Calbee Shifts 14 Products to Black-and-White Packs as Iran War Nearly Doubles Naphtha Prices
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · May 12
Calbee Shifts 14 Products to Black-and-White Packs as Iran War Nearly Doubles Naphtha Prices
8 articles · Updated · BBC.com · May 12
Calbee said black-and-white packaging for 14 products, including crisps and prawn crackers, will reach Japanese stores from May 25 to keep supply stable.
The change follows disruption to naphtha—an oil-refining byproduct used in ink and plastics—after the Iran war halted shipments through the Strait of Hormuz; Asian naphtha prices have almost doubled since Feb. 28.
Japan was especially exposed because about 40% of its naphtha imports came from the Middle East before the war, prompting the government to seek alternative supplies including from the US.
The packaging shift adds to broader fallout across industries: Mizkan has suspended some products and raised prices, while airlines, carmakers and retailers have also been hit by higher fuel and materials costs.
Is Calbee's simplified packaging a temporary crisis measure or the future of branding in a volatile world?
Beyond snack packaging, how will the shutdown of a single waterway cripple other major global industries next?
As Mideast conflict severs supply lines, can Japan innovate its way out of its critical resource dependency?