Calbee, Inc. (カルビー株式会社, Karubī Kabushiki-gaisha) is a Japanese snack food maker. It was founded on 30 April 1949, and its headquarters are located in the Marunouchi Trust Tower Main in Marunouchi, Chiyoda, Tokyo. It launched operations at a new plant in the United States for making its mainstay products "Kappa Ebisen" shrimp chips and "Saya-endo" snow pea crisps on 18 September 2007.[3] Another popular snack they sell are potato fries, called "Jagabee".[4] Its snacks are hugely popular in Asia and are well known in the United States.[5][6]

Calbee, Inc.
Native name
カルビー株式会社
Karubī Kabushiki-gaisha
Company typePublic (KK)
TYO: 2229
IndustryFood
Founded30 April 1949; 75 years ago (1949-04-30)
Headquarters
Marunouchi Trust Tower Main
Marunouchi, Chiyoda, Tokyo
,
Key people
Makoto Ehara, Chairman and CEO[1]
ProductsSnacks and other foods
Revenue¥248,665 million (March 2019)[2]
Number of employees
3,860
Websitewww.calbee.co.jp
Calbee headquarters

History

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The company was founded in devastated post-war Hiroshima by Takashi Matsuo in 1949. His first product was the Calbee Caramel, named after the word "calcium" and vitamin B1. Due to the product's popularity, the company name was changed to Calbee in 1955.[7]

In 1973, Calbee Moh Seng (previously the Moh Seng Importer & Exporter Private Limited) was integrated into Calbee. It started off as the sole distributor of Calbee goods in Singapore.[8]

In the 1970s, Calbee partnered with Four Seas Group to introduce the company's products in Hong Kong. In 1994, the two companies formed the Calbee Four Seas joint venture company, and opened a new production plant in Tseung Kwan O Industrial Estate in 2000.[9]

In 1980, Calbee established Calbee Tanawat in Thailand.[7]

Calbee International launched in Hong Kong in 1992.[7]

In 2018, Calbee acquired UK company Seabrook Crisps. In 2019, Calbee acquired Warnock Food Products.[10]

Sponsorship

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Tyrrell 021 with Calbee sponsorship.

Calbee sponsored the Tyrrell Racing F1 team from 1990 to 1994 when Japanese drivers Satoru Nakajima and Ukyo Katayama drove for the team.

The company was also one of the sponsors for the anime Tiger and Bunny. Alongside dmm.com, they sponsored the character of Dragon Kid.

References

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  1. ^ "Corporate Data". Calbee, Inc. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  2. ^ "Potato Chips - Calbee" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 July 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  3. ^ "Calbee Launches New U.S. Plant". Archived from the original on 7 October 2007. Retrieved 14 October 2007.
  4. ^ "Jagabee|Calbee". www.calbee.co.jp. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  5. ^ ""Healthy" Foods That Aren't - Consumer News Story - WJAC Johnstown". Archived from the original on 13 September 2008. Retrieved 14 October 2007.
  6. ^ "Don't assume your snacks are healthy". KOMO-TV - Seattle, Washington - Consumer News. Archived from the original on 18 October 2007. Retrieved 14 October 2007.
  7. ^ a b c Ryall, Julian (1 June 2019). "Calbee: how snack foods company in post-nuclear Hiroshima became a global giant". South China Morning Post.
  8. ^ "Calbee Moh Seng | Home". calbeemohseng.com.sg. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  9. ^ "Our History and Milestone". Four Seas Group. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  10. ^ "BGL Announces the Sale of Warnock Food Products to Calbee". Bloomberg.com. 7 November 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
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  •   Media related to Calbee at Wikimedia Commons