Japan World Ramen Association: “Consumers around the world consumed 121.2 billion servings last year.”
Consumption in China, Indonesia and Vietnam increases… India ranks 3rd without noodle culture
Nissin “Even if I didn’t eat ramen before, I now accept it as part of my daily life.”
It has been claimed that middle-class consumers around the world are increasingly looking for instant ramen to reduce household economic burden.
According to the British Guardian on the 20th (local time), the World Ramen Association, headquartered in Osaka, Japan, announced that consumers in over 50 countries ate 121.2 billion servings of ramen last year.
Ramen consumption was, as expected, high in countries with a long history of eating noodles, such as China, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Japan. According to the Japan Instant Food Industry Association, Japanese people consumed just under 6 billion servings of instant ramen last year.
What is noteworthy is that India ranked third in ramen consumption. The Guardian reported that this shows that the popularity of ramen is increasing even in countries where many people do not immediately associate it with noodles.
Additionally, in Mexico, demand for instant ramen surged by 17.2% in 2021 when COVID-19 spread and various restrictions were imposed, and it also increased by 11% last year. In the United States, people are also consuming instant ramen in addition to the regular ramen they ate to pursue a healthy taste in order to reduce household expenses due to the hardships of living.
Accordingly, Japan’s Nissin Foods, which developed the world’s first instant ramen, announced that it will spend $228 million (about 294.2 billion won) to expand its presence in the United States. Nissin Foods said, “Middle-class consumers who previously did not eat ramen are now incorporating ramen into their daily lives,” the Nikkei Shimbun reported.
Nissin’s competitor Toyosui San also recently announced that it would build production facilities in the United States and Mexico by 2025 to meet rapidly increasing demand. Toyosuisan told the Nikkei Shimbun, “The number of consumers who eat ramen regularly is increasing, and we will increase the variety of ramen flavors.”
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.