Don’t mistake its zipper for an actual potato chip.
Remember when Takarajimasha released our favorite Cup Noodle pouch last year? They’ve done it yet again with another of our favorite Japanese foods: Calbee potato chips. The company has created a pouch-and-tissue-case combo accessory based on one of the country’s most popular chip brands.
The pouch can be purchased via the Takarajimasha Channel site or at Family Mart convenience stores around Japan for 2,178 yen (US$15.03). It’s available in two “flavors”: Lightly Salted (Usushio) or Consommé Punch. We decided to order the classic Lightly Salted pouch and put it to the test.
▼ Left: Calbee potato chip pouch
Right: Bag of actual Calbee potato chips
It’s hard to tell the real thing from the pouch at a glance. Everything including the glossy finish, the ridged edges, and even the nutrition facts and ingredients on the back are almost completely similar to an actual bag of Calbee chips.
One subtle and adorable difference is on the label: rather than writing an actual expiration date under the “amount” (内容量) section, it says “Expiration date: for as long as you love me”. Who would have thought we’d find such loyalty from a bag of chips?
Actually touching the pouch convinced us it was not an actual bag of potato chips. It’s soft and is well-stitched, making for a sturdy and comfortable fashion statement.
The zipper is also sturdy and well-made, and it even comes with a potato chip charm to fool everyone around you–and maybe even yourself.
There’s also a wrist strap for versatile holding. It’s detachable, so if you want to give the illusion of holding just a bag of potato chips, you’re free to do so.
To give you a sense of how much stuff this pouch can hold, we tried to see how many Blu-ray cases we could fit inside. As you can see, it holds three, so it should easily be big enough for a wallet, your smartphone, and a few other small essentials.
So what about the tissue case part of the combo? That’s located inside a fold on the back of the bag.
You could technically store other things here too, but since it doesn’t have a secure closure method, we don’t recommend keeping valuables in here. It’s great for disposables, though.
▼ Here’s what it looks like as a tissue case! Admittedly, it’s a bit less eye-catching since it’s the back of the bag, but you can still trick your friends into thinking you did some clever DIY with an empty bag of potato chips.
The potato chip pouch also comes with the Calbee brand book made by Takarajimasha. It contains information about the chips’ ingredients, the history of the Calbee brand, trivia, and more.
So if you like accessories that are well-made and can definitely classify as conversation starters, we highly recommend this Calbee pouch! Up the ante by carrying around some actual potato chips in them (maybe not the wet kind, though).
Photos ©SoraNews24
● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
[ Read in Japanese ]