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
11 articles · Updated · BBC.com · May 12
Calbee said 14 products, including crisps and prawn crackers, will begin appearing in black-and-white packaging in Japan from May 25 to keep supplies stable.
Naphtha—used in ink and plastics—has been squeezed after Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz following US and Israeli strikes, with Asian prices almost doubling since the war began on Feb. 28.
Japan was importing about 40% of its naphtha from the Middle East before the conflict, and the government says it is working to ease bottlenecks while expanding sourcing to suppliers such as the US.
The packaging change adds to wider fallout across Asia: Mizkan has suspended some products and raised prices, while Toyota, Hyundai, airlines and retailers such as Next have all flagged higher costs from the disruption.
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?