Behind the Scenes
How Calbee was built
Calbee Founder Takashi Matsuo's legacy of creating delicious, nutritious snacks began with his culinary experience of selling candy and caramel before World War II. When he was 18 years old, he came across the phrase "Make sure to achieve one thing that will remain in the world. One person. One achievement." This became the spirit of the Calbee establishment.
Because of the poor health conditions that Japan faced compared to Western countries during that era, Matsuo founded his company based on the premise of good health. Ultimately, this would play a role in the naming of "Calbee"; “Cal" stands for Calcium and the "bee" stands for Vitamin B1 found in his products.
In 1955, Matsuo developed small snack pieces called "arare" in Japanese. Made of flour, the first production of "Kappa Arare" went on sale in Japan. Later on, he found an opportunity to add calcium-rich shrimp into "arare". The idea came from when he saw local fishermen drying shrimp from the Setonaikai Sea. From that point, he started creating his flagship product and as a result, "Kappa Ebisen" was created in 1964.
About Farmers
Producer's Wish and Speciality:
We work hard on our field every day. We use different techniques to bring out the nutrition in the ingredients. Our reclaimed fields are rich in minerals to maximize the power of nature. We are happy to say that our neighbors and friends know that these products are locally grown. The potatoes we produce are very good, so please enjoy them.
Message to Our Customers:
Our goal is to make safe and nutritious potatoes. We produce them with confidence, so please eat a lot!
"Pride of Producing Area"
Demizu city is famous for being a place where cranes are commonly seen flying. You can see the cranes from the end of October to March.
Producer's Wish and Speciality:
Since great soil plays a huge role in our production, I think this is why our potatoes taste great. Our fields are originally from reclaimed land that has been enriched with minerals and we continue testing new ways to make the best use of the soil. We are always striving to provide you with the best tasting snacks made from fresh potatoes.
We take special care in growing and handling our potatoes. We are proud of our potatoes, so please enjoy them.
Production Process
BeeMee Snaps (Lightly salted, Purple mix)
Snaps start with sliced raw potatoes and are finished off with a sprinkling of fresh seasonings.
1. peeling
2. slicing
3. frying
4. flavoring
BeeMee Veggies (Garden Duo, Harvest Trio, Island Special)
Veggies are sliced, flash frozen and then fried in fresh oil to produce a perfect, vegetable crisp.
1. slicing
2. washing
3. freezing
4. frying