Matsuya's Official X Quotes Nippon Ham Group Post, Teases "Tomato and Garlic...!?"

Matsuya’s official X account quoted a post from Nippon Ham Group’s official account shortly after 6 p.m. on September 30, writing “Tomato and garlic…!? Which means…” The quoted Nippon Ham Group post paired the line “The day we can enjoy that flavor at home may be coming…!?” with an image that linked the Nippon Ham Group and Matsuya logos with a “+” and, after an “=”, showed illustrations of a tomato and garlic and of a dish that looks like a hamburg steak topped with sauce. The layout suggests the two companies are teaming up on a home-use product built around tomato and garlic, but Matsuya’s post gives neither a menu name nor a release date. No corresponding entry appeared in the announcements or menu information on Matsuya’s official website as of September 30, so the product name and details have not yet been revealed.

First Time the Two Companies Appear Together Since the 2025 Thick Pork Steak

The most recent Matsuya announcement to explicitly describe a direct collaboration with Nippon Ham goes back to the “Set Meal of Domestic Snow Country-Raised Thick Pork Steak,” released on June 19, 2025. That announcement stated “Nippon Ham x Matsuya Foods collaboration” and promoted thick-cut pork in a garlic-forward sauce. About a week after release, the Pork Steak also got a second variation with “Chaliapin Sauce” (a Japanese-style sauce made by simmering onion and garlic, with a buttery aroma). This is the first time Nippon Ham and Matsuya have publicly appeared together since that Thick Pork Steak.

“Enjoy That Flavor at Home” Hints at a Home-Use Product

The line in the quoted Nippon Ham Group post, “The day we can enjoy that flavor at home,” suggests a product enjoyed at home rather than in the restaurant. Matsuya has turned its in-store flavors into home products before: in February 2015, it released “Umatoma Hamburg Steak” and “Demi-glace Hamburg Steak” as frozen single-serving packs that can be heated in hot water, sold at supermarkets and other retailers nationwide. This image likewise places both companies’ logos next to the words “that flavor at home,” suggesting a home-use product made with Nippon Ham Group, but specifics such as the product name, release date and sales format had not been revealed as of September 30.

Tomato and Garlic Is the Hallmark of Matsuya’s “Umatoma”

At Matsuya, tomato and garlic mean one thing: the “Umatoma Hamburg Steak,” known as “Umatoma.” Matsuya’s announcements have described its sauce as a special tomato sauce in which “the savory depth of garlic and the tang of tomato are addictive.” The announcement for its June 3, 2025 release also carried the headline “A supreme team-up of garlic, tomato and meat juices.” The Umatoma sauce has expanded beyond hamburg steak, to the “Umatoma Chicken Set Meal” in December 2023 and the “Beef Bowl topped with Tomato and Cheese” released in April 2026. The quoted image shows illustrations of a tomato and garlic, along with a dish that looks like a hamburg steak topped with sauce. As of September 30, Matsuya’s official channels had not yet announced the name of the product in question.

Posted Amid a Run of Announcements

The post comes during a stretch in which Matsuya’s official X account has been issuing announcements back to back. On September 29, it announced the “Black Mapo Tofu Set Meal” as going on sale that same day, and on the morning of September 30, it announced a collaboration campaign with “Sumikko Gurashi” (scheduled to start on October 6). In between, the account put out this post, which withholds both the product name and the date.

Matsuya’s official X account has done this before, holding back details to build attention before revealing the answer, such as when it let a “mystery cup” appear in a July tasting post and revealed a few days later that it was “Soy Milk Pudding.” What “tomato and garlic” refers to this time will have to wait for further official announcements.