Japanese snack giant Calbee is temporarily switching to monochrome packaging for 14 of its products due to a shortage of ink supplies caused by the conflict in the Middle East.

• The new black and white packaging for products like crisps and prawn crackers will start appearing in Japanese shops from 25 May.
• The disruption is linked to the conflict's impact on the supply of naphtha, a key ingredient in ink production, with Asian prices nearly doubling.
• This change highlights how global conflicts are affecting everyday consumer goods, with impacts on fuel, plastics, and now food packaging.