If you go to buy your favorite Calbee chips in Japan and find a familiar black and white bag, it’s not a printing error.
The Japanese snack maker announced Tuesday that it will temporarily change its packaging to grayscale and eliminate its typical bright, eye-catching colors in stores nationwide due to supply chain disruptions caused by the Iran war.
The company said in a statement that the move was in response to “supply instability affecting certain raw materials amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East.”
“This measure is aimed at maintaining a stable supply of products.”
The black and white changes will be applied to 14 products. The new packaging will go on sale May 25 and will not affect product quality, Calbee said.
The company did not specify exactly which shortage caused the change. However, a Japanese government spokesperson said, “We have not received any reports of any immediate supply issues regarding printing ink or naphtha, and we recognize that Japan as a whole has the necessary quantities.”
Naphtha is a petroleum byproduct that is sometimes used as part of the ink manufacturing process.
The spokesperson added that the government will meet with Calbee to discuss the situation and resolve supply imbalances.
Companies around the world have been scrambling to find solutions to supply disruptions since the United States and Israel attacked Iran in late February, prompting an extended closure of the Strait of Hormuz. This waterway is a major shipping route and source of Middle Eastern oil to the rest of the world.
We are already seeing these disruptions play out in a variety of areas, from fertilizer shortages hurting farmers across Asia to Indian rice producers being unable to export grain to Middle Eastern markets. Middle Eastern airlines account for a large share of global air cargo traffic, causing delays in deliveries to consumers around the world.
The images released by Calbee show the new bags in various shades of gray. Gone was the familiar image of a mascot wearing a hat amidst a sea of potato chips, leaving only the colorless wrapper and text label.
Lean packaging may mean shoppers need to rely on the wording on the package rather than the color when grabbing their favorite flavors right off the supermarket shelf.
If you’re a regular Calbee consumer, you’ll know that the red bag is for lightly salted potato chips, and the yellow label with green label is for fans of seaweed flavor.
