Japan-based food group Calbee is to bring back to market the three lines of crisps it stopped selling in April after a poor harvest had led to a shortage of potatoes.
Calbee said it would start selling the three products, including its Pizza Potato brand, on a phased basis from Monday (19 June) after being able to source enough potatoes to resume production.
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Other ranges remain off the market but Calbee said it was working to resume sales. Calbee said last month it aimed to restore full production by September.
Four typhoons last August hit northern Japan, meaning potato production in Hokkaido – a major vegetable producing region – fell 10% last year.
Hokkaido, meanwhile, will be the location for a new site Calbee is to operate from August to produce its Frugra breakfast cereals for sale in China.
To keep up with anticipated strong demand from China, Calbee is also investing about JPY7bn to build another new granola facility in Kyoto, scheduled to start operation in the summer of 2018, mainly producing the 800g pack Frugra, although that plant will also cater for the Japanese market.
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