DHC ディーエイチシー

DHC was founded in 1972 by Yoshiaki Yoshida as Daigaku Honyaku Center ('University Translation Center'), an academic translation services company — the initials of which became the company's name. The business had no connection to cosmetics in its early years.

Yoshida's interest in beauty products began after he encountered high-quality virgin olive oil from the Núñez de Prado producers in Andalusia, Spain. Drawing on this discovery alongside Japanese skincare traditions, DHC launched its first cosmetics product, Olive Virgin Oil, in 1980, entering the beauty business through mail order. The company went on to expand into a wide range of skincare and nutritional supplements, becoming known in Japan and internationally for its direct-to-consumer catalog and online sales model.