Over the last four centuries, the potato has come a long way from the American Andes. Since its cultivation in Spain in the middle of the 16th century, it quickly traveled to Asian countries, thanks to European immigration and the colonialists. The arrival of the potato brought along potato products including our favorite snack – potato chips. An article by written Barbara Zec.

It is said that travel changes people, making them more open and aware of the world around them. The same thing happened to potato chips in Asia. They started to look and taste different, adopting and using local spices and colors. Since their arrival, the chips sector has grown and flourished, embracing a constant change like the way of “living”. In the Asian region, the five top brands of potato chips, according to data provided to us by Euromonitor, are Calbee, Lay’s, Koikeya, Orion and Jack ‘n’ Jill. In the following text, we will take a look at their origins, brands and approaches to their packaging designs.

Calbee Inc is a major Japanese snack food maker, which was founded in 1949. In 1967, it gained wide acclaim at the international snack fair in New York. This recognition encouraged the company to spread its business and, a few years later, it established Calbee America. Over the next years, it spread its business all over the region and the world. In 1975, it launched its first potato chips. This was not the company’s first snack made from potatoes. Three years earlier it introduced Saporo Potato, a packaged potato snack. The newer version of this snack, the Jagarico potato snack was introduced in 1995 and, in 2006, Jagabee was launched. Both products are packaged in plastic cups and are very popular.

When it comes to offering potato snacks that are not in the shape of potato slices, Western markets are very shy. However, in Asia, you can indulge yourself with pre-packaged potato sticks, which have a similar appearance to French fries. The above-mentioned Jagarico and Jagabee are two of these snacks.

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