Japanese snacks go black-and-white: Why Iran war is driving up ink prices

The US-Israeli war on Iran is draining the colour from Japan’s supermarket shelves, with the biggest crisp makers swapping once-vibrant packaging for monochrome as a result of a shortage of ink.

Tokyo-based Calbee, one of the most popular brands in the snack market, has said it will – at least temporarily – switch to using black and white on the packaging of 14 of its products, including its Cal...