The Ajisen Ramen Brand Crisis refers to the fact that in March 2014, Ajisen Ramen stores in mainland China, a subsidiary of Japan's Ajisen Corporation, were exposed to have used expired meat in the preparation of food products, with as many as 400 stores involved, which triggered widespread social and media attention, and had a huge negative impact on Ajisen's brand image and business development. This incident is also known as the "Ajisen Ramen expired meat incident".

Ajisen Ramen was once a big player in the food industry after opening its first store in Hong Kong in 1996, but its turnover plummeted after the "collusion" scandal in 2011, and the company itself did not realize it was in crisis.

The competition in the domestic restaurant industry is getting fiercer and fiercer, but Ajisen still hasn't made the slightest change in its business, with its old-fashioned style of decoration and ramen varieties that consumers don't have the desire to consume.

Ajisen first originated in Japan, but Chinese businessman Pan Xin found a business opportunity in the 1990s and obtained full agency rights for Ajisen (China), and in 1996, the first Ajisen Ramen store opened in Hong Kong.

After more than 20 years of development, its store count once reached 664. Ajisen's boss, Pan Wei, successfully listed the company in Hong Kong in 2007, making her worth 3.5 billion yuan, making her the richest person on Hurun's list of the world's richest restaurants, and the "Queen of Ramen" at the time.

Brand Introduction

Ajisen (China) Holdings Ltd. is a mainland-based operator. As of 2018, Ajisen has become a Japanese ramen brand with more than 800 stores globally, such as in China, Japan, Italy, and Singapore, with chains in 13 countries around the world. Ajisen China's network of fast casual restaurant chains are located in commercial locations in 120 major cities in China.

In addition to operating fast casual restaurants, Ajisen China also produces and sells ramen products in small packages, with over 7,500 outlets in more than 30 major cities; and exports to Singapore, Japan, Australia and other countries.

The success of Ajisen China's ramen and Japanese cuisine in catering to the tastes and preferences of a wide range of customers has given the Group an edge over its competitors and has established its brand name "Ajisen Ramen" as a quality, tasty, healthy and reliable product.

Ajisen China adopts a unified national management system. The Group's products have received various QS (QualitySafety) certifications from the State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), and its food manufacturing and processing centers in Shanghai and Shenzhen have received various international certifications such as ISO9001:2000 and HACCP.