The Tenacious Story Behind CupNoodles

I know what you are thinking, "Another article about Japan? How many times are you going to write about Japan?.......you nerd". Ok, listen......I don't have a defense really, just deal with it. I guess Japan continues to amaze me with its increasing list of things that represent its dedication to quality and innovation, one of which is today's subject- A museum for instant noodles.

Different flavours of CupNoodles stacked on top of one another

CupNoodles or Cup o Noodles (as it is called in the US) is an instant noodle product that started a revolution in the instant ramen industries all over the world. CupNoodles was first introduced in 1971 but before that, the product that started the instant noodle industry was Chicken Ramen. Chicken Ramen comes under the brand Nissin Foods created and developed by inventor and businessman Momofuku Ando.

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Noodle History

The story of Momofuku Ando is quite inspirational, he had an entrepreneurial mind from a young age and dabbled and succeeded in various businesses. He firmly believed in making products that would contribute to people's lives. After World War II, there was a food crisis in Japan and the Japanese were encouraged to eat more wheat-based products which were inspired by Western diets such as bread, biscuits, etc. But, Ando saw this as an opportunity to promote ramen which is also made of wheat, and questioned why the government wasn't promoting noodles instead.

Momofuku Ando | Inventor of Instant Ramen |

So, Ando decided to make an instant ramen product that can be eaten and prepared easily, is tasty, and is safe and sanitary. He got to work in a workshed outside his house in Ikeda City, Osaka. He spent two years trying to find a way to preserve noodles and one fine day he saw his wife making tempura (batter-fried vegetables or seafood) by deep frying the ingredients, and that gave him the idea to "flash fry" the noodles as a way of dehydrating them. He combined that with an irresistible powdered flavor packet and......Voila! Instant Noodles!

Momofuku Ando with astronaut Soichi Noguchi

CupNoodles came out much later in 1971 when Ando went on an inspection trip to Europe to meet the buyers of a supermarket chain for his product. He saw that the managers in the office were eating Chicken Ramen by breaking it up, putting it in cups, adding hot water, and eating it with a fork. That gave Ando the idea to launch Chicken Ramen in the US with an easier and more portable way to eat it. He launched it under the brand CupNoodles in Asia and Cup O Noodles in the United States. But, Ando didn't stop there, he decided to go further with his innovation and develop an instant ramen that can be eaten in space. In 2005, Nissin Foods launched "Space Ram", an instant noodle that can be eaten in space, and astronaut Soichi Noguchi was the first person to eat instant ramen in space.

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CupNoodles Museum

There is a lot of innovation, ingenuity, and history behind CupNoodles. In order to tell the story of this culinary heritage, Nissin Foods has constructed a museum for CupNoodles in Yokohama and Osaka in Japan. Both of these museums have many unique exhibits and attractions. Did you know that there are over 100 different kinds of CupNoodles all over the world? All of them are displayed in the "Instant History Cube" exhibit in the museum. Do you want to know what it feels like to live the life of a CupNoodles? You can do that by visiting the "CupNoodles Park" exhibit. In order to pay homage to its founder, the CupNoodles museum consists of a recreation of the Momofuku's Work Shed where the first instant ramen was invented, and a Momofuku Theater where they tell the story of how its founder overcame many adversities and came up with these great inventions.

One of the more popular attractions in both of the CupNoodles Museums is the "My CupNoodles Factory" where you can customize and design your own CupNoodles which will not be available anywhere else in the world. These are only some of the few attractions mentioned on the CupNoodles Museum website, and it's worth taking a look at the website just to see all the fascinating exhibits and to read the story of its founder.

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CupNoodles is a revolutionary product that has led to the invention of the instant noodle industry and gave rise to many regional instant noodle products all over the world. It's the tenacity and entrepreneurial spirit of Momofuku Ando that led to a product that solved the hunger crisis of Japan after the war, the late-night hunger cravings of many college students, and helped many hard-working mothers to prepare meals for their families by reducing their effort with just a few additions to the product.

The Japanese spirit for innovation and persistence is an admirable quality and it's something that I have talked about before on my blog. The story of Momofuku Ando is just another story that continues to set an example of how well-developed and persistent the mind of a Japanese entrepreneur truly is.

I have written a lot about Japan, many times on my blog. It is time to mix things up. I will see you all soon with another exciting and informative blog post!

See you soon!