Calbee Inc. is switching the packaging of 14 snack products to a black-and-white design in Japan starting May 25, 2026 [1, 2].

The move highlights how geopolitical instability in the Middle East can disrupt the global supply chain for basic industrial materials. By removing colored inks, the company aims to maintain production levels despite a critical shortage of the raw materials required for vibrant packaging.

The shift is a direct response to a shortage of naphtha, a crude-oil derivative essential for the production of colored printing ink [3, 4]. This scarcity is attributed to the war in Iran and broader tensions in the region, which have limited the available supply of the chemical [3, 5].

Calbee will implement the two-color design across 14 specific product lines [1]. The company expects these modified bags to appear on store shelves starting May 25, 2026 [2].

While the company has not issued a public statement regarding the long-term duration of this change, the move reflects a growing trend of industrial adaptation to resource scarcity. The use of black-and-white packaging allows the company to bypass the current bottleneck in the naphtha supply chain, a critical component for most modern commercial printing processes [3, 4].

This adjustment comes as Japanese industries grapple with the volatility of oil derivatives. Naphtha remains a foundational building block for plastics and dyes, meaning disruptions in oil-producing regions like Iran have immediate ripple effects on the visual appearance of consumer goods in Japan [3, 5].

“Calbee is switching the packaging of 14 snack products to a black-and-white design.”

This decision illustrates the fragility of 'just-in-time' manufacturing and the extreme dependency of consumer branding on petrochemical stability. When a primary derivative like naphtha becomes scarce due to regional conflict, companies must choose between halting production or sacrificing brand identity. Calbee's shift suggests that material availability is currently outweighing the marketing value of color-coded packaging.