Instant noodle sales slowing down

BEIJING: With their tangy sauces and sachets of dried meat and vegetables, instant noodles were once the bedrock of China’s convenience food, but their sales had declined drastically in recent years.

For Geng Mei, an English teacher in Beijing, munching bowls full of steaming instant noodles was a highlight of her childhood.

“Cheap and delicious, instant noodles were so popular when I was a child,” says Geng, who is in her thirties. “But now I cannot even remember the last time I had them.”

The noodles were invented in Japan in the 1950s, spreading quickly throughout Asia, Europe and the rest of the world. They flourished in China in the 1980s and 1990s, with noodle bowls and packets ubiquitous in snack shops and supermarkets.

In 2013, sales of instant noodles on the Chinese mainland surpassed more than 46.2 billion packets, according to the World Instant

Noodles Association – that is 1,465 packets of instant noodles opened every second.

However, by 2016, sales had dropped to just 38.5 billion packets.

Zhang Xin, associate professor with department of economics and finance at Tongji University, says the shrinking migrant population has damaged the industry as it was one of the largest groups of instant noodle consumers.

The explosive growth of China’s high-speed railway networks turns out to be unexpected enemy of the instant noodles industry.

“I ate instant noodles for breakfast, lunch and as a midnight snack during my 20-hour train trips in the past,” says Tang Mingsheng, who works in the city of Fuzhou.

But since 2013, Tang’s journey home at Spring Festivals is on a high-speed train that takes just six hours. There is no need for midnight instant-noodle snacking.

Instead, trains sell expensive Haagen-Dazs ice cream, imported fruits and lunch boxes, as the instant noodle market continues to dwindle.

The rise of food delivery has also played a role in the declining fortunes of the instant noodle industry.

From her office, Geng can see dozens of delivery men crowding the streets below, hurrying from office to office to drop off meals. — China Daily/Asia News Network

Cheap and delicious, instant noodles were so popular when I was a child. Geng Mei