Japanese snack manufacturer Calbee is replacing the orange-and-yellow packaging of 14 products with black-and-white designs [1].
The shift highlights how geopolitical instability in the Middle East can disrupt global supply chains for materials as basic as printing ink. While the product contents remain unchanged, the visual identity of several popular snacks will be stripped of color to maintain production schedules.
Calbee announced the change on Tuesday, May 12 [2]. The company said the decision follows a shortage of colored inks required for its standard packaging. This shortage is the result of a disruption in the supply of naphtha, a petroleum-based raw material [1].
The supply chain failure is linked to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz during the ongoing conflict in the Middle East [1]. The Strait of Hormuz is a critical transit point for global oil and petroleum products, and its closure has created a ripple effect across various industrial sectors in Asia.
Because the naphtha supply has been compromised, the manufacturer cannot produce the specific orange and yellow pigments used for its branding. By switching to black-and-white packaging, Calbee intends to avoid total production halts for these 14 product lines [1].
The company is navigating a volatile environment where regional warfare directly impacts the availability of chemical components used in consumer goods. This move is a temporary measure to ensure that snacks remain available on shelves despite the lack of colored ink [1].
“Calbee will replace the orange-and-yellow packaging of 14 snack products with black-and-white packaging”
This incident demonstrates the fragility of 'just-in-time' manufacturing when faced with geopolitical chokepoints. The dependence on naphtha, a byproduct of crude oil refining, means that a blockade in the Strait of Hormuz does not only affect fuel prices but also the chemical precursors for dyes and plastics. Calbee's decision to strip color from its branding is a visible manifestation of a 'hidden' supply chain crisis, signaling that industrial inputs are becoming casualties of regional conflict.
