China was earlier known for its unique blend of sauces mixed with dried meat and vegetables with noodles and was better known as convenience food in the country. However, the sales of the instant noodles has gone down drastically in recent times. One of the main reasons behind the decline in sales is the decrease in the migrant population in China, who were one of the largest groups to consume instant noodles.
The migrant population in China declined for the first time in 30 years in 2015. The convenience food was invented in Japan during the 50s and spread rapidly throughout Asia, Europe and the rest of the world. The business flourished in China and became popular among the people due to its convenience. In 2013 it was noticed that the sales in China mainland surpassed more than 42.2 billion packets.
But the sales dropped massively by 2016 with just 38.5 billion packets while the instant noodle companies began to feel the pain of the decline in business. The rapid growth of the high-speed railway networks turned out to be the reason behind the decline in sales of instant noodles. Tang Mingsheng, who worked in the eastern Chinese city of Fuzhou said, “I ate instant noodles for breakfast, lunch and as a midnight snack during my 20-hour train trips in the past”.
The high speed trains take just six hours which meant that there was no need for mid-night instant noodle snacking. Now the trains sell expensive Haagen-Dazs ice-cream, lunch boxes and imported fruits while the instant noodle market continues to decline. In recent times delivery of food has also risen drastically and further declined the chances of Instant noodles. Still the industry is trying to regain its lost popularity by introducing more flavours. The companies are also upgrading its products to change the consumer’s conception that instant noodles are low-end products.
Photo Credits:China Plus
