Instant Noodle Soup Pioneer Momofuku Ando Ramen Fame & Fortune

Pioneer Helped College Students To Not Starve. Every college student, every person that hated the kitchen, myself included consumed the inexpensive instant noodle soups that came in plastic wraps, and a packet of seasoning, boil a cup of water, add the packet, add the dried noodles, and in 3 minutes viola! Dinner is served. What an invention, what a concept, and what an innovator in the food business, Momofuku Ando died at the age of 96, was in business for nearly 50 years selling his Ramen Noodles in different flavors around the world. Known as Top Ramen, the company Nissin Food Products Co. is a staple in many a dormatory. My friends would eat it without cooking it, others like myself would cook it per instructions, and add in minced scallions, charsiu pork, and scrambled eggs. Some convenience stores sold his product as saimin, but would hide the packaging, and serve it hot in another bowl, unsuspecting customers would claim that the guy who just heated the stuf up was a fantastic ramen chef. Not. It was Momofuku's ideas that shaped the instant food market forever. He was born on March 5, 1910 in Taiwan, when Taiwan was under Japanese occupation, and he was the son of Taiwanese parents. At the age of 23 he moved to Japan and studied at Ritsumeikan University, and managed several clothing companies.

In 1948 he started a company that produced salt, it was called Nissin. He got the idea to make the ramen instant by watching people stand in line to wait for it. He decided to invent something that was quick to make and inexpensive, while being broke, he did come up with the idea and Top Ramen was born. The flavor that worked was the chicken flavor. With operations in California, Japan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Singapore, China, Philippines, Thailand, Hungary, Germany, & Lancaster, PA.

In 2006 the company sold 46.3 billions units, with earnings of $131 million, not too shabby, it was a perfect product that is purchased by the masses. He targeted his market which was a wide market, including all of the demographic spectrum. I mean, if you aren't rich, you ain't buying filets every night. But his products are still inexpensive, where a case of his instant noodles can be sold for just a few dollars, and it being massed produced and sold out all of the time in supermarkets worldwide, how can it not be successful?

In 2002 an autobiography was published entitled "The Story of the Invention of Instant Ramen"

A cup of NIssin Cup Noodles hits the spot on many a locals rainy Maui evenings. So easy to use, rip it open, add some hot boiling water and cover it, wait about 3 minutes, and the noodles soak up the soup, and you're good to go.

"I eat mine with leftover teriyaki meat," says Kimo. "I'll chop up the meat, and before adding the hot water, I put the meat in there, and then add the water, and in a few minutes, I got some great instant ramen."

"I put the whole thing in a hot wok with some broth, and make a killer stir fry," says Angela. "I love it with sesame oil and oyster sauce, fresh garlic and ginger, oh yeah."

There's nothing better than going to your big box store and stocking up on Nissin Cup Noodles, it's cheap, it lasts a good while, it won't spoil actually, even the astronauts had their version of it. It's not uncomon to find locals with their shopping carts filled with Nissin products, it is sold at Kmart, Wal Mart and Costco, it's a great instant product that set the standards for many imitations. But if there was anyone in the food business that made an impact that added value to many a struggling person and or families, Momofuku Ando was the main man, the chairman of the board, the God Father. What an invention, what a concept and vision. Totally awesome!