Calbee rolls out monochrome snack packaging amid ink supply worries

TOKYO - Major Japanese snack maker Calbee Inc. began selling its Kappa Ebisen shrimp crackers in black-and-white packaging this week in Tokyo, a move in response to uncertainty over supplies of oil-derived naphtha stemming from the Middle East conflict.

At a supermarket on Monday, the monochrome Kappa Ebisen bags -- stamped with the words "oil-saving package" -- appeared on the shelves alongside snacks in colorful packaging.