More than just a bag of potato chips: Calbee marks 50 years of tasty crisps

For many fans, it is a source of comfort; the perfect chip starts with top spuds, which come mainly from Hokkaido.

- Walter Sim Japan Correspondent

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.

Accompanying him is his mother Yumi, a part-time convenience store worker in her 50s, who drove two hours from their home in Kushiro, in eastern Hokkaido, for the event in the Tokachi region, in the southeast. I am struck by how their passion for potato chips runs in the family. Mrs Sugawara quips that she "grew up with" Calbee potato chips, which she considers the "ultimate, indispensable comfort food". She has even tried making her own chips at home, but nothing came close to Calbee in taste.

The mother and son were among 14 pairs of lucky fans to join the Japanese snacks giant at the Hokkaido "fan meeting", one of the events being held nationwide as Calbee celebrates 50 years of potato chips. Hokkaido is also where the company sources most of its potatoes for its domestic products.

Calbee's potato chips first hit the shelves on Sept 16, 1975, and today are by far the company's bestselling product, not only in Japan but also around the world. At least 100 flavours of it are sold in Japan every year, including mainstays and limited-edition and regional specials.

The company is holding a series of events nationwide to celebrate the golden jubilee year of its potato chips, including some that give its most ardent fans a taste of the snack's journey from farm to packet. Calbee is separately also hosting fan events abroad, including its first Singapore popup at Plaza Singapura, which was held in August.