Overview
- Calbee, which disclosed the change Tuesday, will temporarily limit packaging to two colors for 14 items with bags appearing the week of May 25 and the food itself unchanged.
- The company cites unstable supplies for packaging materials linked to a shortage of naphtha, a petroleum product used to make printing-ink resins and solvents, after shipping through the Strait of Hormuz was choked off.
- Japan typically sourced about 40% of its naphtha from the Middle East, so reduced flows have tightened inputs used not only in inks but also in plastics and adhesives found across consumer goods.
- Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Kei Sato says the government has no reports of immediate national shortages and notes that naphtha imports from outside the Middle East have tripled in May, with ministries meeting companies to track conditions.
- The squeeze is rippling across industries as Toto briefly halted orders for plastic-rich bath units, Mizkan suspended some natto lines and raised prices, Itoham is weighing simpler packaging, Calbee shares fell about 1.7% Tuesday, and more Calbee redesigns are slated for late June.