Japan’s leading potato chip maker is feeling the crunch from shortages linked to the Iran war, swapping its signature orange-and-yellow packets for black and white. <\/p>\n
A household name in Japan, Calbee is known for its savory potato chips with an array of flavors from seaweed salt to soy sauce and butter. <\/p>\n
The company said Tuesday it will “revise the packaging specifications” and use just “two colors” in packaging for 14 product lines beginning later this month or in June. <\/p>\n
It did not say which two colors, but the statement showed photos of grey packaging. <\/p>\n
Calbee blamed “supply instability for certain raw materials resulting from the escalating tensions in the Middle East”. <\/p>\n
Local media said the snack-maker has seen its procurement of printing ink compromised by shortages of naphtha, an oil byproduct used in a wide range of industries. <\/p>\n
The goods affected included several potato chip products, as well as a breakfast cereal and Kappa Ebisen, a moreish shrimp snack known for the slogan “can’t stop, can’t stop”. <\/p>\n
“We will continue to respond swiftly and flexibly to changes in the business environment, including geopolitical risks, while striving to deliver safe, reliable, and satisfying products,” the company said. <\/p>\n
Another Japanese food company, Itoham Yonekyu Holdings, also told AFP that going black-and-white or using different kinds of inks for some of its products were among possible options in the future, similarly blaming supply problems due to the Middle East conflict. <\/p>\n
Roughly a fifth of the world’s oil normally passes through the Strait of Hormuz, and its de facto closure since the war began in late February has sent prices soaring. <\/p>\n
Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi previously said Tokyo was expected to have enough naphtha-derived chemical products to last beyond the end of the year after boosting imports from outside the Middle East. <\/p>\n
Last week Takaichi said that the global oil supply squeeze was inflicting an “enormous impact” on the Asia-Pacific region. <\/p>\n