Whenever there is a typhoon, flood, earthquake or other natural disaster, the fresh food area and emergency food area of the supermarket are always swept away. And instant noodles are also resistant to storage, rich in taste, and convenient for cooking, and are sought-after among the sought-after goods.
Interestingly, however, despite the outstanding advantages of instant noodles, there are always a few unpopular tastes that are helpless to stay alone in such a special period.
At the beginning of last year, the domestic epidemic broke out, and some areas had to implement strict management to prevent the further spread of the virus to the greatest extent. As a result, in a short period of time, all kinds of food in the supermarket were swept away.
It's just that people in different regions have different eating habits, and perhaps some flavors are favored in one place and snubbed in another: for example, in the Wuhan area, the mushroom stewed chicken noodles with light selling points are completely ignored by consumers, and the large green is in stark contrast to the empty shelves next to it.
In the Sichuan-Chongqing region, where there is no spicy or happy, the sweet and sour tomato fresh vegetable noodles are naturally left alone on the shelves.
On the contrary, the beef noodles with pickled peppers have been ignored by the people of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai who are keen on sweetness, and they have taken on the responsibility of guarding the shelves.
But there is such a instant noodle, whether it is a special period or a normal moment, it is a sought-after commodity for all ages, especially in Guangdong, it is difficult to ignore the yellow packaging in the mall that is constantly being supplied.
This Huafeng Sanxian Yi noodles, which only cost more than 1 piece and only one flavor, is the first choice for the emergency food of the people of Guangdong, and it is also the most profound memory of instant noodles after 8090.
I remember that on the weekends of elementary school, I would always carry a few yuan and a few cents saved from breakfast money, go to the Taxi shop to buy a pack of three fresh noodles, and enjoy a rare afternoon tea time.
The way to eat here in Guangdong is no different from other regions, it is all kneaded dough cakes and put into the spice packs to shake wildly, and taste this delicious meal little by little with your peers.
Then there is the side stove (hot pot), no matter what kind of soup base you use, when the meat is swept away, you must put a few packets of three fresh noodles to finish.
Because the soup base at this time is full of concentrated essence, the place of the soul, and the noodle cake can wrap the soup to the greatest extent, only after drying these noodles, it is not worth the meal.
Of course, if you can put a few more greens, it is a double happiness of nutrition and deliciousness.
Almost as long as I can remember, sanxian yi noodles have run through my eating life, and whenever I rip open the yellow package, there is always a unique noodle fragrance that stirs my thoughts, remembering the joy of childhood and the laughter at the table.
Unfortunately, under the impact of the takeaway industry, major instant noodle brands, including Huafeng, are facing a change that has not been established for decades; and Huafeng is far less influential than before because of changes in internal structure.
Although the current instant noodle market is almost unified, Master Kong divides the world, but if you pull back to the 8th and 90s of the last century, Huafeng is the undefeated king of the instant noodle market.
In 1980, Shanghai Yimin No. 4 Factory introduced a production line of instant noodles from Japan, which greatly improved the production efficiency of instant noodles; at this time, thousands of miles away in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, a station manager of a food factory service station --- Xiong Yiwu was keenly aware of the broad market prospects of domestic instant noodles.
So in 1984, Xiong Yiwu got a set of instant noodle production lines introduced by Guangdong Nongken from Japan, led the staff to open another factory called "Huafeng", and took advantage of Guangdong's pioneering reform and opening up and previous experience in producing food to produce Guangdong's first instant noodles --- sanxian noodles.
The reason why this noodle is called "three fresh noodles" is because the seasoning package is made of pork bones, seafood and chicken, and the sweet and light taste has suddenly captured the appetite of the people of Guangdong.
Since then, Huafeng's roots have taken root in Guangdong, which is not only the center of external expansion, but also the city of self-preservation in the future.
In order to further expand Huafeng's market, and then Xiong Yiwu took advantage of the victory to pursue, invited the well-known Hong Kong star "Fat Sister" Shen Dianxia to endorse, and designed a catchy sentence "Food Huafeng, LuLutong" as an advertising slogan, which was broadcast in turn on major TELEVISION stations.
With the advertising effect, Huafeng's territory soon spread to the north and south of the great river, whether it is west to Xinjiang or north to the northeast heilongjiang, you can also see Huafeng's figure.
Not only that, due to its reputation, in the era when intellectual property rights were not highly valued, Huafeng naturally became the object of competition and imitation by merchants.
What Shandong Longfeng, Hebei Hualong... They have always imitated Huafeng's face, but never surpassed Huafeng's face.
At that time, the outside world was always willing to give some titles to the leaders of the industry, so thanks to the sharp increase in Huafeng's sales in the country, Xiong Yiwu was naturally crowned with titles such as "China's Instant Noodle Brother" and "China's Instant Noodle King".
In addition, it is said that Huafeng employees at that time were paid higher than the local average, and their reputation was louder than that of public officials (it is said that in the 90s, Huafeng's ordinary employees reached 2000 monthly salaries, and the house prices in Beijing that year were more than 1,000 square meters... In short, who can enter Huafeng to work, who is the brightest cub in the local area.
However, the turning point occurred in the early 1990s, when Huafeng was less than a decade old in unifying the Chinese instant noodle market, and two Taiwanese enterprises, Unity and Master Kong, quickly rose up and entered the mainland market.
The two companies first launched a variety of flavors at once to meet the different needs of consumers, and then won the market for young people through the advantage of crisp noodles with their own seasoning and their accompanying gifts.
In just a few years, Unification and Master Kong have taken root in the mainland market, and the reason why Huafeng has no strength to fight back at this time is because of the huge changes within the group.
In 1992, the Indonesian consortium "Sinar Mas Group" acquired Huafeng, and a large number of foreign personnel entered the management, changing the previous concept and policy, and the taste also underwent subtle changes. At the same time, it also launched a variety of strange products such as Huafeng Noodle Restaurant, Dry Mix Family, Huafeng 2000, etc., but unfortunately, these new products are also short-lived.
Huafeng, which is still in the process of adjustment, naturally has no spare strength to fight against the two vigorous groups, and at the same time, Master Kong has completely opened the mainland market with braised beef noodles, and Unity has also gained many fans by borrowing fresh shrimp noodles. By the time Huafeng adapted to the new policy, the domestic instant noodle market had long been the world of unification and Master Kong.
The spectacular scene of "eating Huafeng, lulutong" has disappeared unconsciously; on the shelves of supermarkets, Huafeng Sanxianyi noodles have also been placed in an inconspicuous corner, waiting for a person with a relationship to take it away.
People see these yellow packaging again, and there are only bland impressions such as "there are few tastes to choose from", "cheap and no good goods", "I have eaten before, but I didn't expect to sell now".
Seeing that the general trend was gone, Xiong Yiwu decided to leave Huafeng and open another way forward. As a result, there was another instant noodle brand called "Xiong Yiwu" on the market, and Huafeng lacked a general who could be martial, which further accelerated the decline of Huafeng.
In 1998, Huafeng had to lay off employees on a large scale to ensure that the company could run smoothly (it is worth mentioning that Xiong Yiwu instant noodles were also popular for a while, but after Xiong Yiwu died in a car accident in February 1997, the brand also became a tear for children in a certain area).
At this point, Huafeng's influence has shrunk to Guangdong, continuing the memories of the people of Guangdong with its constant taste and affordable price.
Originally, the selling point of instant noodles is rich in taste, convenient cooking, in the 80s, 90s, 00s when materials are relatively scarce and the consumption level is not high, instant noodles are the only choice for people to rush to the road and supper, it is this broad demand that has become the outlet of instant noodles.
However, the time came to the first decade of the 21st century, the major domestic takeaway industry began to rise, more diversified choices and more convenient delivery made instant noodles lose their natural advantages.
Some data show that between 2014 and 2017, the number of domestic and foreign sales orders surged from 300 million to 5.5 billion, while the sales of instant noodles plummeted by 5.5 billion packs; at the moment when takeaway is expanding, the magnitude of these data changes must be more obvious.
However, in my opinion, whether it is the unity of various tastes, Master Kang, or the choice of more complicated takeaways, it cannot shake Huafeng's position in my mind.
On the Internet platform, there are many people who have the same idea as me, especially the small partners in Guangdong who mention Huafeng, always do not forget to tell the glory of the time.
Every time I see someone say that Huafeng is a "not well-known" brand, there will always be a trace of bitterness in my heart, but fortunately, "the quality is very good" shows that the yellow packaging still has a tenacious life that is not lost in that year.
For the post-8090s, Huafeng's biggest attraction is its side as a snack. Later, the reason why Unification and Master Kong would launch crisp noodles was also because children at that time always liked to eat Huafeng dry, right?
Thinking about it now, this may also be a major argument that Huafeng has swept the country.
In short, we have tasted the saltiness of the northeast, felt the spicy of Sichuan and Chongqing, and tasted the sweetness of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai, but these are not as fresh as Huafeng's and memory.