A Complete Study of the Cup Ramen Industry! Is there a blind spot in the too-strong “Nissin Empire”?

Nissin Foods’ dominance is unshakable.

The FRIDAY reporter realized this when he went to a Seven-Eleven near the editorial office to buy lunch. Many of the products lined up in the cup noodle corner occupying the center of the store were from this company.

A high school student in a jersey staring at the shelf next to the reporter, who was probably on his way home from club activities during summer vacation, chose the most popular “Cup Noodle” (254 yen).

Launched in ’71 and still immensely popular, Cup Noodles is the industry’s number one signature product in both name and reality, with an overwhelming presence that includes a large advertisement in Times Square in New York City, USA, that has attracted a lot of attention. When talking about the original popular cup noodle, many may think of “Cup Star” (254 yen), which was launched by Sanyo Foods in ’75 and currently has 46 Nogizaka and 46 Hyuuga as image characters, but in terms of brand power, there is a big difference” (Food analyst Takao Shigemori).

The Cup Noodle series includes a variety of products such as “Seafood Noodle” (254 yen), “Chili Tomato Noodle” (254 yen), “Pakuchi-Scented Tom Yam Kung Kung” (254 yen), and “Hwasyo and Sesame-Scented Kokumami Tantan” (254 yen), with the series alone selling over 100 billion yen The series alone sells more than 100 billion yen annually.

If one’s gaze is diverted from Cup Noodles to the side, products supervised by famous restaurants, known as “shopkeeper products,” catch the eye. Especially well stocked are the Seven-Eleven exclusive Sumire Sapporo Thick Miso (321 yen), Ippudo Akamaru Shinmochi Hakata Tonkotsu (321 yen), and SANTOUKAI Asahikawa Tonkotsu Shio (321 yen).

These are collaborative products that Nissin worked on in ’00 and ’01. As soon as they went on sale, they were extremely popular and sparked the popularity of the shopkeeper’s mono. Since then, the relationship between Nissin and Seven has been solidified through the continued introduction of shopkeeper products such as “Mongolian Ramen Nakamoto Spicy Miso” (237 yen) and “Chuka Soba Tomita” (321 yen).

Convenience stores have limited space on their sales floors, and turnover is rapid. Among them, Seven has narrowed down the variety to a select few, so most of the products are from Nissin, except for the most standard items,” says ramen researcher Hayato Ishiyama.

The “Misokin Thick Miso Ramen” (300 yen), supervised by the popular YouTube star Hikakin and which has created quite a stir, with some even reselling it, is another product that is the result of the teamwork between Seven-Eleven and Nissin. Nissin’s products also dominate the shelves of LAWSON and FamilyMart, although not to the same extent as Seven-Eleven, so the kingdom of the oldest and largest company in the industry is unlikely to be shaken for some time.

Nissin’s strength in advertising, such as its unique commercials, is also an asset. Nissin has long been adept at stimulating consumers’ desire to buy with commercials that are interesting to watch, such as those featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger, set in a primitive era, and using addictive animation and music. In addition, the company promotes its products with ideas that other companies do not have, such as creating the “Cupnoodles Museum” and providing opportunities for people to make their own Cupnoodles and Chicken Ramen. Frankly speaking, it is hard to imagine another company surpassing Nissin in terms of both buzz and sales,” said Takero Kanda, a ramen researcher who makes his own ramen.