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Letter From Tokachi

Calbee makes 920m packets of chips in Japan in a year - what’s their secret?

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A passer-by receives a bag of Calbee potato chips from Calbee Group chief executive officer Makoto Ehara, at an event held at Tokyo Station on Sept 1 to commemorate the brand's 50th anniversary of potato chips.

A passer-by receives a bag of Calbee potato chips from Calbee Group chief executive officer Makoto Ehara, at an event held at Tokyo Station.

PHOTO: CALBEE

Follow topic:
  • Calbee celebrates 50 years of potato chips with fan events, highlighting the journey from farm to packet.
  • Climate change and labour shortages threaten potato harvests, prompting Calbee to innovate with new potato strains.
  • Calbee started from humble beginnings post-WWII to become a snack market leader, now focusing on health foods alongside its core potato chip business.

AI generated

Fourteen-year-old Keiji Sugawara excitedly digs into the soil, pulling out and unearthing potatoes that he quickly fills up a cardboard box with.

He has been waiting for this day to harvest with his own hands the single most important ingredient in his favourite Calbee potato chips, even sheepishly admitting that he skipped school on that drizzly Aug 29 morning.

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