Mouthwatering, instantly [Picture source]
My fair guess is that when Nestlé, the Swiss food giant, first introduced Maggi 2-minute noodles, it took the Indian culinary world by storm. Noodles, till then a rather Chinese delicacy in most Indian cities including Kolkata, became popular in many households. So much so that even roadside eateries too started serving it in earnest.
Going by what is believed, noodles was not in the staple of Maggi & Company, named after its Swiss founder Julius Michael Johannes Maggi, when it merged with Nestlé in 1947. True, Maggi represented ready-to-eat convenience foods, but they were largely frozen meals, packaged soups, sauces and other flavorings.
Interestingly, Maggi soups and sauces were brought in by Nestlé in India long after it has milked the immense liking of its 2-minute noodles. Even today, by the word ‘Maggi’, most Indians tend to mean the noodles.
Credit for popularizing noodles in other countries however goes to Momofuku Ando of Japan, who in 1958 through his company, Nissin Food Products, which he founded in 1948, introduced Chicken Ramen, the first instant noodle product. Later in 1971, Cup Noodle came into being.
Cup Noodle surely ranks as a great innovation since all it takes is to add hot water into waterproof styrofoam can that already contains necessary ingredients to cook a tasty noodle-snack in matter of few minutes. Not surprisingly, Cup Noodle attained instant popularity all over the world catapulting Nissin Food Products to dizzy heights.
In India, Nissin is a relatively latecomer. Perhaps there was an apprehension whether instant noodle will indeed be popular with Indians’ divergent yet conservative food habits. Today, Nissin’s Indian company, Indo Nissin Foods Limited, belts out what they call smoodles under the Top Ramen brand. They of course have Cup Noodles in addition to several other products.
Momofuku Ando has recently died, but without doubt left behind a rich heritage to be cherished for long time to come.
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