The Iran War Is Taking the Color Out of Japan's Best-Known Snack Bags

[dalton99a]

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/12/world/asia/calbee-japan-bags-iran-war.html

The Iran War Is Taking the Color Out of Japan’s Best-Known Snack Bags
The food giant Calbee said shortages of naphtha, a crude-oil derivative used in inks, were forcing it to switch to black-and-white packaging for its salty products.
By Javier C. Hernández and Kiuko Notoya
May 12, 2026, 6:48 a.m. ET


Calbee potato chips, with their traditional packaging in the rear and the new version in front. (Calbee)

The Iran war has wreaked havoc on global supply chains, caused a spike in oil prices and scrambled international trade.

Now it is coming for potato chips.

The Japanese food giant Calbee said on Tuesday that it would temporarily abandon its brightly colored plastic snack bags in favor of black-and-white wrapping because of “instability affecting certain raw materials amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East.”

The company said in a statement that the measure was meant to “help maintain a stable supply of products,” adding that it would not affect the quality of the snacks.

Calbee is making the change because it is having trouble securing naphtha, a crude-oil derivative used in printing inks, a spokeswoman for the company confirmed by telephone.

...

[niyad]

1. I prefer the more accurate t####/bibi illegal, unjust, war on Iran.

[Submariner]

2. I believe the Japanese have a saying for this, something like "every f

*cking thing he touches turns to shit".

[Wounded Bear]

3. My local paper, The Seattle Times is down to two sections, with four pages each...

Citing supply chain issues. It's not just food and fuel being affected.