50 years since its birth!” The “Cup Yakisoba Frontline” – “The Battle of the Noodles and Sauce” – Rich and Savory

Q. The world’s first cup ramen was Nissin Foods’ “Cup Noodle. Then, what was the world’s first cup yakisoba?

There must be very few readers who can answer this question.

The name of the first cup yakisoba, released 50 years ago in July 1974, was “Ebisu Cup Yakisoba. The product has long since been discontinued, and its distributor, Ebisu Sangyo, has gone bankrupt. The cup was not a flat rectangle, but a cylinder, like Cup Noodles.

Inspired by Ebisu Sangyo, Yamadai launched “New Touch Yakisoba” in August 1974, and Acecook launched “Cup Yakisoba BanBan” in December. The following year, in 1975, four to five brands were introduced, and from the dawn of the cup yakisoba market, there was a rush of new entrants,” said a journalist specializing in economics.

Why did an unprecedented boom in cup yakisoba occur only three years after Cup Noodle was launched in 1971? Instant noodle hunter Ichiro Yamato, who runs the instant noodle specialty restaurant Yakantei, explains.

At the time, bagged noodles were more inexpensive than cup noodles. However, in October 1973, the fourth Middle East War broke out. This caused an oil shock and a sharp rise in prices. This caused consumers to buy less. Since bagged noodles have low profit margins, they are at a disadvantage when consumers go into a mode of restrained buying. On the other hand, cup noodles have a high profit margin, so even if sales volume drops slightly, the damage is minimal. Thus, companies began to focus on cup noodles. However, the cup noodle industry was already facing a fierce competition with Nissin at the top. All eyes were on yakisoba as the next stage.”

In the cup yakisoba war that broke out, Maruka Foods’ “Peyoung Sauce Yakisoba” (launched in 1975) has had a strong presence from the beginning. Peyoung, named after the yakisoba noodles that are shared by two young people, is still an extremely long-selling product with many fans today, and is the top-selling yakisoba in the Kanto region.

Most yakisoba noodles are fried in vegetable oil, but Peyoung’s fried oil also contains lard. When the noodles are returned in hot water, the animal fat and oil seeps out of the noodles, giving them a rich flavor. Soy sauce is kneaded into the noodles, and there is even sesame seeds in the furikake that comes with the noodles. It is a well-balanced gem that makes you eat with the harmony of the whole,” said home-made ramen researcher Takero Kanda.

Maruka Foods is a company headquartered in Gunma Prefecture, and its business scale is much smaller than that of Nissin and other companies. However, the company has established a firm position in the industry with a management style that can even be described as the “Peyoung single leg method.

Maruka Foods continues to be debt-free and in a fairly clean financial situation.” When a consumer posted on SNS in 2002 that Peyoung was contaminated with cockroaches and caused a firestorm, the company voluntarily recalled all products and decided to discontinue production. It took about six months to review the production line, but the company overcame the crisis by paying all employees. The company overcame an incident that would have caused the bankruptcy of any ordinary company, and the industry paid tribute to the company.

With the success of “Peyoung,” the glorious history of cup yakisoba noodles began. However, Nissin Foods, the king of the instant noodle industry, was surprisingly late to the party.

In 1975, when “Peyoung” was launched, Nissin was focusing on “cup rice,” not yakisoba. The company tried various flavors, including “shrimp pilaf” and “red rice,” but these proved to be a huge failure. The oil crisis also weighed heavily on the company, and Nissin found itself in a difficult situation.

Giving up on cup rice, Nissin established a new marketing department in April 1976 and decided to create a new cup yakisoba at the same time. The first department head was Hiroki Ando, 76, the second son of the company’s founder Momofuku Ando and current Nissin Foods HD president. Mr. Ando began by developing a container for cup yakisoba noodles. Thus, a round container was born, not a vertical one like “Cup Noodle” or a square one like “PAY YOUNG. The new product was named “U.F.O.,” meaning “good, fat, and large,” and was launched in May of the same year.

Regional differences in taste preferences

The Nissin Marketing Department also put a lot of effort into advertising, and the following year, 1977, the company used Pink Lady in a commercial. Along with the hit song “UFO,” sales of “U.F.O.” also increased.

Even today, Nissin continues to use this marketing power, appealing to different demographics, such as “Bakumori” for younger consumers and “Perfect Meshi” for health-conscious consumers.

The noodles are the thickest of the companies at 2 mm in diameter, and the sauce has a thick, sweet flavor similar to that found in okonomiyaki restaurants. Unlike other companies, the sauce is packaged in an aluminum pouch to keep the aroma in. Other companies use nylon pouches, which are less expensive, but the aroma escapes,” said Kanda.

U.F.O.” is the top-selling product in the Kansai, Chugoku, and Shikoku regions.

People in Kansai tend to prefer sweet and thick sauces, while people in Kanto prefer light sauces. When people in Kanto eat U.F.O., they often feel that it is somewhat sweet, and when people in Kansai eat Peyoung, they often feel that it is not sweet enough for them.

Meisei Ippeichan Yoten no Yakisoba (released in 1995 by Meisei Shokuhin), known for its “mayo beam” flavor, is a cross between the rich Kansai flavor and the sharp Kanto flavor.

The sauce is rich, but with a roasted bitterness to recreate the yakisoba of night stalls, and the spiciness added by the mustard mayonnaise gives it a sharpness to the flavor. It is rich, yet easily accepted by Kanto people, who prefer a lighter taste,” said Yamato.

One company that has taken note of these “regional differences” and strategically expanded its power is Toyo Suisan Kaisha, Ltd. Toyo Suisan Kaisha, Ltd. Instant noodle critic Oyama Sokusekisai speaks of Toyo Suisan.

In Hokkaido, “Yakisoba Bento” is overwhelmingly popular, and in the Tohoku region, “Yakisoba Bagooon” is the most popular. Both are products of Toyo Suisan and are limited to regional markets. These are characterized by the fact that they come with powdered soup. People in cold regions are very happy to be able to warm up the soup with hot water after draining it. Especially in Hokkaido, “Yakisoba Bento” is the top-selling instant noodle product, surpassing even “Cup Noodle.

Yakisoba Bento” has thin noodles and a sweet sauce, while “Yakisoba Bagooon” has resilient noodles and a blend of Worcestershire and Chuno sauces, both flavors favored in the respective regions.

Toyo Suisan is the number one company in Japan in terms of overall cup yakisoba sales, backed by its tremendous support in the Tohoku and Hokkaido regions.

Some dominate the Kansai region, some dominate the Kanto region, and some dominate the North. In the 50 years since the launch of the first cup yakisoba, each company has dominated in their respective strongholds. In the next 50 years, the stage for the battle of the rich, savory flavors will expand nationwide.

From the July 19, 2024 issue of FRIDAY