Gluten-Free Options Expand at Japan’s Konbini With ZENB Pasta

The latest addition to Natural Lawson’s pasta selection starts with a pea.

Two gluten-free dishes made with ZENB’s yellow-pea noodles went on sale on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, at stores in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama. Each costs ¥646, including tax.

The Soy Milk Cream Pasta（グルテンフリー ZENBパスタ 豆乳クリーム）combines chicken, broccoli, grated cheese and black pepper with a soy milk sauce. Kombu tea supplies a quiet layer of savory flavor. The Tuna Garlic Tomato Pasta（グルテンフリー ZENBパスタ ツナガーリックトマト）is more assertive: grated and fried garlic deepen a tomato-and-onion sauce topped with tuna, cheese and parsley.

Neither the noodles nor the sauces use wheat. Both dishes carry the recommendation mark of Japan’s Gluten Free Life Association, meeting its standard of no more than 10 parts per million of gluten, according to Lawson.

What Is ZENB? The Mizkan Group’s Plant-Based Food Brand

ZENB, part of the Mizkan Group, takes its name from zenbu, the Japanese word for “everything.” The idea is to use as much of a plant as possible. Its noodles, for example, contain just yellow peas, thin skins included, with a mild savory flavor and a chewy texture.

Noodles are only one part of the business. In Japan, ZENB also sells pea-flour breads, baked doughnuts, chips and other snacks, along with pasta sauces, curries and soups. The bread selection runs from cocoa and walnut-raisin to baked curry bread, applying the same ingredient to both sweet and savory staples.

Mizkan: From Japanese Vinegar to Branston Pickle and Sarson’s

 

The company behind the brand has been rethinking ingredients for more than two centuries. Mizkan began in Handa, Aichi Prefecture, in 1804, making vinegar from sake lees for Edo’s growing sushi trade. Vinegar, Ajipon—a citrus-seasoned soy sauce—and other seasonings remain central to its Japanese business.

Its roots are Japanese; its reach is international. British shoppers may know it through Branston Pickle, a fixture in cheese sandwiches, or Sarson’s malt vinegar, a familiar accompaniment to fish and chips. Mizkan acquired Sarson’s in 2012 and Branston in 2013.

Beyond Japan: Pea and Pulse Pasta

Peas are part of a wider reconsideration of what pasta can be made from. The Italian producer Barilla offers chickpea and red lentil pasta. Pasta Lensi also uses yellow lentils, while Rummo combines chickpeas with brown rice in its gluten-free penne.

ZENB has participated in the American market, too. Its U.S. range included yellow-pea spaghetti, penne and rotini, as well as ramen in shoyu, spicy miso and vegan tonkotsu flavors. Following the retirement of that lineup in May 2025, its U.S. offering now features selected products from Japan through its Amazon.com store.

In Japan, its noodles arrived in September 2020. By April 2025, sales had exceeded 20 million servings, according to the company. They can stand in for noodles in ramen and yakisoba as readily as in a plate of pasta.

ZENB’s Growing Role in Ready-Made Konbini Meals

ZENB’s dried noodles and sauces serve home cooks, and some of its products reach shoppers through selected supermarkets and convenience stores. Prepared meals offer another route. In November 2023, 7-Eleven introduced a ZENB noodle pasta with vegetables, tuna and tomato sauce at stores in Tokyo.

Natural Lawson’s launch adds to that foothold. Finding a gluten-free option at a konbini is one thing; finding a noodle dish is another. For shoppers who have been missing that choice, a ready-made bowl of pasta is a welcome addition to the lunch shelf.

Availability varies by store. Lawson notes that the dishes are not intended for people with wheat allergies and are made in facilities that also handle wheat.