Calbee, a renowned Japanese snack manufacturer, is launching a new potato chip perfect for the winter season. “Potato Chips Super Thin Cut Shiawase Butter” will be available for a limited time at convenience stores all across Japan starting Monday, December 8, 2025.
“Shiawase Butter” is a flavor that has been a long-standing favorite in Japan, celebrated for its exquisite sweet and salty combination of honey and butter. Now, this hugely popular flavor is making its debut in the “Super Thin Cut” series, which boasts the thinnest chips in Calbee’s history.
Product Release Information
This 40g bag of “Potato Chips Super Thin Cut Shiawase Butter” will have an open price (expected to be around 160 yen, tax included). Sales will begin on December 8, 2025, at convenience stores all across Japan, and it is a limited-time product scheduled to end in mid-January 2026. If you’re visiting Japan during the winter, be sure to check it out.
Please note, however, that some stores may not carry the product, and release dates might vary slightly.
What is “Shiawase Butter”? Japan’s Magical, Beloved Flavor
You might not be able to guess the taste just by hearing the name “Shiawase Butter.” It literally means “Happy Butter,” and as the name suggests, it is incredibly popular in Japan as a flavor that makes you feel happy when you eat it.
The basic combination consists of four ingredients: butter, honey, parsley, and mascarpone cheese. There’s a playful secret hidden in the name: the first syllables of these four ingredients in Japanese (Butter, Hachimitsu for honey, Pasley, Mascarpone) are taken to create a wordplay on “shiawase” (happiness). The richness of the butter, the sweetness of the honey, and the saltiness of the cheese and parsley come together to create a “sweet and salty” taste that’s hard to stop eating once you start.
While various versions have been released in the past, such as “Potato Chips Shiawase Butter” and the richer “Potato Chips Shiawase Rich Butter,” it is now finally appearing in the “Super Thin Cut” series. The original flavor has been redeveloped for this series.
Six Years in Development! The Secret Behind the “Super Thin Cut” Series’ Amazing Texture
The other star of this product is, without a doubt, its unique texture.
The “Potato Chips Super Thin Cut” series debuted in 2020 under the name “Synchro Potato.” Its most significant feature is that it is the thinnest of all Calbee potato chips. After being sliced, its thickness is only about half that of the popular “Kata-age Potato,” which is known for its crunchy texture.
It took six long years of development to achieve this extreme thinness. The potatoes are sliced using Calbee’s proprietary method, and the chips are fried in 100% sunflower oil. A special frying technique is used to create an unprecedentedly light and crisp texture that can best be described as “shaku-shaku.”
In 2024, the brand name was changed to the current “Potato Chips Super Thin Cut” to make it more familiar to a wider audience. Following this rebranding, the standard “Kodawari Shio Aji” (Specialty Salt Flavor) has gained many fans. This “Shiawase Butter” is a new flavor following that success.
Check Out the Packaging Too! Try to Find the Hidden Message
The product’s packaging follows the familiar design of “Calbee Potato Chips,” giving it a sense of friendliness. The background features a wave pattern inspired by the light texture of the series.
Furthermore, a “hidden message of happiness” is printed on the bottom of the package, offering a small delight after you’ve finished eating. Please pick one up yourself to see what message is written.
The package also features the “Calbee Potato Chips 50th Anniversary” commemorative logo, making it a special design available only for now.
If you see it in a Japanese convenience store, why not experience this special winter-only “happiness”?
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