The success story of the famous Japanese instant noodles began in the post-war period and has now reached a global dimension. In 1958, Momofuku Ando founded the Nissin company. Today, the cup noodle manufacturer’s creations are available in almost every supermarket in this country. With its new “More Authentication” strategy and sustainable packaging, the company aims to boost consumption in Europe and make original Asian flavours better known. In an interview with J-BIG, Olaf Buettner, Managing Director of Nissin Foods Europe, explains how an idea to combat hunger in Japan turned into a global innovation. He talks about the expansion into European markets, the difficult balance between authenticity and localisation, and Nissin’s ambitious plans for the future until 2030.
J-BIG: Nissin is a product of post-war Japan. Could you explain the origins of the company and the context in which it was founded?
Olaf Buettner: In the immediate post-war period, Japan was in dire straits. Every day, crowds of people flocked to the country’s soup kitchens to get a bowl of hot ramen soup. Nissin’s founder, Momofuku Ando, was deeply moved by the people who had to queue for a warm meal. He was also fascinated and inspired by the fact that the noodles had to be made fresh every day. The warm noodles were pulled and rolled – a long process that took place every morning and evening.
It was important to him to give these hungry people something to eat. But he also asked himself: Could this be done with less effort? Could the noodles be made in such a way that large quantities could be produced, stored for long periods of time and used to feed even more people? He experimented with various methods in a test kitchen, a shed on his property in Osaka.
The pivotal idea came to him when his wife was preparing tempura and frying vegetables and shrimp. He thought that this must also work with noodles. He wanted to remove moisture from the noodles by frying them, thereby making them more durable. After many hours and nights of trial and error, he finally achieved a usable result. In 1958, he invented the world’s first instant noodles: Chicken Ramen.
This marked the birth of instant ramen and offered people a new way to enjoy noodle soup every day. He also embedded this inspiring element into the company. Our guiding principle is: “Peace comes to the world when there is enough food”. Ando’s ambition was to offer an affordable meal and distribute it throughout Japan, then beyond Asia to the rest of the world. That is our founding story.
J-BIG: How did the company develop after this initial innovation?
Olaf Buettner: Chicken Ramen was our only product on the market for a long time. After its successful launch, a remarkable decision was made: while in Europe the process would probably have been patented and kept secret, Ando chose a different path. He invited other manufacturers, shared the recipe and the process with them, and thus made it possible to supply even more people with food.
From a Western perspective, this meant losing their unique selling point. But for Ando, it was more important to share his knowledge and give other companies the opportunity to use this noodle frying technology in their own production. Of course, this also created competitors, but he was willing to accept that.
So there was a market for instant noodles in Japan that continued to grow. Initially, the products were marketed in bags, just like the original Chicken Ramen. Ando’s next big innovation came more than a decade later: Cup Noodles, which were invented in 1971, inspired by his first trip to the United States.
J-BIG: What exactly sparked this idea?
Olaf Buettner: During this first trip to the United States, Ando observed how Americans consumed beverages and coffee and became familiar with the to-go mentality and convenience culture. He realised that something more practical was needed to drive expansion abroad, especially in countries where not everyone has a soup bowl and kettle readily available.
On the flight home, he had a brainwave. He was given a small tin of macadamia nuts with an aluminium lid. That was the key, because now he knew how to seal the noodles. They would be packed in a tin and sealed with an aluminium lid, so that all you had to do was add hot water. After this trip, Cup Noodles were born. They were first launched with a huge promotion in Japan and later in the United States. In this context, the first foreign subsidiary was finally established in America.
J-BIG: Cup Noodles certainly benefited initially from the existing hot water infrastructure in Asia.
Olaf Buettner: That’s right, Asia had a big advantage thanks to its tea culture and the widespread use of kettles. In America, the concept was initially different. To this day, all our products are microwavable because it was recognised that the microwave is the central appliance in American kitchens and not everyone has a kettle. Both options are now available in the US, but most products are designed for the microwave. This means that you fill the cup with cold water and place it in the microwave for three to five minutes.
When we set up the business in Europe, we had to make a strategic decision: should we go with the microwave approach as in the US or not? In the end, we decided to go with pouring hot water.
J-BIG: Let’s stay with the US for a moment: how did Nissin establish its business there in the 1970s?
Olaf Buettner: We established Cup Noodles in the western United States and the Asian communities there. Our current US headquarters is still in Gardena, California. From there, we rolled out and expanded the market.
It was similar to what happened later in Europe. Here, too, we initially entered the market through Asian stores and then established ourselves in traditional supermarkets. Cup Noodles helped us enormously, as the culture of convenience products was already well established in the US. The bag products and the whole ramen culture came later. The first offering was also less authentically Japanese and more geared towards the convenience needs of the American market. The more authentic products followed later.
J-BIG: How did the strategy change when entering the European market?
Olaf Buettner: We started out in Europe with traditional import business. The goods came from Asia, at that time from Hong Kong, were delivered to Europe and distributed by a wholesaler. Those were the first steps in the early 1990s. In 1993, we opened our first office here in Germany and set up production at a cooperating manufacturer in the Netherlands.
An important step was the acquisition of a production facility in Hungary. When a Korean manufacturer left the market there, Nissin took over the plant in 2004, along with the SMACK brand, a local Hungarian brand. We have now been in Europe for a good 30 years, but in the beginning it was a very small import business that only grew slowly through our own production.
J-BIG: Initially, Cup Noodles were hardly available in Asian flavours in Germany. Why were the products so heavily Europeanised back then?
Olaf Buettner: It was a lengthy process. Nissin pursued the concept of adapting local tastes and combining Asian noodle culture with long noodles and authentic textures, initially with local flavours. This worked very well in Brazil with the ceviche style and in Mexico with the tortilla flavour.
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In Europe, they also tried this with “mushroom”, “broccoli” and “tomato soup”. These products were more in line with existing brands such as Maggi and Knorr. This did not work for a long time. However, Nissin stuck with this concept for quite some time until the new factory was finally built in Hungary in 2017. Tomato soup was the last “European” flavour and was only removed from the range in 2019/2020. The new factory brought with it other possibilities and the idea of “more authentication”. This was also linked to the fact that Asian food culture was becoming established in Europe. The first ramen restaurants appeared in the 2000s, and conveyor belt sushi had been around since the 1990s. We realised that perhaps the Asian concept was better suited to Europe after all.
J-BIG: Why did Nissin choose a broad Asian flavour palette in Europe instead of purely Japanese authenticity?
Olaf Buettner: At first, we tried to be consistently Japanese and focused on classic flavours such as tonkotsu, which is the most popular ramen flavour in Japan. But we quickly realised that 100 percent Japanese doesn’t work. Tonkotsu has a very strong smell and its milky appearance doesn’t appeal to many Europeans. So we modified tonkotsu and toned down the smell a little without killing the actual character. This made it more palatable for Europeans. The milky texture of the broth is still there, but the texture is different and the taste is not as intense.
This is where the Nissin Group’s philosophy comes into play: the company’s local units are responsible for developing flavours. Although we have a Global R&D Centre in Japan, product development takes place locally, as the teams here are also consumers. We work in a very consumer-centric way and pay attention to what consumers want and how the markets tick.
Local conditions also play a role, such as packaging units and recyclability. Previously, the packaging came from Japan and was made of non-recyclable composite materials. This had to be adapted to the local market.
J-BIG: German consumers probably have different taste preferences than Spanish or English consumers. How does Nissin respond to the diversity of European markets?
Olaf Buettner: It was difficult for Japan to understand that Europe is not a single market. We explained it to them using the image of a mosaic market, which they understood well. Like a mosaic, each country has different preferences, tastes and competing brands.
We developed a separate range for the United Kingdom. This is one of our most important markets. Eating habits are different there because people consume less salt due to regulations (HFSS). We therefore adapted the recipes.
We used to do this for France as well, but we have since abandoned this approach. France now has the same tastes – just different packaging with French motifs.
We have a broader range of flavours with seven, eight, nine different varieties, which are not all marketed in parallel. Spicy flavours work well in the Netherlands and Scandinavia, but less so in Spain, where people tend to prefer more aromatic foods. A shrimp flavour, on the other hand, is popular in Spain. We try to play around with the flavours, because not every flavour works equally well in every country.
J-BIG: What is particularly popular in Germany?
Olaf Buettner: The top flavour is “Classic”, which is probably the most popular Japanese flavour as a soy sauce flavour. Soy sauce is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Japan, so this flavour is an obvious choice.
“Chicken” is the number one flavour for Cup Noodles. This is generally the case on the German market. More than half of all instant noodle products are chicken flavoured because they are relatively versatile. This applies, for example, to the Muslim community, but also to other religious groups who do not eat pork or beef for various reasons. “Chicken” is the best-selling flavour in Europe.
However, there are other flavours that are also popular, such as “Spicy”. There is a certain trend there. “Sesame” is also very popular because it is authentically Japanese. At Demae Ramen, for example, “Sesame” is the top flavour.
J-BIG: Why does Nissin produce both bags and cups? Are there any differences in taste or storage?
Olaf Buettner: Here too, Europe is very mixed. Taken as a whole, two-thirds of the volume is bags and one-third is cups. Towards Eastern Europe, the proportion of bags increases – in Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, 90 percent are bags and ten percent are cups. This is mainly due to price, as bags are cheaper, more efficient to manufacture and quicker to produce. In addition, the portion size is larger than with cups.
Sometimes it is a price issue for price-sensitive consumers or for markets that are not yet so developed. In more high-price countries such as Switzerland and Scandinavia, there is greater demand for bags – not because they are cheaper, but for reasons of sustainability and to reduce packaging waste.
The taste experience is also slightly different. The sauce is identical, but the noodles are different. The bag noodles absorb more moisture, so the overall taste experience is a tad different.
J-BIG: How sustainable is the packaging?
Olaf Buettner: This is an important issue. Soba cups contain a higher proportion of plastic because they are injection moulded. This results in a larger volume of plastic than bags or composite cups with a paper sleeve and thin plastic inlay.
But we are working on it. All materials are now 100 percent recyclable. We used to have composite materials from Asia in a Styrofoam style that were not recyclable here. The current materials are suitable for the circular economy.
Of course, the question arises as to whether it is actually recycled. This varies from country to country. In Germany, this is very well covered, but the further you go towards Eastern Europe, the worse the separation becomes. We have to adapt to where the legislation is heading and whether there might be a move towards a deposit system.
J-BIG: Where does Nissin stand globally today?
Olaf Buettner: Global sales amount to 4.5 billion euros with over 10,000 employees worldwide. We are active in more than 100 countries and manufacture in 14 countries. In Germany, around 50 employees work at the European headquarters, 650 in production in Hungary, and we sell around 60 million products per year in Germany.
Europe accounts for around three to four percent of global sales with just under 170 million euros. Half of sales are generated in Japan, the other half abroad. Two-thirds of profits are generated outside Japan because foreign business is becoming more profitable. In Japan, on the other hand, it is difficult to raise prices. There are very moderate price increases with high wages and manufacturing costs. That is why profitability outside Japan is significantly higher.
J-BIG: What are Nissin’s goals in Europe?
Olaf Buettner: We have developed a long-term strategy for 2030. By then, we want to double our sales once again – from the current 300 million to 600 million products in Europe. That seems ambitious, but we have already more than doubled our sales between 2019 and 2024.
With new product ranges and a new plant in the pipeline, we can expand our production capacity. We are currently number two in the European ranking of instant noodle producers. Our goal is to become the market leader in Europe, preferably before 2030. We are already number one in the isolated category for Japanese noodles, i.e. long noodles, but we want to lead the entire category of dry ready meals.
J-BIG: What are the biggest challenges for this growth?
Olaf Buettner: The biggest hurdle is the European consumer himself. With an average of 4.0 servings per capita per year, Europe still lags far behind Asia. In Japan, the figure is 80 servings, and in Korea it is as high as 90. Germany stands at 4.6, but Spain and Italy consume less than one serving per capita per year.
Instant noodles often have a negative image. However, we are working to change this perception. We do not use artificial flavours, replacing them with natural ones and reducing the content of glutamate, sugar and salt. This makes the product healthier than many people think. Since the pandemic, eating habits have changed significantly, especially among young people. I think it is realistic that we will go from 4 to 6 or 8 portions per capita in the next ten years.
J-BIG: How does cooperation with the Japanese headquarters work?
Olaf Buettner: We coordinate closely with our headquarters through monthly reports and an Overseas New Product Committee, which also includes the CEO, the son of the founder. He wants to taste every new product personally. All global product developments must go through this committee.
Local product development is done here, as we know the markets and consumers best. Japan provides support as a global R&D Centre, but most innovations originate locally. I travel to Japan two or three times a year for coordination and best practice exchanges to see what is working and what is currently trending. To simplify communication with Japan even further, we have four expats: one in Germany and three in Hungary, who have been here for four to five years and act as an important bridge between the cultures. Despite the size of the group, the decision-making processes are surprisingly short. This means that there are direct channels to the CEO for final decisions.
J-BIG: Did you have any connection to Japan before joining Nissin?
Olaf Buettner: I had already done business with Japan during my time at Rausch, where I worked with the local producer Meiji. This experience was very helpful for my transition to Nissin. The Japanese corporate mentality is unique. There is a strong focus on the founder and his family, long-standing traditions and a conscious approach to the company’s history.
That is why the company is still centred around the Ando family, even though they no longer hold a majority stake. And the next generation is already active in the company. For me, this connection to the founding history and the conscious approach to tradition are what define Japanese companies.
J-BIG: More and more Germans are currently travelling to Japan, partly because of the low costs. What tips do you have for fans of Cup Noodles in Japan?
Olaf Buettner: Definitely visit the Cup Noodles Museum by Nissin. We have two of them. Yokohama is larger and more touristy with a great food court. However, I prefer Ikeda near Osaka, the birthplace of founder Ando, where the museum is located on the site of his former home and the original test kitchen. The connection to the origins is even more tangible there.
