From the post-70s to the post-90s, who hasn't eaten the simple happiness of instant noodles in his childhood? Who will work overtime late at night and travel in a hurry without instant noodles to accompany the soul?
If instant noodles are an epoch-making invention, I believe no one will object.
1956, a Japanese named Yasuo Ando invented the earliest packet of instant noodles in the world.
1970, Shanghai Yimin No.4 Factory produced the first package of "chicken soup noodles", marking the official start of instant noodle production in China.
From 1990 to 20 13, countless instant noodle brands have sprung up, and the domestic instant noodle market has ushered in rapid development. Instant noodles have become a must-have food for every family from a certain degree of luxury.
In the past 50 years, the rivers and lakes of instant noodles have been constantly changing, coming and going. Some have risen brilliantly, some have declined, some have disappeared, and some have weathered the storm and started again.
Today we will talk about instant noodles, what you know and what you don't know.
Huafeng-Once the King of Instant Noodles
Most of the earliest instant noodle enlightenment after 1980s and 1990s came from Huafeng.
Huafeng instant noodles can be said to be the originator of instant noodles.
1986, Guangdong Agricultural Reclamation Office introduced a set of Japanese original instant noodle production line for Pearl River Farm. Who knows that Zhujiang Farm "doesn't know the goods" and gave it to Zhuhai Overseas Chinese Farm.
Xiong Yiwu, then the stationmaster of the rural life service station, led the staff to make the first packet of instant noodles. Square yellow plastic packaging, named "Huafeng", means "the abundance of China".
In order to quickly occupy the domestic blank market, Xiong Yiwu invited the popular heavyweight star Shen Dianxia to speak for him. On TV, "Fat Sister" held a packet of three fresh noodles of Huafeng, and the advertisement "Eat Huafeng, Passepartout" was known to all women and children overnight. Huafeng has begun to blossom in an all-round way, with more than a dozen production plants all over the country.
How hot was Huafeng at that time? Except the Pearl River Delta, Heilongjiang in the north and Xinjiang in the west, there is no one who doesn't eat Huafeng Sanxian instant noodles.
Especially its classic dry eating method, many people must have tried it. Open the plastic bag, take out the seasoning bag, hammer the bread through the bag with a small hammer, sometimes add the seasoning bag and shake it before eating, sometimes don't add it. Apart from dry food, cooking is very refreshing.
At that time, Huafeng Sanxian noodles cost 70 cents a pack, but later it only cost 1 yuan to have a bumper harvest.
Huafeng sells well all over the country, and Xiong Yiwu, the founder of Huafeng, is called "the king of instant noodles in China".
In the early 1990s, Huafeng ushered in the shareholding system reform, and the famous Indonesian paper giant Guangjin Group became the largest shareholder of Huafeng.
Under the leadership of Guangjin Group, Huafeng abandoned localization in management, removed the original senior management team, and introduced professionals from Taiwan Province Province and Hongkong, so Xiong Yiwu had to retire sadly. However, overseas troops were "acclimatized" and failed to grasp the marketing strategy and deal with the market in time. The rise of Master Kong and Uni-President made Huafeng's sales lose ground.
More importantly, Huafeng Yimian lost its familiar taste and mouthfeel.
In order to inherit the flavor of Huafeng, Xiong Yiwu started a new stove and came to Baoji, Shaanxi Province, and founded Xiong Yiwu Company named after him to produce Xiong Yiwu series instant noodles.
Xiong Yiwu's instant noodles have four series, including double-sided, single-sided, Muslim noodles and crispy noodles, and there are sixteen varieties, including spicy beef noodles, three fresh noodles and Muslim spicy beef noodles.
Soon, the product was recognized by many consumers for its classic taste, and Xiong Yiwu instant noodles also won the title of "National Famous Brand Product in Food Industry".
Regrettably, Mr. and Mrs. Xiong Yiwu died unexpectedly in February 1997. Xiong Yiwu, who lost his mind, had a dispute with his children over property. Finally, the company disintegrated and went bankrupt, and the brand "Xiong Yiwu" gradually disappeared.
In the 20021China instant noodle brand strength index, Huafeng only ranks ninth, and the former "king of instant noodles in China" is no longer in sight.
With the popularity of convenience foods, it is difficult to find the yellow figure of Huafeng on the shelves of large supermarkets and high-end supermarkets. If you want to be nostalgic, you can only buy a bag from a treasure and a small supermarket and recall the taste of crunchy noodles when you were a child.
Master Kong and Unity —— From Competitor to My Brother.
In the early 1990s, domestic instant noodles were just a piece of bread wrapped in square plastic and a packet of seasoning. Master Kong and Uni-President both entered, and then there was a sauce bag and a bowl of noodles was introduced.
China Taiwan Province Uni-President Enterprise Group invested and established Xinjiang Uni-President Enterprise Food Co., Ltd. in June 1992, and Master Kong was established in Tianjin the following year.
The "little raccoon" with a unified theme has become the favorite of the student party. In addition to the taste, there are also the "Three Kingdoms Card", "Westward Journey Card" and "Water Margin Card" that are included with the package, which are also very attractive.
As soon as Master Kong braised beef noodles came out, it immediately became an essential artifact in the luggage of southern migrant workers and overseas tourists.
At that time, Master Kong had more than a dozen subsidiaries, 1 14 production lines, production bases all over the country 13 cities, and annual sales of 6.5 billion packages, equivalent to an average of 5 packages per year for every China person. With a market share of 47%, it almost occupies half of the instant noodle market. In 2006, Master Kong was listed in Hong Kong.
The unification suppressed by Master Kong's braised beef noodles was not able to turn over until the launch of Laotan sauerkraut beef noodles in 2008. Since then, the annual sales of Uni-President has been increasing for four consecutive years, from 65.438+0.5 billion to 4 billion, with a growth rate of 2,500%, and finally turned losses into profits.
However, the unified highlight moment did not last long. Master Kong launched the same sauerkraut beef noodles, and the "Kangtong" sales war began. In order to compete for market share, Master Kong and Uni-President launched a gift-buying activity, and only 4 billion sausages were sent out.
Driven by this protracted war, the instant noodle market in China has achieved a rapid growth of 19 years. Instant noodle manufacturers such as Baixiang, Fumanduo and Gu Wu Dojo have sprung up like mushrooms after rain, and the instant noodle market is in full swing. The sales record of 46.2 billion yuan in 20 13 years has made China the largest instant noodle market in the world.
This year, Master Kong and Uni-President ushered in their respective highlights. The turnover of Master Kong broke through the10 billion USD mark for the first time, reaching 65.438+0.0945438+0 billion USD (about 75.795 billion RMB). The unified turnover reached 23.33 billion yuan.
But since this year, the take-away industry has exploded, from 400 million to 5.5 billion; During the same period, the sales of instant noodles dropped by 5.5 billion packets.
The data shows that the demand market for instant noodles in China has been declining year by year since 20 13.
From 20 17 to 2020, the output of instant noodles is also decreasing year by year, from110.32 million tons to 5.568 million tons. Since the epidemic last year, the national instant noodle market has improved slightly.
However, according to the financial report for the first half of 20021,the overall sales of instant noodles decreased by 7.3%. Among them, Master Kong fell 14.67%, and the unified decline 12.2%. For the first time, the decline of Master Kong and Uni-President's instant noodle business was much higher than that of the whole industry.
In fact, from 20 18, Master Kong actively sought breakthroughs, strengthened research and development of new products, and laid out the high-end instant noodle market. Launched a series of products such as "Master Tang" and "Suda Noodle Restaurant". In 2020, the sales of high-priced and medium-priced bags increased, among which the sales of high-priced bags were 65.438+03.066 billion yuan, up by 28. 12% year-on-year.
Someone once made up a joke on the internet to ridicule "Master Kong braised beef noodles can't use a cow in a year". Now Master Kong lets consumers eat chunks of beef. It is said that "Su Su Da Noodle Restaurant" has 7-8 large pieces of meat. With many technical breakthroughs in soup and meat, the product also won the best innovative product award.
Unify, which has also been in a downward trend, began to stop falling and pick up on 20 18. Based on the concept of "life", we will introduce "Man Han Quan Xi" and "Tang Da Ren" in high-end products to attract the needs of young consumers and high-end target customers. 20 19 "Tang daren" also had a double-digit growth in the first half of the year. Not long ago, the unified government announced that it would go to Chongqing to find something interesting. It is speculated that a Chongqing instant noodle is likely to be introduced.
In the market environment of fast food in the post-epidemic era, whether the two bosses of Kangtong can successfully expand their space still needs market test.
Jin Langmai-is expected to become the terminator of "Kangtong" hegemony.
After the reunification of Master Kong's two big bosses, the third-ranked Jin achieved contrarian growth.
When the 20 18 industry picked up, it achieved a 20% increase.
Without the bold strategic decision of founder Fan Xianguo, Lang Mai would not be where it is today.
Jinmailang 1994 entered the market later than Uni-President and Master Kong. The predecessor of Jinmailang is Hualong.
At that time, the instant noodle market was dominated by Kangtong. How easy is it to get it?
Fan Xianguo turned his attention to the rural market that Uni-President and Master Kong had no time to take care of for the time being.
Relying on Hebei's proximity to raw materials to save transportation costs and deep processing of condiments, the company focused on low prices and launched a pack of "Hualong Xiaozai" of 55 cents.
In 200 1 year, the total output of Hualong reached 3 billion, and the sales exceeded1500 million. Occupy an absolute advantage in the rural market.
Soon after, the two giants, Uni-President and Master Kong, also began to expand the sinking market. In the face of strong competitors, Fan Xianguo decisively abandoned Hualong brand, launched a new brand "Jinmailang", upgraded its products, and entered the urban market with the characteristics of "bomb".
The successful endorsements of the advertisement "Good fight, second fight, good taste" and "China Antarctic expedition members eat bone soup to make noodles, which is equivalent to drinking 6000 grams of fresh bone soup" have enabled Jin to successfully harvest a large number of instant noodle lovers.
As the saying goes, Jinmailang boldly took the road of product differentiation, just grabbed 30% market share from two big bosses, and achieved revenue of over 2 billion in 2004.
Enterprises will always encounter many problems when they become bigger and stronger, and Jinmailang is no exception.
During the ten years of joint venture with Nissin, Jinmailang gained the growth of world-leading R&D technology and advanced management experience, but due to Jinmailang's low-end image, Nissin finally chose to break up.
In recent years, in order to get rid of the label of low-end and low-price, Jinmailang began to reform and innovate from the production line, and the production capacity increased from 160 packs per minute to 330 packs. In terms of product innovation, freeze-drying technology in aerospace field, adding soybean lecithin, increasing vegetable content, corrugated paper insulation and so on were adopted.
In addition, according to the needs of different users, a "one-and-a-half-barrel" single product was launched to create a "zero-fried" single product "Laofanjia", which became an online celebrity as soon as it went public in July this year.
These breakthrough reforms have achieved double-digit growth in sales.
At the beginning of this year, Jinmailang signed a listing counseling agreement with CITIC Jiantou Securities, which launched an impact on A shares and is expected to become the "first instant noodle" and end the market structure dominated by Kangtong.
Grain Dojo —— From Glory to End and Revival
Speaking of the Grain Dojo, it achieved the myth of defeating Master Kong and unifying the world, and it also went bankrupt twice. The road to development is ups and downs.
In 2005, nutritionists suggested that fried instant noodles were carcinogenic, which made instant noodles labeled as "junk food". Several instant noodle giants jointly held a "high-level forum on instant noodle safety" to refute the theory of instant noodle carcinogenesis, claiming that "the average acrylamide content of fried or non-fried instant noodles is only 15~80 μ g/kg, which will not cause cancer."
The founder of Wugu Dojo analyzed the market situation, immediately took "non-fried instant noodles" as a selling point, and asked Chen's authority to endorse "I don't eat fried food, it is healthier", highlighting the health slogan. In the first month of listing, there were 6 million sales. According to official data, the sales of the Grain Dojo reached 2 billion at its peak, which was in short supply in major supermarkets and successfully divided the cakes in the instant noodle market.
In fact, there is not much difference between non-fried and fried instant noodles. Gradually, non-fried selling points are no longer widely recognized by the market.
However, due to the expansion of scale and the promotion of low-end products, many business lines have been unable to make ends meet, and funds have been broken, so they have to apply for bankruptcy and reorganization. In 2009, COFCO bought the Grain Dojo at a low price of 1.09, and was forced to stop production due to the lack of improvement in sales, with a debt of 927 million yuan. On 20 17, the grain Dojo was sold to Keming flour industry again.
The grain Dojo, which has disappeared from the supermarket shelves for a long time, has been promoted in a relatively low-key way in the new media. Last March, Gu Wu Dojo cooperated with Viya and sold 260,000 bags of instant noodles in 26 seconds.
After several twists and turns, the grain Dojo finally ushered in an industry recovery. Under the strict cost control of Keming Flour Industry, it finally turned losses in 20 19, and achieved sales income of10.54 million yuan in 2020.
The grain Dojo has been revitalized, but there is still a long way to go to return to the first echelon.
Half a century has passed since the first packet of instant noodles was born.
China people eat 1000 billion packets of instant noodles a year. Has not been abandoned by the times.
According to the latest data of the World Instant Noodles Association, in 2020, the global consumption of instant noodles will be 65.438+065.438+066 billion, while the consumption of instant noodles in China will reach 46.35 billion, accounting for 40% of the global consumption, ranking first. It is estimated that by 2023, the global instant noodle market will exceed $55 billion.
Facing the huge market potential, the field of convenient fast food will usher in a new blue ocean.
Major traditional instant noodle brands are readjusting their product strategies and accelerating the pace of adjustment, and the rise of many emerging fast food brands has accelerated the diversion of instant noodle market share.
Since the beginning of this year, Lamian said that it has completed the latest round of financing, Jinmitang completed the third round of financing this year, and Porcelain Jianghu has completed two rounds of financing of 10 million US dollars in succession.
The new and old game in the convenience food market has just begun.
References:
Master Kong has really changed: the sales of instant noodles exceed 25 billion a year, and beef noodles have finally enlarged a piece of meat.
Lee's Business Review "Today's Mailang: Rising Against the Market in the Dilemma of Instant Noodles"
Agricultural industry observation "ups and downs experienced by grain Dojo"
CBN "The popularity of the instant noodle industry is declining, who is robbing the business?"