September 16, 1975: Calbee Launches Popular Potato Chips

Birth of a Mainstay Product

On September 16, 1975, snack food manufacturer Calbee launched its first line of potato chips, a lightly salted variety that remains popular today. The company drew consumers to its new product with a humorous television ad campaign that emphasized the low cost and high value of the chips, helping turn the snack into a new favorite. Calbee struck gold again when it released a consommé-flavored chip in 1978, with the original taste sending ripples through the snack world and earning the firm explosive sales.

Calbee today has secured a 70% share of the Japanese potato chip market with its strategy of emphasizing the freshness of products and by regularly introducing new flavors, including regional and limited-time varieties. It launches more than 100 new products every year while also tweaking its mainstay flavors of lightly salted, seaweed salt, and consommé every few years to keep in step with changing consumer tastes.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo: Calbee’s 1975 lightly salted potato chips [left] alongside the same product today. Courtesy Calbee; © Jiji.)