Pacific Currents
Thursday, June 13, 2002

Mint Condition

Natural Pill developed in Hawaii
reduces breath, underarm and foot odors.

By Alissa Hiraga, Features editor

We are an on-the-go society crazed with saving time and upping
the convenience gauge. Our food is fast and our cars even faster.
Cleanliness has become a virtue easily attained. We’re smarter
cookies for it, too, with clever inventions like Listerine Cool Mint
Oral Care Strips pocket packs that freshen breath in light speed’s
time. And popping vitamins for nutrients rather than eating veg-
gies by traditional fork and spoon has become a norm. It’s a
business venture paradise.

So it’s no shocker that many people have left hygiene
maintenance in the hands of a little green pill.

The emergence of BodyMint, developed by Hawaiian Organics,
is catering to our constant wishes to expunge our natural nastiness.
Culled from the tropical climate of Hawaii, the “total-body” deodorant
is derived from the chlorophyll of plants. It does not contain herbs,
animal products, preservatives, colorings or artificial ingredients.

The clever creation is the brainchild of partners Eddie Onouye,
Claire Tanoue and Rona Wong Yim. Research for BodyMint
took three years. “If you look at BodyMint’s ingredients, it
looks simple enough. But it took nine formulations over the
course of three years to perfect it until we were fully satisfied,”
explains Tanoue. “When BodyMint was sold out in some stores,
we had customers tell us that they tried using other internal
cleansers but didn’t have the same effect as BodyMint. This
is because the secrets are in its processing.” Tanoue and her
company give out one-week supply samples in Hawaii. The
pills take effect quickly, between 2 to 4 days.

BodyMint is sold at hundreds of drugstores in Hawaii, New York
and California. Eckerd drug stores Whole Foods Market will soon
follow suit by carrying the green pills.

Hawaiian Organics will market the product in Japan and are currently
working with an exclusive Japanese distributor. “We think the Japanese
market will be huge for us,” Tanoue says. The prediction is not far-fetched.
BodyMint sold one million this year alone.

BodyMint has earned a solid fan base with its consumers as well.
The company fields personal e-mail accounts detailing experiences
of resurgence in confidence and more comfortable lifestyles. “One
person e-mailed us how they are now able to take off their shoes
when they visit friends without worrying about foot odor,” says Tanoue.

Taken like a daily vitamin, BodyMint is labeled as a 100 percent natural
dietary supplement and reduces breath, underarm and foot odors. Its
creators say that the green pill is safe to take and that there are no
serious side effects associated with its ingredients, with the exception
that it may cause stool to be greenish in color. The back of the pill’s
packaging states that those who have a medical condition, on medication,
pregnant, nursing or experience cramps or diarrhea should seek doctor’s
advice prior to use.

Like many other pills and remedies on the market, BodyMint has not been
evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration nor does it claim to diagnose,
treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Available at retailers such as Henri Bendel and Fred Segal’s,
a month’s supply bottle costs about $20. Tanoue says that BodyMint
will be available at Fred Segal’s on Melrose and in Brentwood.