This is a list of instant noodle brands.

Instant noodle Instant noodles, or instant ramen, is a type of food consisting of noodles sold in a precooked and dried block with flavoring powder and/or seasoning oil. The dried noodle block was originally created by flash frying cooked noodles, and this is ...

s are a dried or precooked

noodle Noodles are a type of food made from unleavened dough which is either rolled flat and cut, stretched, or extruded, into long strips or strings. Noodles are a staple food in many cultures (for example, Chinese noodles, Filipino noodles, In ...

block, usually sold with a packet of flavoring powder and/or seasoning oil. Dried noodles are usually eaten after being cooked or soaked in boiling water, while precooked noodles can be reheated or eaten straight from the packet/cup. The instant noodle was invented by

Momofuku Ando , was an inventor and businessman who founded Nissin Food Products Co., Ltd. He is known as the inventor of instant noodles (ramen noodles) and the creator of the brands Top Ramen and Cup Noodles. Early life and education Ando was born Go P ...

Nissin Foods Nissin Food Products Co., Ltd. is a Japanese food company that specializes in the production and sale of convenience food and instant noodles. History Founding and early years The company was established in Japan on September 1, 1948, by T ...

in Japan."Inventor of instant noodles dies"

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadc ...

. 6 January 2007 They were launched in 1958 under the brand name Chikin Ramen.

Instant noodle brands

By country

Instant noodles are a popular food in many parts of the world, undergoing changes in flavor to fit local tastes. In 2018, the World Instant Noodles Association (WINA) reported that 103,620 million servings were consumed worldwide.

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

(and

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

) consumed 40,250 million servings and

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

consumed 12,540 million, the three areas dominating world instant noodle consumption. South Korea tops the world in per capita consumption at 75 servings per year. It is followed by Vietnam at 54 servings, and Nepal at 53.

Australia

The most popular manufacturer of instant noodles in Australia is San Remo Macaroni Company, whose Fantastic and Suimin brands hold a 30% market share. Other brands include Indomie,

Indomie Mi Goreng Indomie is a brand of instant noodle produced by the Indonesian company Indofood. Indofood itself is the largest instant noodle producer in the world with 16 factories. Over 15 billion packets of Indomie are produced annually. Indomie is also ...

, Maggi, Mr Lee's Noodles, Wai Wai, Nissin's Demae Ramen, and Nongshim's Shin ramyun. Instant noodles are often referred to as "two-minute noodles" in Australia, a reflection of their preparation time.

China

According to industry trade group World Instant Noodles Association,

is the world's largest instant noodle market, with demand reaching 40.25 billion servings in 2018.

Colombia

Instant noodles were introduced to Colombia in 2010 by

. On 13 September 2013, Nissin Foods opened its commercial office in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

, investing US$ 6 million in its corporate offices.

Hong Kong

Cantonese people The Cantonese people () or Yue people (), are a Yue-speaking Han Chinese subgroup originating from or residing in the provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi (collectively known as Liangguang), in Southern Mainland China. Although more accurat ...

have a long history of cooking

yi mein Yi mein () is a variety of flat Cantonese egg noodles made from wheat flour. They are known for their golden brown color and chewy characteristics. The slightly chewy and slightly spongy texture of the noodles is due to the soda water used in ...

, a noodle invented in the

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

. However, modern instant noodles were only publicly introduced to

in the late 1960s by Winner Food Products Ltd. as "Doll Noodles" (). Although the company was bought out by Nissin in 1984, and other brands from many different countries have become widely available, the name "Doll Noodles" remains ubiquitous and has since become a

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are al ...

for instant noodles, irrespective of brands. Most supermarkets offer a broad selection of both domestic and international brands, including Shin Ramyun of South Korea, Nissin Chikin and

Demae Itcho Nissin Food Products Co., Ltd. is a Japanese food company that specializes in the production and sale of convenience food and instant noodles. History Founding and early years The company was established in Japan on September 1, 1948, by Ta ...

of Japan, Indomie of Indonesia,

Koka KOKA (980 AM) is an AM radio station, paired with an FM relay translator, licensed to Shreveport, Louisiana, and serving the Shreveport-Bossier City metropolitan area with an Urban contemporary gospel format. The station is currently under owne ...

of Singapore, and

Mama Mama(s) or Mamma or Momma may refer to: Roles *Mother, a female parent * Mama-san, in Japan and East Asia, a woman in a position of authority *Mamas, a name for female associates of the Hells Angels Places * Mama, Russia, an urban-type settlemen ...

of Thailand. Besides instant wheat noodles, supermarkets also sell instant rice noodles and Cantonese egg noodles. Some noodles are also marketed as a snack that does not need to be cooked; consumers eat the noodles directly out of the packaging, similar to

crisps A potato chip (North American English; often just chip) or crisp (British and Irish English) is a thin slice of potato that has been either deep frying, deep fried, baking, baked, or air frying, air fried until crunchy. They are commonly serve ...

Hungary

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

is 43rd in the world in consumption of instant noodles, according to the World Instant Noodles Association (WINA), having consumed 20 million packages/

cups CUPS (formerly an acronym for Common UNIX Printing System) is a modular printing system for Unix-like computer operating systems which allows a computer to act as a print server. A computer running CUPS is a host that can accept print job ...

of noodles in 2014. Thai President Foods, manufacturer of MAMA noodles, opened an instant noodles factory in Hungary in 2013. The Hungarian factory's two production lines have a capacity of 4.5 million noodle packs per shift per month. It produces "Thai Chef" and "Asia Gold" brand noodles for the European market.

India

According to WINA, in 2018, India was the third largest consumer of instant noodles after China/Hong Kong and Indonesia. On 5 June 2015, the

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is a statutory body established under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India. The FSSAI has been established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, which is a co ...

(FSSAI) banned all nine approved variants of Maggi instant noodles from India, terming them "unsafe and hazardous" for human consumption. As per FSSAI, Nestle had launched the products without completing the process of risk assessment, and Nestle committed three violations: Despite a six-month ban on Maggi in 2015 for high monosodium glutamate (MSG) and lead content, Nestle India regained strength and rallied 149 percent from lows of Rs 5,011 per share hit in March 2016. India is Nestle Maggi's largest market. Other brands of instant noodles in the country include

Patanjali Ayurved Patanjali Ayurved is an Indian multinational conglomerate holding company, based in Haridwar, India. It was founded by Ramdev and Balkrishna in 2006. Its office is in Delhi, with manufacturing units and headquarters in the industrial area of ...

Ching's Secret Ching's Secret was founded in 1996 by Capital Foods. Based in Dallas. The Ching's Secret range of food products and ingredients include noodles, soups, sauces, masalas and chutneys. History In 1995, Mr. Ajay Gupta launched Capital Foods. Using ...

, Knorr, Sunfeast Yippee, Top Ramen, Indomie, Joymee, Nissin, Maruchan,

Horlicks Horlicks is a sweet malted milk hot drink powder developed by founders James and William Horlick. It was first sold as "Horlick's Infant and Invalids Food", soon adding "aged and travellers" to their label. In the early 20th century, it was s ...

, Wai Wai, and several domestic and regional names. Many brands from East and Southeast Asia, such as

, Picnic, Nongshim, Samyang, Jin Ramen, and Yum Yum also started flooding the Indian market after various

free-trade agreements A free-trade agreement (FTA) or treaty is an agreement according to international law to form a free-trade area between the cooperating states. There are two types of trade agreements: bilateral and multilateral. Bilateral trade agreements occu ...

Indonesia

According to WINA,

is the world's second largest instant noodle market after China, with demand reaching 12.54 billion servings in 2018. An early instant noodle brand in Indonesia was "Supermi", introduced in 1968 by Indofood Sukses Makmur, one of the largest instant noodle producer in the world. It later introduced two additional brands: " Indomie" and " Sarimi". At least twenty instant noodle companies compete in the Indonesian market, with Indofood, Wings Food, Conscience Food, ABC, PT Jakarana Tama, Nissin, and Delifood thriving in the top seven. Currently, Indofood Sukses Makmur has a market share of about 72% of Indonesian instant noodle production. In 1999, the figure was about 90%; their market share declined following the introduction of "Mie Sedaap" by Wings Food in 2003. Strong local preferences contribute to the low volume of sales of Japanese and other foreign instant noodles in Indonesia. Popular instant noodle flavours in Indonesia include

chicken curry Chicken curry is a dish originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is common in the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Great Britain, Caribbean, and Japan. A typical curry from the Indian subcontinent consists of chicken stewed in an onion- a ...

, onion and chicken,

bakso Bakso or baso is an Indonesian meatball, or a meat paste made from beef surimi. Its texture is similar to the Chinese beef ball, fish ball, or pork ball. The word ''bakso'' may refer to a single meatball or the complete dish of meatball soup. '' ...

(beef meatball), mie goreng, and chicken soto, a traditional Indonesian chicken soup. In the past, Indomie tried to produce thirty different flavours to reflect various traditional dishes of

Indonesian cuisine Indonesian cuisine is a collection of various regional culinary traditions that formed the archipelagic nation of Indonesia. There are a wide variety of recipes and cuisines in part because Indonesia is composed of approximately 6,000 popula ...

, but the product line was discontinued after disappointing results, with only a few variants remaining in production. Indonesians usually add ingredients such as boiled Chinese green cabbage, boiled or fried eggs,

corned beef Corned beef, or salt beef in some of the Commonwealth of Nations, is salt-cured brisket of beef. The term comes from the treatment of the meat with large-grained rock salt, also called "corns" of salt. Sometimes, sugar and spices are added ...

, bottled

sambal Sambal is an Indonesian chilli sauce or paste, typically made from a mixture of a variety of chilli peppers with secondary ingredients, such as shrimp paste, garlic, ginger, shallot, scallion, palm sugar, and lime juice. ''Sambal'' is an ...

chili sauce, pepper, or fried shallots to their meals. Most of the market share is owned by the product

Indomie Mi goreng Indomie is a brand of instant noodle produced by the Indonesian company Indofood. Indofood itself is the largest instant noodle producer in the world with 16 factories. Over 15 billion packets of Indomie are produced annually. Indomie is also ...

, a dry instant noodle meant to replicate traditional Indonesian mie goreng, or fried noodles. In November 2019, ''

LA Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' named Indomie Barbecue Chicken flavour and Indomie Mi Goreng as among the best-tasting ramen in the world. Although originally targeted at families eating at home, nowadays instant noodles are also served in ''

warung A warung ( old spelling: waroeng or warong) is a type of small family-owned business — a small retail, eatery or café — in Indonesia (and to a lesser extent, Malaysia and Suriname). A ''warung'' is an essential part of daily life in ...

'' (simple shops). These shops serving instant noodles are customarily called ''warung indomie'', despite the fact that the brands of instant noodles served there are not necessarily Indomie.

Japan

Japan is the country of origin of instant noodles, and the dish remains a "national" light food. The average Japanese person eats forty packs of instant noodles per year. After their invention by Momofuku Andō in 1958, instant noodles became very common in Japan. In the 1970s, makers expanded their flavors to include such examples as ''shio'' (

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...

), ''

miso is a traditional Japanese seasoning. It is a thick paste produced by fermenting soybeans with salt and ''kōji'' (the fungus '' Aspergillus oryzae'') and sometimes rice, barley, seaweed, or other ingredients. It is used for sauces and ...

'', or

curry A curry is a dish with a sauce seasoned with spices, mainly associated with South Asian cuisine. In southern India, leaves from the curry tree may be included. There are many varieties of curry. The choice of spices for each dish in trad ...

. Beginning in the 1980s, manufacturers also added dried toppings such as shrimp, pork, or eggs. Today, instant noodles are divided into two groups: "traditional" cheap ( ¥70 to ¥200) noodles with few toppings and expensive (¥150 to ¥350) noodles with many toppings, which are often packed into a pouch. Various kinds of instant noodles are produced, including

ramen is a Japanese noodle dish. It consists of served in a broth; common flavors are soy sauce and miso, with typical toppings including , nori (dried seaweed), menma (bamboo shoots), and scallions. Ramen has its roots in Chinese noodle di ...

udon Udon ( or ) is a thick noodle made from wheat flour, used in Japanese cuisine. It is a comfort food for many Japanese people. There are a variety of ways it is prepared and served. Its simplest form is in a hot soup as with a mild broth called ...

soba Soba ( or , "buckwheat") is a thin Japanese noodle made from buckwheat. The noodles are served either chilled with a dipping sauce, or hot in a noodle soup. The variety ''Nagano soba'' includes wheat flour. In Japan, soba noodles can be found ...

, yakisoba, and

pasta Pasta (, ; ) is a type of food typically made from an unleavened dough of wheat flour mixed with water or eggs, and formed into sheets or other shapes, then cooked by boiling or baking. Rice flour, or legumes such as beans or lentils, ...

. Major instant noodle brands in Japan include: *

日清食品, whose products include " Chicken Ramen" and " Cup Noodles". The brand has a 40.4% market share . * Tōyō Suisan 東洋水産, under the brand name Maruchan, whose products include "Akai Kitsune" and "Midori no Tanuki"; 19.2% market share. * サンヨー食品; " Sapporo Ichiban"; 11.5% market share. * Myōjō Foods 明星食品, ''Charumera'', has a 9.9% market share. * エースコック; "Super Cup"; 8.3% market share.

South Korea

''Ramyeon'' (), is the Korean equivalent of instant noodles. The first ramyeon brand in South Korea was Samyang, made in 1963. Ramyeon is typically spicy and salty. Shin Ramyun (신 �� literally "spicy") is the bestselling brand in South Korea. It has also become popular in China and the United States. The leading manufacturer of ramyeon in South Korea is Nong Shim ( ��心 literally "Farmer's Heart"), which exports many of its products overseas. South Korea is the highest instant noodle-consuming country per person.

North Korea

In 2004, over 600,000 boxes of Shin Ramyun were sent to North Korea as part of the aid relief program when the Ryongchŏn train station exploded, injuring many people. Insider sources have said that most of the noodles were sold on

black markets A black market, underground economy, or shadow economy is a clandestine market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality or is characterized by noncompliance with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the ...

, making their way to

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populat ...

instead of being distributed as aid. North Korean visitors to China also frequently purchase South Korean ramyeon, where Shin Ramyeon is known as "Korean Tangmi Ramyeon." Local production of ramyeon in North Korea began in 2000. The first brand was "Kkoburang guksu", which literally means "curly noodles" in. Later, a joint venture between North Korean and Hong Kong-based companies began producing "Jŭksŏk guksu" ( ko, 즉석 국수, 卽席 국수), which literally means "instant noodles". Ramyeon is popular among North Korean

elite In political and sociological theory, the elite (french: élite, from la, eligere, to select or to sort out) are a small group of powerful people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in a group. ...

s who live in Pyongyang and

Nampo Nampo (North Korean official spelling: Nampho; ), also spelled Namp'o, is the second largest city by population and an important seaport in North Korea, which lies on the northern shore of the Taedong River, 15 km east of the river's mouth ...

. In contrast to hot and spicy South Korean noodles, North Korean varieties have a much milder and brothier flavor.

Nepal

Per capita consumption of instant noodles in

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...

is the third highest in the world, at 53 servings. In the early 1980s, Gandaki Noodles of Pokhara city introduced

Rara Rara is a form of festival music that originated in Haiti that is used for street processions, typically during Easter Week. The music centers on a set of cylindrical bamboo trumpets called vaksin, but also features drums, maracas, güiras or g ...

, an instant noodle brand named after the largest lake in Nepal. It was a success among urban populations. Around 1985, Chaudhary Groups entered the market with Wai-Wai, a Thai brand of instant noodles, which became a big hit. Over the years, the popularity of instant noodles has grown and consist of a major part of the dry foods sold in Nepal.

Nigeria

Since its introduction in 1988, Indomie is the most popular instant noodle brand in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. Instant noodles are now eaten in most households across the country. By 2008, nine other brands of noodles had appeared in Nigeria. Affirming Indomie's hold on the market, Christopher Ezendu, a distributor at the popular Oke-Arin market on

Lagos Island Lagos Island (''Ìsàlẹ̀ Èkó'') is the principal and central local government area (LGA) in Lagos, it was the capital of Lagos State until 1957. It is part of the Lagos Division. As of the preliminary 2006 Nigerian census, the LGA had a p ...

, reported that these other brands are aspiring to be like the market leader. In 2013, a wholly-owned and managed Nigerian company based in Abuja, Royal Mills and Foods limited, launched a new brand of instant noodles, De-Royal Instant Noodles, with two flavors, chicken and onion chicken. According to the World Instant Noodle Association, Nigeria was the eleventh largest consumer of instant noodles in the world in 2019.

Pakistan

Instant noodles are not a traditional part of Pakistani cuisine but have become popular in flavors such as masala and chicken. There are three prominent brands of instant noodles in Pakistan: Nestlé's Maggi was the first to enter the market in 1992, followed by Knorr of

Unilever Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy dri ...

in 1993; in 2012,

Shan Food Industries Shan Foods (Pvt) Limited is a global producer of packaged spice mixes, primarily used in South Asian dishes. The company was established in 1981 as a single-room operation by its founder, Sikander Sultan, in Pakistan and quickly grew from there ...

introduced "Shoop". Knorr is the leader, with 55% market share; Maggi's market share is 45%.

Poland

Instant noodles began appearing on Polish store shelves during the early 1990s. Despite being called "Chinese soup", the first brands on the market were produced in Vietnam and had a somewhat spicy, garlic-flavored taste. The noodle packages contained pouches of flavored soup base, spicy oil, dried vegetables, or even minuscule shrimps. The product gained particular popularity among students due to its affordability and convenience. "Kaczka łagodna" ("Mild duck"), "Kurczakowa łagodna" ("Mild chicken"), and "Krewetkowa ostra" ("Spicy shrimp") were the most common flavors. Today, the local Kim Lan and international Knorr brands offer varieties ranging from cheese-and-herb-flavored noodles to local Polish specialties like barszcz czerwony or żurek. Ngoc Tu Tao, who emigrated to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

from

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...

and established the Tan-Viet Group in 1990, is credited with introducing instant noodles to Poland. His Vifon brand holds a 35% share of the Polish instant soup market, selling over 100 million packages a year. Ngoc Tu Tao has appeared in ''

Wprost ''Wprost'' (, meaning "Directly") is a Polish-language weekly news magazine published in Poznań, Poland.

'' magazine's annual ranking of the 100 most wealthy Polish citizens.

Russia

Russia's most popular instant ramen are from local brand Rollton and the Korean Doshirak. Instant noodles have been popular in Russia's eastern regions since the late 1980s and made their way west in the early 1990s. In Russia, like most noodle products, they are still considered a lesser-quality option to turn to in lean economic times and are popular among college students.

Sri Lanka

A variety of instant noodles are available in Sri Lanka and appeal to local tastes. Examples include rice noodles or kurakkan noodles, as well as

-flavoured and

kottu Kottu roti ( ta, கொத்து ரொட்டி; si, කොත්තු රොටි), alternatively spelled kothu roti, is a Sri Lankan dish consisting of chopped roti, a meat curry dish of choice (such as mutton, beef, seafood, or c ...

-flavoured noodles. Over 8,000 tonnes of instant noodles are consumed in Sri Lanka each year. Maggi, Sera, Harischandra are some the biggest brands in Sri Lanka.

Taiwan

Instant noodle inventor

was born in

Japanese Taiwan The island of Taiwan, together with the Penghu Islands, became a dependency of Japan in 1895, when the Qing dynasty ceded Fujian-Taiwan Province in the Treaty of Shimonoseki after the Japanese victory in the First Sino-Japanese War. The sho ...

. According to statistics from the International

Ramen is a Japanese noodle dish. It consists of served in a broth; common flavors are soy sauce and miso, with typical toppings including , nori (dried seaweed), menma (bamboo shoots), and scallions. Ramen has its roots in Chinese noodle di ...

Manufacturers Association, Taiwan is the world's twelfth-largest instant noodle market, with an annual NT$10 billion (US$300 million) in sales. This translates into an annual total of 900 million packs, or forty per person. Uni-President (aka President or Tong-Yi, 統一) takes the largest market share of instant noodles in the country, and is a major player in the global instant noodle market. Major makers Taiwanese instant noodle manufacturers include: * Uni-President is the first instant noodle maker in Taiwan. In 1970, the company launched their original product. Uni-President has the greatest market share in Taiwan and is also one of the largest instant noodle makers in mainland China. * VEDAN (味丹;

Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese fo ...

: Wei Dan) is a Taiwanese food company headquartered in Shalu District, Taichung City. Vedan started its business mainly by producing sodium glutamate ( MSG). It is currently one of the top ten MSG manufacturers in the world. In addition, the company has successively invested in instant noodles, beverages, and many other food products since 1973. * Wei Lih (維力) is a well-known food company in Taiwan founded in 1970. It is headquartered in

Changhua County Changhua County ( Mandarin Pinyin: ''Zhānghuà Xiàn''; Wade-Giles: ''Chang¹-hua⁴ Hsien⁴''; Hokkien POJ: ''Chiang-hòa-koān'' or ''Chiong-hòa-koān'') is the smallest county on the main island of Taiwan by area, and the fourth smal ...

. Its main product is instant noodles, and it also produces snacks, beverages, seasonings, and biotech products. Wei Lih is famous for its Zhajiangmian (炸醬麵) and Good Good Eat Noodles (張君雅小妹妹).

Thailand

Thailand's instant noodle market in 2019 was estimated to be worth 17 billion

baht The baht (; th, บาท, ; sign: ฿; code: THB) is the official currency of Thailand. It is divided into 100 ''satang'' (, ). The issuance of currency is the responsibility of the Bank of Thailand. SWIFT ranked the Thai baht as the 10th-m ...

. The market leader is the MAMA ( th, มาม่า) brand, produced by Thai President Foods. MAMA got its start in 1972 as a joint venture between Taiwan's President Enterprise and Thailand's Saha Pathanapibul PLC. The brand controls about half the Thai instant noodle market, and "Mama" has become a generic name for instant noodles in Thailand. Thai people consume an average of 45 packs of noodles per person per year, fourth in the world after Indonesia, Vietnam, and Malaysia. In second place is the Wai Wai brand from Thai Preserved Food Factory at 23–24 percent, followed by

Ajinomoto is a Japanese multinational food and biotechnology corporation which produces seasonings, interlayer insulating materials for semiconductor packages for use in personal computers, cooking oils, frozen foods, beverages, sweeteners, amino acids, ...

's Yum Yum brand at 20–21 percent. Due to their ubiquity, instant noodles were chosen as a vehicle for dietary fortification by a joint effort of the Federation of Thai Industries, instant noodle producers, and the Ministry of Public Health about ten years ago. The vitamins and minerals added are iron, iodine, and vitamin A.

Ukraine

The first time instant noodles appeared in the Ukrainian market in the 1990s, and quickly became iconic food. The first Ukrainian brand of instant noodles was Mivina ( uk, Мівіна) created in 1995 by Technocom ( uk, Техноком) - the company founded in 1993 by Vietnamese entrepreneur

Phạm Nhật Vượng Phạm Nhật Vượng (born 5 August 1968) is a Vietnamese property developer and Vietnam's first billionaire. He is the founder and chairman of Vingroup. Personal life Vượng was born on 5 August 1968 in Hanoi; his paternal family has o ...

. The name of the brand comes from vietnamese "mì Việt Nam", which translates as "Vietnamese noodles". Due to popularity of the brand, the name "Mivina" became a household name for instant noodles among Ukrainian consumers. From the start, instant noodles was often eaten in raw as a snack in Ukraine. It was especially popular among schoolchildren. Knowing that, Mivina created the child-oriented sweet instant noodles with

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus '' Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, breakf ...

and

vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus '' Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla ('' V. planifolia''). Pollination is required to make the plants produce the fruit from whic ...

flavour. Later it was replaced with orange,

pineapple The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centuri ...

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the f ...

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", disting ...

and

strawberry The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus '' Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely ap ...

flavours. Despite its popularity, the sweet Mivina was discontinued, but was returned for short period in 2017 under the name Mivina Fruktel ( uk, Мівіна Фруктель), with banana and strawberry flavours only. Instant noodles are also often used as an ingredient in various recipes. In 2010, Technocom and Mivina was sold to

Nestlé Nestlé S.A. (; ; ) is a Switzerland, Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other me ...

. The diversity of products decreased with time. In the late 2010s the brand became focused on more expensive products. Other brands available in Ukrainian market are Rollton and Big Bon produced by Mareven Food Europe LLC ( uk, ТОВ Маревен Фуд Європа), Golden Dragon, Tanuki ( uk, Танукі), Rooltick and Ukrainian Star ( uk, Українська Зірка) produced by LLC Kuhovar ( uk, ТОВ Куховар). Most supermarket chains have their own instant noodles brands.

United Kingdom

Pot Noodle after water etc added (King size Chicken & Mushroom)(crop)

A common form of instant noodles in Britain is

Pot Noodle Pot Noodle is a brand of instant noodle snack foods, available in a selection of flavours and varieties. This dehydrated food consists of noodles, assorted dried vegetables and flavouring powder. It is prepared by adding boiling water, which r ...

, a cup noodle first marketed by

Golden Wonder Golden Wonder is a British company that manufactures snack foods, most notably crisps. These include Ringos, Golden Wonder and Transform-A-Snack. Since 2006, it has been a wholly owned subsidiary of the Northern Irish company Tayto, after bei ...

in the late 1970s and acquired by

in 1995. Packet noodles such as Batchelors'

Super Noodles Super Noodles is the brand name of a dehydrated instant noodle snack, made by Batchelors in the United Kingdom (previously made by Kellogg's) and sold under the McDonnells brand in Ireland. They are prepared by being placed in a pot of boiling ...

are also sold. Bigger supermarkets also sell foreign brands, such as Nissin,

Koka noodles Koka (可口) are a Singaporean brand of instant noodles. It is manufactured by Tat Hui Foods Pte. Ltd., a company founded in 1986. The noodles are available in a variety of flavours, as packets or cup noodles. They are sold within Singapore, an ...

, and Shin Ramyun, which once could only be found in Asian groceries. Larger retail chains may offer their own brand in basic packaging and a variety of flavours, e.g.,

Asda Asda Stores Ltd. () (often styled as ASDA) is a British supermarket chain. It is headquartered in Leeds, England. The company was founded in 1949 when the Asquith family merged their retail business with the Associated Dairies company of Yorks ...

, Maggi. Kabuto Noodles, launched in 2010, was the UK's first up-market instant noodle brand, followed by Itsu and Mr Lee's Noodles.

United States

In the United States, instant noodles were first made available by

in 1971. In 1972, the company introduced "Nissin Cup Noodles" in a foam food cup, which led to an upsurge in popularity. Soon after, many other competing companies were offering similar instant noodle products. Today in the U.S., instant noodles are commonly known as "ramen", after the Japanese dish on which they were originally based, and they come in a variety of flavors such as

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantit ...

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adu ...

, and

shrimp Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are ref ...

. Ramen has become synonymous in America for all instant noodle products. Some prominent brands are Top Ramen (originally Top Ramen's Oodles of Noodles), Maruchan, and Sapporo Ichiban. A wide range of popular brands imported from other countries are available at many Asian grocery stores and some supermarkets. Instant ramen noodles are popular among students and people of low income, due to their ease of preparation, versatility, and low cost. According to research by Michael Gibson-Light, a doctoral candidate at the University of Arizona School of Sociology, in the US prison system, by 2016 ramen packets had become a form of

commodity currency A commodity currency is a currency that co-moves with the world prices of primary commodity products, due to these countries' heavy dependency on the export of certain raw materials for income. Commodity currencies are most prevalent in develop ...

, comprising a mainstay of the

informal economy An informal economy (informal sector or grey economy) is the part of any economy that is neither taxed nor monitored by any form of government. Although the informal sector makes up a significant portion of the economies in developing countri ...

there and supplanting cigarettes.

Vietnam

Instant noodles are popular in Vietnam, where they are often eaten as a breakfast food. Per capita consumption in 2018 was 54 servings per year. Both wheat and

rice noodles Rice noodles, or simply rice noodle, are noodles made with rice flour and water as the principal ingredients. Sometimes ingredients such as tapioca or corn starch are added in order to improve the transparency or increase the gelatinous and ch ...

are common. Acecook Vietnam, Masan Food, and AsiaFoods are leading producers of instant noodles.

Gallery

File:Cup-Noodles-2.jpg, German Cup Nudeln ( Cup Noodles), spicy flavor File:Indomie Mie Goreng Iga Penyet 1.JPG,

served with

fried egg A fried egg, also known as sunny-side up is a cooked dish made from one or more eggs which are removed from their shells and placed into a frying pan and fried. They are traditionally eaten for breakfast in many countries but may also be ser ...

and vegetables File:Super Noodles.jpg, Cooked

File:Mr Lees noodles hong kong street beef.jpg, Mr Lee's Noodles Hong Kong Street Beef decanted into the bowl Image:Shin ramyun.jpg, Shin Ramyun is often eaten with

kimchi ''Kimchi'' (; ko, 김치, gimchi, ), is a traditional Korean side dish of salted and fermented vegetables, such as napa cabbage and Korean radish. A wide selection of seasonings are used, including '' gochugaru'' (Korean chili powder), ...

as a topping or on the side.

References

External links

* {{Instant foods Instant noodle brands Ramen