May 15, 2026 — Imagine grabbing your favorite bag of potato chips, only to find the vibrant colors, the playful mascot, the familiar branding—all gone. Replaced by stark black and white.
That’s precisely what’s happening in Japan, and it’s a visible, frankly unsettling, sign of a much deeper problem: the growing naphtha shortage.
Calbee, the snack-food giant, made headlines earlier this month by announcing that 14 of its most popular products, including their beloved potato chips and granola, would ditch their colorful packaging. The reason? The ongoing conflict in Iran has choked the supply of naphtha, a petroleum-derived raw material.
Naphtha, you see, is crucial for producing the inks and solvents needed for printing. So, for now, the cheerful potato mascot that has adorned Calbee bags since 1976 is temporarily off duty.
“Calbee will continue to respond flexibly and promptly to changes in its operating environment,” the company stated, “including geopolitical risks, and remains committed to maintaining a stable supply.”
That’s corporate speak for, “Things are getting tough, and we’re trying our best.”
But this isn’t just about potato chips. Not by a long shot. A report from Teikoku Databank reveals a staggering depth to this issue. 52 Japanese companies rely on naphtha to produce basic chemical products—things like ethylene, synthetic rubber, and PVC resin.
These aren’t obscure industrial components; they are the literal building blocks of modern manufacturing. The ripple effect is huge: 46,741 Japanese manufacturers, roughly 30% of all those surveyed, are directly integrated into this naphtha supply chain. Think about that: almost one-third of the entire manufacturing sector.
The most vulnerable sectors, predictably, are chemicals, petroleum, and coal products, with nearly 70% of companies affected. Within that, producers of cyclic intermediates (raw materials for plastics, synthetic fibers, dyes, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and agrochemicals) are 88.4% integrated into the chain.
Gelatin, adhesives, surfactants—they’re all heavily reliant. But the real head-scratcher? Even seemingly unrelated industries are getting hit. Over 80% of companies making coated paper for fast-food packaging and paper cups are feeling the squeeze.
Even the food, livestock feed, and beverage sectors, which you’d think would be insulated, are grappling with difficulties in simply obtaining containers and packaging.
Despite government assurances that Japan has secured sufficient quantities and there are “no supply issues,” corporate actions tell a different story.
Mizkan, for example, suspended sales of four of its nattō products, citing container and packaging procurement problems.
Nisshin Seifun Welna, a major spaghetti producer, has resorted to plain packaging tape, abandoning the practice of printing cooking times directly on it. These aren’t just minor inconveniences; they’re a quiet, pervasive disruption to daily life.
What’s truly alarming is the impact on critical goods. Syringes and rubber gloves? Growing shortages. Residential insulation? Affected. Packaging film for food? Restricted.
If the conflict in the Middle East continues—and there’s no immediate sign it won’t—the impact will only become more serious, touching every facet of Japanese daily life.
The black-and-white potato chip bag is more than just a novelty; it’s a stark visual warning of the fragility of global supply chains and the unexpected domino effect of distant conflicts.
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