Calbee launched POP LAYERS in Thailand in October 2026 as a new Asia-Oceania snack brand. It targets younger consumers with three multilayer corn chip flavours. Convenience store chain 7-Eleven secured exclusive initial rights to sell the lineup nationwide.

Three varieties lead the rollout: Salt, Cheese, and BBQ. The BBQ flavour remains exclusive to 7-Eleven branches. Salt and Cheese will expand to other retail channels roughly four weeks after the debut.

To develop POP LAYERS, Calbee adapted the production processes and recipe behind GuriBee, a four-layer corn snack made in Indonesia. PT. Calbee-Wings Food, a joint venture established in 2021 between Calbee and Indonesia’s Wings Group, expanded manufacturing capacity to supply overseas markets beyond its domestic Indonesian network.

This approach alters Calbee’s traditional practice of exporting Japanese formulations into Southeast Asia. Local manufacturing in Indonesia allows the company to test textures and flavours against regional consumer taste profiles before distributing across neighbouring ASEAN territories.

“POP LAYERS is a new brand originating in Indonesia developed to reach more consumers around the world. Beginning with Thailand, we aim to drive further growth overseas and strengthen our global business foundation.”

Thailand serves as the testbed because fabricated and extruded snacks continue to gain share in the country’s savoury snack segment. Urban shoppers show high trial rates for novel textures. That appetite creates shelf space for layered corn chips against standard potato crisps.

Exclusive items like the 7-Eleven BBQ variant drive store foot traffic for retail partners. For Calbee, Indonesian manufacturing delivers a lower unit cost than shipping finished goods from domestic Japanese plants.

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