Snack food manufacturer Calbee Inc. plans to switch to black-and-white packaging for some mainstay products, including potato chips, due to unstable ink supplies stemming from the Middle East crisis.
A shortage of printing ink made from naphtha, which is typically produced through crude oil refining, could affect other food manufacturers.
Calbee notified the retailers it supplies of the design change on May 8, sources said.
Fourteen items will be affected, including potato chip varieties “Usushio Aji” (lightly salted flavor), “Consomme Punch” and “Norishio” (salt and seaweed), as well as “Kappa Ebisen” shrimp-flavored crackers and “Kataage Potato” hard-fried chips.
The packaging for these products will be changed in stages to a monochrome format, starting with shipments from May 25, the sources said.
Calbee told its business partners that it may request further adjustments and cooperation.
“Depending on how the situation evolves, we anticipate the possibility of additional impacts arising,” the company said.
At a news conference on May 12, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Kei Sato said the government plans to interview companies about supplies of naphtha and printing ink in connection with Calbee’s decision.
He said the government has not received reports about imminent supply disruptions, but ministries and agencies involved are communicating with companies to obtain more information.