Snack Giant Calbee Switches to Black and White Packaging as Iran War Hits Ink Supplies
The stopgap move covers 14 products as Japan faces a naphtha shortage that is disrupting packaging materials, Calbee spokesman Kai Maraun said.
- On Tuesday, Japanese snack giant Calbee announced it will switch to monochrome packaging for 14 product variants starting May 25, stating the measure is intended to help maintain a stable supply of products.
- The packaging shift stems from a severe naphtha deficit in Japan, triggered by the war in Iran after the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz since late February throttled supplies of this oil-derived chemical.
- Calbee is one of many companies facing economic tremors from the conflict, with Foodmaker Mizkan, Toiletmaker Toto, and Itoham Yonekyu already halting sales, raising prices, or reducing packaging colors to manage similar disruptions.
- Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and deputy chief Cabinet secretary Kei Sato downplayed immediate shortage fears, though strategic oil stockpiles have dwindled to 205 days as of May 8, signaling supply tightness.
- Nomura Research Institute executive economist Takahide Kiuchi believes the crisis will force more businesses to adapt, with 72.5 per cent of consumer businesses potentially raising prices if supply concerns persist.
58 Articles
58 Articles
Calbee's chips will hit shelves in monochrome splendor within a month.
Japanese chip manufacturer Calbee is temporarily going to sell fourteen types of chips in a black-and-white bag. The chip producer says this is due to a shortage of naphtha, the raw material needed for colored ink, and that this shortage arose because of the war in Iran. Marketing expert Klaas Weima believes Calbee is running an enormous risk by doing this.
Snack Giant Switches To Black-and-White Packaging As Iran War Hits Ink Supplies
When was the last time a war changed the colour of a snack packet?That’s exactly what’s happening in Japan right now.Calbee, one of the country’s biggest snack makers, says it will temporarily switch to black-and-white packaging. For some of its popular crisps and prawn crackers.The reason isn’t design choice — it’s supply disruption linked to the ongoing Iran conflict and its ripple effects across global trade routes.From 25 May, 14 products wi…
Changes in packaging, colours and designs are not unusual for companies. However, the fact that the products of the Japanese chip manufacturer Calbee will be less colourful in the future has nothing to do with corporate strategy, but with world politics.
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