Noodle maker Nissin plans big investments, eyes pickup in demand

Packets of Nissin Food instant noodles sit on a shelf at a store in Hong Kong. Photographer: Calvin Sit/Bloomberg

Nissin Foods Holdings Co., one of the world’s largest instant noodle makers, plans to invest “many hundreds of millions of dollars” in the next several years for expansion in Japan and elsewhere, according to its chief executive officer.

Nissin Foods expects continued demand for cheap precooked noodles even as the industry works to shed its image of being an unhealthy staple, President and CEO Koki Ando said in an interview on the sidelines of the World Instant Noodles Association summit in Manila on Wednesday.

“We are planning to increase our investments,” said Ando, who also heads the association. The Tokyo-based company expects to boost capital expenditure up until 2030, devoting “many hundreds of millions of dollars” in Japan and other countries, Ando added.

Instant noodles, originally from Japan and now a global staple, are undergoing a change as producers create healthier variations of the meal. They aim to revive interest in the product after consumption dropped in 2023 for the first time in four years. That followed a 14% increase between 2019 and 2022.

Global consumption of instant noodles dipped nearly 1% to 120.2 billion servings in 2023, based on the latest industry data. Last year’s number “slightly exceeded” 2023, Ando said, adding that the industry group sees at least 120 billion servings this year.

Demand grew during the Covid pandemic with families holed up in homes. But consumption eased in 2023 as economies reopened and noodle prices rose in many countries, he said. China, Indonesia and India are the world’s top instant noodle markets.

Nissin Foods reduced salt in its Udon noodle by a third between 2005 to 2024, company data show. It also launched products fortified with various nutrients, such as protein, vitamins and minerals.