Gwyneth Paltrow Finally Brings Brand ‘Goop’ To Tokyo, But Will You Love It?

Open for a limited time at Tokyo Midtown, Hollywood’s sweetheart Gwyneth Paltrow's health and wellness brand has finally made it to the capital, but will it grasp Tokyoites' hearts?

Gwyneth Paltrow’s health and wellness lifestyle brand goop has come to Tokyo… at last. Originally launched in the U.S. in 2008, goop is currently hosting its first-ever event in Japan, a pop-up cafe and shop at Tokyo Midtown. And while the brand has generated plenty of controversy and derision for promoting such weird and ineffective new-age fads as vaginal steaming, jade eggs (for vaginal weightlifting), celery juice and coffee enemas, the products you’ll find at the temporary Tokyo outpost are decidedly more innocuous.

Good selection with Hollywood prices

The pop-up is divided into two sections: a small boutique and a food-truck-style outdoor cafe. Located in Midtown Garden, the small buildings are surrounded by lush greenery and fragrant flowers. The shop sells a range of goop branded fashion and beauty products, including track pants, yoga leggings, bra tops, knit sweaters, bath salts, facial oil and fragrances.

All of the products carry Paltrow’s signature minimalist-meets-preppy aesthetic, as well as the brand’s “aspirational” price points (a bag of bath salts goes for over ¥5,000, while facial oil costs more than ¥15,000).

Small portions, but eco-friendly (for the most part)

Over at the food truck, the menu includes a variety of vegan and gluten-free options such as soups, salads, open-faced sandwiches, avocado chocolate mousse, and chia pudding with berries. Prices range from ¥600 to ¥1,500, but the portions are smaller than what you would expect from such a casual setting.

 

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I did, however, appreciate the efforts being made to reduce plastic waste: cutlery is wooden and the food containers are made from paper (although some still have plastic lids, and cold drinks are also served in plastic cups).

Not exactly an A game

During our visit, we tried the black bean quinoa bowl. In the menu photo, it looked delicious, but the actual product was a bit different than what we expected. Heavy on the beans and light on everything else, it was topped with a few small pieces of avocado and a hard-boiled egg, but it lacked in flavor. We asked for some hot sauce to alleviate the blandness, but none was available.

The actual black bean quinoa bowl and a cup of coffee.

The organic coffee was hot and fresh, and the paper lid was another nice touch. And after all, sitting outside in the sunshine surrounded by beautiful blooms made any shortcomings with the food almost inconsequential.

The goop pop-up shop and cafe is open through May 26.

The Deets

Goop Japan

Address: Tokyo Midtown Garden, 9-7-1 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Open: Daily, from Fri, Apr 19 through Sun, May 26, 2019. 11 a.m.-8 p.m. (Weekdays), 11 a.m.-10 p.m. (Weekends and national holidays)
Non-smoking.