certificates with dates. That is not a red flag for a company of this size — Japan’s own manufacturing licence under the PMD Act (Act on Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices) is the legal baseline — but it is a document gap. If your market, retailer or distributor asks for ISO 22716, request the certificate for the specific plant that will fill your order, not a group-level statement.
The company on paper (public records)
| Legal name | TOA Inc. (formerly Nihon Kolmar Co., Ltd.; renamed June 2024) |
| Founded | 1912 (as Kinryoen); Kolmar licence and name adopted 1968 |
| Head office | Nippon Life Yodoyabashi Bldg. 17F, 3-5-29 Kitahama, Chuo-ku, Osaka |
| Capital | ¥120 million |
| Employees | 2,448 (31 March 2026, company-stated) |
| Sales | ¥69.602 billion, FY2025 (company-stated) |
| Plants | Yao, Kashiwara, Izumo, Shizuoka, Yuki N & S, Iga, Hiroshima (Japan); Suzhou, Hangzhou (China); Vietnam |
| Categories | Skincare, makeup, hair care, quasi-drugs |
| Published MOQ / lead time | Not disclosed |
| Website | toa-cosme.co.jp/en |
All values from TOA’s official English site, checked 26 September 2026, unless stated otherwise.
Published terms: there aren’t any
TOA publishes no minimum order quantity, no price band and no standard lead time. That is normal for a Japanese ODM of this size and it tells you how the relationship works: you send a brief, you go through a development and sampling phase, and a quotation follows. Expect the development phase itself — formulation, stability testing, packaging compatibility — to run for months, and longer for quasi-drugs, which need approval from Japanese regulators before they can be sold in Japan.
The honest read for a smaller brand: a factory issuing thousands of SKUs a year for hundreds of clients will prioritise the projects with the clearest volume. If you come with 1,000 units and no retail commitment, you are unlikely to get the senior formulator. Come with a one-page brief, a target cost per unit, a year-one volume forecast and your launch markets, and you will be treated as a serious prospect.
Who should call them — and who should not
Call them if: you are an established brand, a retailer building a private label, or a distributor launching a multi-SKU skincare range and you want a partner that can originate formulas, supply proprietary actives and absorb growth without you changing factories. Also call them if "made in Japan" is central to your positioning and you want plant redundancy behind a hero product.
Look elsewhere if: your first order is a test batch of a few hundred to a few thousand units; you need published prices before you start a conversation; or you want a small team that answers WhatsApp at 10 p.m. For small first runs in Japan, see the small-lot specialist we review at the end of this series, or compare regional options in our guide to where to manufacture cosmetics: US vs Europe vs Asia.
Related Manufacturers
Other skincare OEM/ODM options our readers compare against Japan’s largest:
- Korean private-label skincare — 10 private label cosmetics partners in South Korea
- Korean sun-care specialists — leading OEM/ODM sunscreen factories in South Korea
- Southeast Asian alternatives — best skincare OEM manufacturers in Malaysia (2026)
- The J-beauty demand picture — K-beauty, J-beauty and the regional trends driving OEM demand
More reviews in the OEM Manufacturer section.
FAQ
Is Nihon Kolmar the same company as TOA?
Yes. Nihon Kolmar Co., Ltd. renamed itself TOA Inc. in June 2024, keeping the same Osaka headquarters, plants and business (company-stated). Search both names when checking audits, registries or old quotations, and make sure your agreement names TOA Inc. Kolmar Korea is a separate Korean-listed company, not the Japanese parent.
Is TOA the largest cosmetics OEM in Japan?
By revenue it is widely described as Japan’s largest cosmetics OEM/ODM, and its stated FY2025 sales of ¥69.6 billion are well above listed peers such as Nippon Shikizai (about ¥16.6 billion for the year to February 2026). Size is company-stated; we did not compare audited accounts for every private Japanese OEM.
What is TOA’s minimum order quantity?
TOA does not publish an MOQ. Terms are set by quotation after a development brief, and they vary by product type, packaging and plant. As a working rule, a Japanese ODM of this size is geared to brands forecasting tens of thousands of units a year; ask for a written quotation at two volume levels to see the price curve.
Can TOA make quasi-drugs such as medicated whitening or anti-acne products?
Yes — quasi-drugs are part of its stated business. In Japan these products need regulatory approval before sale, so development timelines are longer than for standard cosmetics. If you plan to sell outside Japan, check how the product will be classified in your own market, since "quasi-drug" is a Japanese category.
Does TOA have ISO 22716?
I did not find a plant-by-plant ISO 22716 list on TOA’s English site as of 26 September 2026. It states an independent QA system and holds Japanese manufacturing licences. Ask for the ISO 22716 certificate, if any, for the exact plant that will produce your product.
Limitations of this review
This review is a desk review. I did not visit any TOA plant, did not test products and did not obtain a quotation. Headcount, sales, researcher numbers and plant list are company-stated from TOA’s official site on 26 September 2026; SKU and client counts come from a 2021 interview and may have changed. I could not independently verify the FDA status of the Izumo plant or any ISO 22716 certificate. MOQ, price and lead time are not published and were therefore not assessed. Google Maps ratings were not captured for this review. Verify every commercial and regulatory detail directly with the company before committing.
How this review was researched
Sources: TOA Inc. official English website, About Us and company overview pages (captured 26 September 2026); Shimane Prefecture enterprise-location register (checked 26 September 2026); The Worldfolio interview with Yoshihide Kanzaki (published 10 May 2021); Nippon Shikizai published results via IRBANK (captured 25 September 2026) for the peer comparison. Certifications are company-stated unless a record is cited.
⭐ OEM Review ENDORSED — Japan’s Formulation Heavyweight, 2026. Endorsement scope: established brands, retailer private labels and multi-SKU skincare launches with volume. Questions on record: plant-level ISO 22716 certificates not published; current FDA status of Izumo to be confirmed; no published MOQ.
About this review
Aiman Zafran is a reviewer and researcher covering OEM and ODM manufacturing across Asia. Every figure and company detail in this review comes from publicly available sources — the company’s official website, government records and published interviews — each captured on the dates stated in the text. Figures that were not publicly available were not used. Conclusions and verdicts are one reviewer’s professional opinion, formed by comparing these public facts against other manufacturers measured the same way, and are offered for reference only; verify all commercial and regulatory details directly with the company before committing.
