Calbee, Inc. (2229.T) announced its switching to black-and-white packaging for some of its popular potato chips, at least for a while. This change comes because supply chain problems, mostly tied to the ongoing tensions in the Middle East, are impacting the availability of materials needed for printing.
Starting May 25, the grayscale designs will roll out across the country and affect 14 different products, including several types of their well-known potato chips. The company assures that while the packaging is changing, the quality of the chips themselves will stay the same.
Although Calbee didn't mention exactly which materials are in short supply, the inks used for printing may be reliant on petroleum-based components, like naphtha. These issues have arisen after the Strait of Hormuz, an important global shipping route for oil and petrochemicals, was closed for an extended period.
With this temporary redesign, the usual vibrant colors will be missing, so shoppers will probably need to pay closer attention to the product labels instead of just relying on color to pick out their favorite flavors.
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May 08, 2026 15:50 ET Manufacturing and services sector survey results and labor market data from main economies were the highlight on the economics news front this week. Factory orders and jobs report dominated the news flow in the U.S. Similarly, industrial production data from German garnered attention in Europe. In Asia, purchasing managers’ survey results from China and the central bank decision from Australia were in focus.