Demand in South Korea for “honey butter chips” has brought about a surge in the wholesale price of local potatoes since the snack gained massive popularity in August.
Haetae Confectionery’s, which set the trend in motion with the first version of honey butter chips, registered KRW23bn (US$21m) in the first two months of 2015 alone—a figure the company expects to grow to KRW100bn (US$90m) by year end.
Since then, Nongshim, the country’s biggest food manufacturer, has bought thousands of tonnes of premium potatoes over the last six months for its brand of the chips, which is currently one of eight on the market. Most of these are very similar, in terms of taste and ingredients.
Elsewhere, other honey-butter snacks, including almonds and milk variants, are also under development to tap into a craze that has seen dwindling stocks across South Korea.
Experts have pinned the success of the snack on so-called "hunger marketing”—using a policy of critical undersupply to fan demand—though Haitai has denied this. Instead, the company attributes the various taste components that appeal to the South Korean palate.
Haitai explained that the popularity of the chips could be due to the perfect combination of salty, sweet and buttery tastes that suit the palate of many South Koreans.
Japan calls for end to import restrictions
Japanese trade officials have hit out at their South Korean counterparts over import restrictions on Japanese food that Tokyo says violate international trade rules.
Measures put in place by Korea after the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor meltdown, which require an additional layer of testing for Japanese imports, and altogether outlaw some products, are still in place over fears of radioactive contamination, though Japan believes they should be lifted.
“The government will explain in future consultations with Japan that import restrictions have been placed to secure the safety of people,” the ministry in Seoul said in a statement.
The Wall Street Journal reports that monitoring of food produced in the Fukushima region found that by 2014, less than 1% was contaminated with radiation above Japanese food-safety limits.
McDonald’s hopes new menu will restore Japan fortunes
Following a string of events that have seen its profits drop and its reputation in tatters, McDonald’s Japan has revamped its menu and pricing.
Over the last year, the fast food chain has been beset by a number of incidents, from a human tooth being found in fries to the fall-out of a scandal that involved a Chinese meat supplier relabelling expired protein.
Industrial action on the west coast of the United States resulted in a shortage of imported chips and rationing at its 3,000 Japanese restaurants, before in February recording the company’s first financial loss in 11 years.
The company will now add a new chicken and vegetable patty, as well as a salad and a low-calorie onion dressing. New set meal combinations will also be offered, while prices will be rounded up or down to appear clearer.
North Korea prepares for a bleak harvest
With more food shortages looming, North Korea has called on its people to increase agriculture and fishing production.
“It is of urgent necessity to increase production in order to significantly improve people’s diet with agricultural production, animal husbandry and fishing as the main thrusts and provide people and children with greater quantities of quality consumer goods, school things and foodstuff,” said an editorial in the state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper in an attempt to rouse people to the fields.
“There are neither difficulties insurmountable nor fortresses unconquerable for us when such ardent patriotic loyalty and revolutionary enthusiasm are displayed.
“The drive of increased production means a manifestation of intense loyalty of the Korean people ready to wholeheartedly respond to the party’s call.”
The move follows international reports that the isolated country is facing compounded food harvesting issues following a particularly dry winter growing season. The UN’s World Food Programme earlier this year predicted that rice and corn harvests would fall well short.