A snack brand familiar to many Bay Area shoppers is stripping much of the color from its packaging after the Middle East conflict disrupted supplies of materials used in printing ink.
Calbee, the Japanese company behind a variety of potato chips, crackers and shrimp chips sold in U.S. stores, said Tuesday that 14 product varieties will temporarily switch to packaging limited to two ink colors.
The company said the change is meant to help keep products on shelves during “supply instability affecting certain raw materials” linked to tensions in the Middle East.
The pared-down bags are expected to start appearing in stores the week of May 25. Calbee said the change applies to a limited number of products and “will not affect product quality.”
The shortage involves naphtha, a crude oil derivative used in plastics and printing inks, whose supply has been disrupted by the war and shipping problems around the Strait of Hormuz.
Kei Sato, a Japanese government spokesperson, said Tuesday that officials were working with the companies impacted to understand the problem.
“Adequate supplies of the naptha ink ingredient have been secured for important functions in Japan,” he said in a broadcast statement. “We are working with major corporations to ensure naptha is imported by routes other than through the strait of Hormuz,”
Calbee products are widely recognizable in Bay Area grocery aisles, with snacks available at 99 Ranch Market, Target, H Mart and smaller retailers.