Covered Bridge Chips Wins 12-Container Costco Japan Order as Canadian Exports Push into Asia
Covered Bridge Potato Chip Company is expanding its presence in Japan after Costco Japan ordered 12 container loads of the Canadian company's potato chips, with eight already shipped as of late September 2026, the company announced on October 5. The order scales up a distribution relationship that began earlier this year and confirms Japan as a growth market for the New Brunswick-based producer.
Covered Bridge entered Japan in 2026 through an open-ended supply agreement with Costco Japan, announced in June during the Team Canada Trade Mission to Japan, when an initial shipment of four containers was en route. Japan became the company's tenth international market through that agreement. The larger Costco order reported in September indicates that shipments have continued well beyond the initial delivery — the test phase has become a programme.
Japanese consumers can now find the product on shelf: Costco Japan lists Covered Bridge Potato Chips Sea Salt Flavor and Sea Salt & Vinegar Flavor, both in 567-gram formats and produced in Canada. The Sea Salt variety is a thick-cut chip made with potatoes, vegetable oil and salt; the Sea Salt & Vinegar variety adds a vinegar-based seasoning. For a Canadian regional brand, placement in Costco Japan provides both volume and credibility in a market where imported snack foods carry a premium image.
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The export push matters for the supply chain behind the brand as well. Covered Bridge positions itself on Canadian-grown potatoes, and container-scale export orders translate into steadier demand for contracted chip-stock acreage in Atlantic Canada — a region where processing contracts are a key stabiliser for potato farm incomes. The company has not disclosed the monetary value of the Costco Japan order or its total export share of production; those figures remain open.
The broader context is a competitive global chip trade in which Canadian and US producers are looking east as domestic volumes plateau. US chip-potato shipments are down 19.9% in the 2026/27 season to date, sharpening the industry's focus on export outlets. Success stories at the club-store level — where a single listing can absorb multiple containers per quarter — suggest that channel partnerships may matter as much as trade agreements in moving North American potato products into Asian retail.
Source: Covered Bridge Potato Chip Company via PotatoPro, 05.10.2026
