"There's no mistaking the stark change in the chip's packaging. Calbee's lightly salted chips, known as "usu shio," originally came in a bright-orange bag with an image of yellow chips and a potato-man mascot wearing a hat. The new packaging just has monochrome lettering. The company, which also makes shrimp chips, or "kappa ebisen," had just announced an ambitious growth strategy in March."
"Japan, which relies almost entirely on imports for its oil, has so far ridden out the worries relatively calmly, as the government has worked to allay such fears by noting the nation's oil reserves. But it's still facing a squeeze on naphtha, an oil-derived product that's used in items like plastics and ink. The move is the latest as companies grapple with spiking prices and shortages of oil and other products caused by the war in the Middle East and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz."
Calbee Inc. will change the packaging of 14 snack products in Japan starting May 25, shifting from colored designs to monochrome black-and-white. The company said the snacks inside remain unchanged and the measure is intended to maintain stable product supply amid disruptions affecting an ingredient used in colored ink. Calbee will limit ink colors to two and described the change as a flexible response to changing geopolitical conditions. The duration of the packaging change is unclear. The move reflects broader shortages and price pressures tied to the war in the Middle East and disruptions such as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, including a squeeze on naphtha used in plastics and ink.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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