Color crunch: Japan’s Calbee chip bags go monochrome as Iran war bites | CNN

If you’re shopping for your favorite Calbee chips in Japan and see that familiar bag in black and white – it’s not a printing mistake. The Japanese snack maker said on Tuesday it will temporarily change the packaging to grayscale and ditch its typically bright and eye-catching colors in stores nationwide because of supply chain disruptions from the Iran war. The move comes in response to “supply instability affecting certain raw materials amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East,” the company said in a statement. “This measure is intended to help maintain a stable supply of products.” The black-and-white change will apply to 14 products. The new packaging will roll out on May 25 and won’t affect product quality, Calbee said. The company didn’t specify exactly which shortages had prompted the change. But a spokesperson from the Japanese government said it had “received no reports of immediate supply issues regarding printing ink or naphtha, and we recognize that the necessary volume for Japan as a whole is being secured.” Naphtha is a petroleum byproduct sometimes used in parts of the ink manufacturing process. The spokesperson added that the government plans t