From our other sites
The story
Since late May 2026, Calbee had switched the packaging of mainstay products like potato chips to black and white, citing difficulty procuring naphtha, a petroleum-derived resin material. In a message to stakeholders dated September 25, President and CEO Makoto Ebara thanked the manga artists who contributed artwork to the black-and-white packaging, reflecting, “What emerged was a ‘color’ that exceeded our imagination.” On 5ch, opinions were divided over whether the naphtha shortage was actually still ongoing and why other companies kept their normal packaging, with debate also touching on whether price hikes were justified and how well the stock was actually selling in stores.
Calbee Representative Thanks Manga Artists Over Black-and-White Packaging: “What Emerged Was a ‘Color’ Beyond Our Imagination” | ORICON NEWS
2026-09-25 09:20 ORICON NEWS
On the 25th, Calbee released a message to stakeholders from President and CEO Makoto Ebara. It thanked manga artists over the switch to black-and-white packaging for products like potato chips since the end of May.
Source: oricon.co.jp / Read the original article here
What people said
Bad news — the US has started cutting back on exports.
Isn't it kind of pointless if everyone draws way more art than needed?
Can you still say that looking at the mountains of unsold stock in stores lol
Retailers have it rough too, having to display just the black-and-white ones somewhere eye-catching.
Is Japan's 'doomsday June' still not here yet?
That's because China bailed us out.
If China hadn't cut its crude oil imports in half,
Japan would've been done for.
That's just because imports dropped when the construction bubble burst, right?
It's not like they deliberately bailed us out.
I thought about buying a bag to keep as a memento, but it just looks like a funeral, so I passed.
The glorious result of scalpers who hoarded them and now can't sell a single one.
Maybe you could serve them as snacks at a funeral.
it's like being thrilled about wearing kokuminfuku (WWII-era 'national uniform') or monpe (baggy wartime work trousers).
If it were real wartime-style packaging, they wouldn't even print the product name on the front. "We want nothing until we win!" (a famous WWII austerity slogan)
It's just contradictory.
The people on the ground were genuinely struggling and this was a real corporate effort —
it's a shame it got treated as just a publicity stunt.
They actually had to make a major shift in import sources, from the Middle East to the US,
so it's different from the rice situation.
Now, what will the US come demanding next — the outlook is uncertain.
Looks like they'll hit their expiration date before anyone buys them.
Yeah, they look creepy, so I don't want to buy them.
If they drop to about half price, someone will probably buy them all up.
Probably because word got around that they could make it cheaper.
The shortage's been resolved, but prices are just staying high.
Costs have really gone up. Eventually the mood shifted to 'well, price hikes can't be helped,' which made it easier to pass the cost onto customers — so it became fine to just go back to normal.
No, the explanation was that there's a shortage.
Lying isn't cool.
Prices are surging because of the shortage.
We're just not losing out in the bidding because we're paying double.
Shortage?
Are you saying that based on actual data?
but naphtha's total import volume hasn't changed at all.
Isn't it simply that they don't want to overwork the printing plants?
Not really that big a deal, is it?
Background and Points of Debate
Naphtha is a petroleum-derived raw material used to make plastics and inks, and its procurement cost is said to have risen due to Middle East conditions and a shift in import sources since spring 2026. Calbee reportedly adopted the black-and-white design after finding it difficult to secure the ink needed for package printing, and the project grew from there into asking manga artists to contribute hand-drawn illustrations. The thread repeatedly raised the question of “why are other companies still releasing products with normal packaging,” but since each company’s supply routes and the timing of passing costs on to customers haven’t been made public, much of the discussion doesn’t go beyond speculation. Claims about naphtha’s total import volume and price trends also varied from post to post, and it’s worth noting that the debate proceeded without any backing from official statistics.
*This article is compiled as an excerpt and summary from the 5ch (News Speed+) thread “[Naphtha] Calbee Representative Thanks Manga Artists Over Black-and-White Packaging: “What Emerged Was a ‘Color’ Beyond Our Imagination”.”
Leave a Reply