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Instant noodles have become part of the world’s food culture, but what inspired Mr. Momofuku Ando (95 years old) to invent “Chicken Ramen,” the world’s first instant noodles?
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After seeing many malnourished people standing in long lines for one bowl of ramen in the black market amidst the burnt ruins of post-war Japan, Mr. Ando put up a humble hut in his backyard and began conducting research using ordinary tools, in the conviction that “ample food brings world peace.” Chicken Ramen was created on August 25th, 1958.
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How was this Chicken Ramen made?
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The noodles were steamed in a steamer basket, sprinkled with chicken soup, spread out by hand while still hot, and left to dry in the shade on duckboard shelves until the moisture content was reduced to about 45%. The amount of moisture was measured by hand-feel. Back then, when no measuring instruments were available, your own two hands were the only things you could rely on.
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What was the development concept?
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There were five aims. (1) Good tasting, (2) storable, (3) convenient, (4) cheap and (5) safe.
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I heard that it initially cost ¥35 per package, which was very expensive…
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That’s true. Back then, one serving of udon noodles was \6. Even dried noodles were cheaper; you could buy two packages for ¥35. To make Chicken Ramen cheaper, mass production was explored.
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It must have been difficult to get people to try the noodles.
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When Mr. Ando took them to food shops, he was rejected with the reproach: “We can’t sell such an expensive thing, that we’ve never even seen before!! Go away, and take them with you!” He decided that the best way to advertise was to have the general public taste the noodles, so he held sample tastings in department stores and placed ads in newspapers, increasing recognition little by little. After a while, Chicken Ramen became well known, the general public began eating the product and this enabled mass production, which in turn lowered the price, when Chicken Ramen’s cheapness and convenience made it popular with the public.
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So this was the beginning of instant noodles, now called packaged noodles.
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Subsequently, instant noodles were widened in variety; there was not only Chicken Ramen, but also soy-sauce-flavored and miso-flavored noodles. Then packaged noodles were exported to countries all over the world. Packaged noodles are easy to display, easy to pick up, hygienic… They were the ideal food to be sold in supermarkets around the world.
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I hear that instant noodles are now being produced worldwide.
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Mr. Ando was not obsessed with money. He made public his methods and technologies of making instant noodles, believing that it would make him happy if people the world over could eat and enjoy them. This is how production began in all parts of the world.
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Expansion of Japanese manufacturers to overseas was very quick, wasn’t it?
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Yes. Overseas expansion began around 1970. Plants were built overseas through mergers and capital increases, and were operated on a local-production-local-sales basis. It is not often that noodles produced overseas are shipped to Japan, because they are produced to match the taste preferences of the local people, and also because shipment is very expensive, since, though their unit price is small, they take up much room. Instant noodles have become a “universal food,” but what helped in this achievement was the coincidental fact that the first instant noodles were chicken-flavored; this enabled Muslims to eat them. Instant noodles, by providing cheap, fast and easy meals, were appreciated by everyone and quickly became well known. Instant noodles, born in Japan, are one of the greatest invention of the 20th century; distribution was realized through the collaboration of production technologies and local food cultures.
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In 1971, the world’s first cup ramen, “Cup Noodles,” was invented. Tell me a little bit about that.
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Mr. Ando got one idea when he went to the U. S. to sell Chicken Ramen. He saw American people put the contents of the packaged noodles into a paper container, pour hot water over it and eat it with a fork. He changed the paper container to a Styrofoam cup, fried the kneaded-flour noodles at high temperature and added many freeze-dried ingredients. On the return flight he got the idea for using an aluminum lid from observing the container of macadamia nuts served during the flight. Cup Noodles was born with his idea of putting noodles in a cup. The Styrofoam cup itself serves three roles: package, cooking utensil and serving dish. This product was revolutionary, and became a huge hit worldwide.
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What is the current status of instant noodles in the world?
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According to the statistics for 2004, annual world demand was 65.25 billion servings, with total annual world sales - including soup, ingredients, packaging, materials and machinery - totaling 4.2 trillion yen. Related employment worldwide was approximately 10 million persons.
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Which are the top ten consuming countries?
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(1) China, 27.7 billion servings per year (42.5%), (2) Indonesia, 11.2 billion servings (17.2%), (3) Japan, 5.4 billion servings (8.3%), (4) U. S., 3.78 billion servings (5.8%), (5) South Korea, 3.6 billion servings (5.5%), (6) Vietnam, 2.3 billion servings (3.5%), (7) the Philippines, 2.2 billion servings (3.4%), (8) Thailand, 1.72 billion servings (2.6%), (9) Russia, 1.5 billion servings, (10) Brazil, 1.11 billion servings (1.7%) and (11) others, 4.74 billion servings (7.2%).
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What is the status of domestic production, imports and exports in Japan?
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Domestic production totals about 532.7 billion yen; of this, exports total 2.85 billion yen and imports 1.76 billion yen. Exports’ percentage of of domestic production is 0.54%, and imports’ percentage of gross domestic demand is 0.33%. As to the number countries involved, in 2004 we exported to 47 countries: (1) the U. S., 960 million yen, (2) Hong Kong, 636 million yen, (3) Taiwan, 330 million yen, (4) Singapore, 117 million yen, (5) Canada, 101 million yen and (6) others, 706 million yen (Japan Export and Import Monthly Report). We assume that Japanese people residing overseas are buying and enjoying a taste of Japan. Regarding imports, in 2004 instant noodles were imported from 15 countries: (1) South Korea, 1.148 billion yen, (2) Belgium, 192 million yen, (3) China, 174 million yen, (4) Thailand, 138 million yen, (5) Italy, 25 million yen and (6) others, 83 million yen (Japan Export and Import Monthly Report). People in Japan are enjoying ethnic tastes: “Shin (hot) Ramen” from South Korea accounts for 65% of the imports. There are also small imports of private super market brands from various countries.
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What is the status of overseas production by Japanese manufacturers?
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For example, Nissin Foods, which boasts the top share, has 25 plants in 8 countries (including China, Indonesia, Thailand, Brazil, and the U.S.). Ace Cook began local production in 1995 by merging with a Vietnamese state enterprise, and currently produces 150 million servings a month, which is close to 80% of Vietnam’s entire share.
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What are the domestic market shares of Japanese manufacturers?
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According to the "Handbook of Market Shares 2004" (edited by Nikkei Business Daily), the shares in FY2002 were as follows: Nissin Foods 41.7%, Toyo Suisan 17.5%, Sanyo Foods 14.1%, Myojo Foods 10.0%, Ace Cook 5.8% and others 10.8%. (Shares estimated by Nikkei.)
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What do you think is the future of the market for instant noodles?
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I think that demand will begin to increase in countries not ranked in the top 10. Because cooking time can be reduced, the general public will consume more and more instant noodles. For example, India’s annual consumption is currently 260 million servings, but this will surely increase in the future. Also, greater variety will be produced. Even now, we already have instant noodles that contain many vegetables and meats, Chinese-style noodles, non-fried cup ramen, noodles with wakame (seaweed), curry-flavored noodles, noodles with kimchi (Korean hot pickles), noodles with seafood, or harusame (bean-starch) noodles. There are many more new types to come, because without them, manufacturers won’t survive the competition.
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Research cooperation: Japan Convenience Foods Industry Association
Reference: Exhibitions of Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum etc.
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