A cup noodle is an instant ramen product in a

disposable cup A disposable cup is a type of tableware and disposable food packaging. Disposable cup types include paper cups, plastic cups, and foam cups. Expanded polystyrene is used to manufacture foam cups, and polypropylene is used to manufacture plasti ...

, first developed in 1971 and manufactured by the Japanese food company

Nissin Foods is a Japanese food company. Founded in 1948 by Momofuku Ando in Izumiōtsu, Osaka, it owns Nissin Food Products, Nissin Chilled Foods, Nissin Frozen Foods, and Myojo Foods. It is known for development of the world's first marketed brand of i ...

. The product was first introduced in the United States as "Cup O' Noodles" in 1972, before being renamed to "

Cup Noodles A cup noodle is an instant ramen product in a disposable cup, first developed in 1971 and manufactured by the Japanese food company Nissin Foods. The product was first introduced in the United States as "Cup O' Noodles" in 1972, before being ren ...

" in 1993.

History

Instant noodles were originally invented in 1958 by

Momofuku Ando , born Go Pek-Hok (), was a Taiwanese-born Japanese inventor and businessman who founded Nissin Food Products Co., Ltd. He is known as the inventor of Nissin Chikin Ramen (instant noodles) and the creator of the brands Top Ramen and Cup Noodl ...

, the founder of

. Ando recognized that the traditional bowls used to package instant noodles in Asia were not common in the US, so he designed the paper cup format to make the product more convenient for American consumers. In 1971,

introduced Nissin Cup Noodles, a cup noodle to which boiling water is added to cook the noodles. A further innovation added dried vegetables to the cup, creating a complete instant soup dish. Both Cup Noodle and Cup Noodles are registered trademarks of Nissin Foods. The three original Cup O' Noodles flavors were beef, chicken, and shrimp, with pork flavor added in 1976. Today, Cup Noodles is sold in over 100 countries worldwide, with the cumulative global sales exceeding 50 billion servings as of 2021. The brand's success has led to the creation of a Cup Noodle Museum in Yokohama, Japan, which showcases the history and innovation behind the product.

Precooked instant noodles sold in a cup by country

Brazil

The Cup Noodles brand began to be sold in the country by Nissin in 1997 in a timid way, but it began to be marketed heavily in the 2020s with commercials and even receiving some exclusive flavors like feijoada and nacho. Some brands imported from Asia such as Nongshim can also be found in oriental product stores.

India

A variety of cup noodles are sold in India. It includes brands like Master-Cho, Nissin, Nongshim. These companies launched a few different cup noodles in India to suit local tastes, eg: Mazedaara Masala Cup Noodles, by

Mexico

Precooked instant noodle was introduced in 1990 by Maruchan. Due to its popularity, instant noodles are often referred to simply as "Maruchan". Today, many local brands such as "La Moderna" and "Herdez" have developed their own instant noodles, along Nissin, which is also a newcomer.

Philippines

Brands available in the Philippines include Lucky Me!, Nissin (under Nissin-Universal Robina, a joint venture of Nissin Foods and

Universal Robina Universal Robina Corporation, abbreviated as URC and also known as Universal Robina, is a Philippine company headquartered in Quezon City. It is one of the largest food and beverage companies in the Philippines, along with San Miguel Corporat ...

), QuickChow, Tekki Shomen and Ho-Mi.

South Korea

''Keop-ramyeon'' is famous in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. Popular instant noodles include Nongshim's Bowl Noodle Soup, Shin Cup Noodle Soup and Samyang's Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen. South Korea has the largest quantity of consumption of instant noodle or precooked instant noodle's country per year. Based on market research, males consume more precooked instant noodle than females in South Korea. It is the second largest food type after steamed rice that contributes to the overall energy intake of individuals in South Korea. Furthermore, the younger generation (20 to 49 years old) are more likely to consume them and the demographic of consuming bowl-type noodles are the middle class or high class. Samyang Foods produced the first container noodle in Korea, Cup Ramen, in March 1972, and Nongshimsa developed the first bowl-shaped bowl noodle in Korea in November 1981. Since then, several types of cup noodles have been developed. Typical cup noodles include Nongshim's Shin Ramen, Ottogi's Jin Ramen, and Paldo's Lunch Box. With the release of Buldak Stir-fried Noodles in Samyang since 2012, the popularity of spicy ramen spread through SNS in Korea. As it was released as a cup noodle as well, "Big Cup Buldak Stir-Fried Noodles" became popular, with consumers consuming more convenient cup noodles. In addition, as recipes for eating triangular kimbap and cheese together began to spread on the Internet and SNS to challenge the spicy taste, a new method of "mixing" the existing ramen noodles, which are easy to mix, has increased in the process. In the same vein, sales of both cup noodles and soup-free bibimmyeon in cup noodles have increased.

Sweden

Precooked instant noodles are usually sold for 10 SEK per package.

United Kingdom

A common form of instant noodles in Britain is Pot Noodle, a cup noodle first marketed by Golden Wonder in 1977, and acquired by

Unilever Unilever PLC () is a British multinational consumer packaged goods company headquartered in London, England. It was founded on 2 September 1929 following the merger of Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie with British soap maker Lever B ...

in 1995. These use artificial flavorings and are generally suitable for vegetarians (there is no chicken in "Chicken and mushroom flavour" Pot Noodles, for example) and are sold by virtually every major supermarket chain, general groceries shops, and convenience stores. Boiling water is added to the noodles to cook them.

United States

In 1972,

introduced "Nissin

" in a foam food cup, which led to an upsurge in popularity. Soon after, many other competing companies were offering similar instant noodle products (e.g. Maruchan's Instant Lunch).

References

{{Reflist Noodles Chinese noodles Japanese inventions Instant foods and drinks Japanese noodles