Japanese Food Companies Strip Down Packaging to Save Ink

May 13, 2026 | News On Japan

TOKYO - The “ink shock” caused by tensions in the Middle East is beginning to spread across Japan’s food packaging industry, prompting manufacturers to simplify designs and reduce ink usage as concerns grow over naphtha supplies and rising printing costs.

Nisshin Seifun Welna currently displays pasta boiling times on the tapes used to bundle pasta products, but the company will gradually switch to plain, unprinted tape through June.

Food processor Taishi Food Industry will also simplify the design of its bean sprout packaging from June, reducing ink use by around 60%.

The company is also planning to revise the designs of fried tofu packaging and logo marks used on tofu containers, saying its top priority is “to manufacture products using as little ink as possible and deliver them to customers.”

Within the printing industry, procurement of solvents used to adjust ink density has become increasingly difficult, while ink prices themselves continue to rise. Some printing companies have already stopped accepting new print orders.

As concerns over naphtha supplies spread, the move to review packaging designs is expanding beyond snack maker Calbee, which previously announced a shift toward black-and-white packaging.

Previously: Calbee to Switch Some Packaging to Black and White Over Middle East Tensions

Source: FNN

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