War in Iran causing dark development for potato chip packages in Japan

Japanese convenience store snack sections are going to be looking drab later this month.

Though your body does need some minimum amount of calories, sodium, and fat in order to function properly, potato chips are one of those foods that are clearly more about fun and pleasure than sustenance and nutrition. That’s reflected in their packaging, too. Strolling through a supermarket or convenience store, you can tell right away when you’ve come to the chip section of the shelves, as the bags are bursting with playful, eye-catchingly bright colors.

At least that’s the way things are right now. Come the end of the month, though, things are going to look different in Japan, as one of the country’s largest snack food makers is planning to switch to black-and-white packaging.

Calbee, who’s so associated with potato chips in Japan that they literally just call their line “Calbee Potato Chips,” has informed retailers that it intends to switch to black-and-white packaging for 14 of its top-selling products, including their perennially popular Usushio (Light Salt) and Consomme Punch-flavor potato chips. Why? Because of the war in Iran.

With the Middle East being the world’s largest source of oil, it’s not just the starting point of most supply lines for gasoline, but also for naphtha. Naphtha is a liquid hydrocarbon with a variety of uses, including as a component in the production of solvents and resins necessary for making printing inks. So as it becomes harder for naphtha to make its way through the Strait of Hormuz, so too does printing ink become harder and more expensive to procure, prompting Calbee to simplify its needs by getting rid of the color in its packaging.

▼ Calbee’s iconic Kappa Ebisen shrimp chips will also reportedly be making the switch to monochrome packaging

This development comes in the wake of rising concerns that disruptions in the naphtha supply chains could also be threatening the flow of purin/pudding to Japanese consumers, as the hydrocarbon is also needed for the production of the plastic cups that the sweet treats are packaged in.

Calbee says that the first black-and-white packages will be sent out in shipments from factories on May 25, and with the long shelf life of potato chips, they should keep long enough for those who want to munch on some of them while wearing their new black-and-white Game Boy pixel art Pokémon Uniqlo T-shirts.

Source: Yomiuri Shimbun, FNN Prime Online
Top image: Calbee
Insert images: Wikipedia/OptimusPrimeBot, Calbee
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