This Startup Wants To Take Plant-Based Instant Noodles Global
Originally a luxury food, instant noodles have grown into global comfort food enjoyed by people of different ages all over the world. To put it in context, consumers buy over 100 billion servings of ramen noodles every year. In Nigeria alone,
Many Nigerian uni students survived the stressful days of early adulthood and hangovers thanks to Indomie noodles and other ramen-adjacent brands.
Most instant noodle ingredients comprise starch, saturated fat, salt, and MSG. One serving of Indomie instant noodles has 1180mg of sodium, more than half of the recommended daily intake for sodium in adults.
On the darker side, frequent consumption of noodles reportedly causes obesity, high blood pressure, and even increases the chances of developing heart disease.
Despite the health risks, instant noodle companies continue to market their products as ideal for children. In fact, these staggering numbers haven't discouraged Nigerians from eating instant noodles.
Should a healthier option exist?
Enter Immi, a startup seeking to disrupt how people consume instant noodles. Founders, Kevin Lee and Kevin Chanthasiriphan are on a mission to make healthy noodles by retaining the hearty experience and none of the heavy calories.
Lee and Chanthasiriphan both grew up loving ramen noodles, but also saw the toll that a lifetime of heavy and starchy meals took on the health of the older members of their families. Their shared love of ramen led them to spend about 13 months formulating plant-based noodles that would keep the original rich taste we all love.
Immi ramen noodles have 31 grams of plant protein from pumpkin seeds and fava beans and only 9 grams of net carbs (compared to 27 grams of carbs in normal noodles). The flavours are tom yum shrimp, spicy beef, and black garlic chicken.
It’s rather too early to determine whether they've successfully disrupted the ramen industry. The pricing is rather steep for any disruption to happen on a global scale.
Immi noodles go for roughly N2500 per pack, significantly more expensive than what your regular noodles cost.
If you ask me, 99% of Nigerians would rather stick to their Indomie noodles. Nigeria makes up the 12th largest noodle market in the world thanks to the founders and marketers of Indomie Noodles. However, with an economy like ours, buying the ‘healthier version’ of noodles seems like a luxury most people can’t afford.
There’s also the fact that Indomie Noodles are the most trusted instant noodle brands in the country. Time will tell if MSG-free noodles will finally become a thing.