In a bid to cater to changing tastes, instant noodles brands are constantly innovating.
Nissin, owner of Top Ramen Noodles, has launched a differentiated noodle – Scoopies Mad Masala Short Noodle.
According to the company, the noodles measure just 3 cm in length.
Instead of a separate masala mix, they are pre-coated with masala, both inside and outside.
Incidentally, Japan’s Nissin Foods recently appointed Gautam Sharma, earlier CEO of Wrigley India, as the managing director of its Indian offering, Indo Nissin.
The company commissioned its third factory in Odisha earlier this year, with an investment of ₹100 crore, from where the product would be manufactured.
An analyst with Edelweiss Securities said, “While Nestle has lost market share to ITC’s Yippee, the latter has done a lot of innovation.”
ITC's ‘Yippee!’ innovated with extra longer noodles, as opposed to Nissin's shorter noodles, in different flavours like Chinese noodles.
Nestle’s Maggi noodles, which posted a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23 per cent between 2007-11, slowed to a CAGR of 6 per cent between 2011-12 due to high competitive intensity.
Abneesh Roy of Edelweiss Securities added that a differentiated offering could taste success, with consumers willing to experiment in the breakfast space.
“In the past, Nestle’s health offerings, the Maggi Atta Noodles, have not been successful. Success in the foods space is possible only via constant innovation, as ITC has done by launching round, less sticky noodles with different flavours like Chinese, tomato, masala and its tri-colored pasta aided by significant investments in advertisements,” he added.
While Nissin's Scoopies is priced similar to Nestle’s Maggi noodles at ₹10 for a 70-gm pack, ITC's Yippee is priced at ₹10 for a 75-gm pack.
However, Yippee noodle charges ₹15 for a 75-gm pack of Chinese Masala noodles.