Yesterday, Xiao Hu, who lives in Xuchang, Henan Province, boarded the high-speed train to Hangzhou East Railway Station, and the auto parts repair shop where he worked was about to start. This road takes nearly 9 hours, Xiao Hu obviously has prepared for it, and as soon as he sat down, he took out three barrels of Kang's braised beef noodles bought at the door of the old house. "I'm hungry on the road."
Every year, the Spring Festival is the peak season for the sale of instant noodles. Next, though, you might have to spend a little more on the steaming bowl of instant noodles in your hand. Recently, it was reported on the Internet that instant noodle giants such as Master Kong, Unity, and Nissin will raise the price of some of their products, and related topics have also appeared on Weibo hot searches. Although the price increase has not yet been publicly recognized by Master Kong and Unified, a supermarket in Hangzhou told reporters that it has received a notice from the manufacturer requesting price adjustment. As for when the retail price will be adjusted, supermarkets will have to think again.
Instant noodles are about to be raised
Supermarkets have received notification from manufacturers
Recently, a price increase notice circulating in the industry shows that unified instant noodles announced price increases. The notice mentioned that since 2021, the price of raw materials has risen sharply, and in order to make the fast food business operate smoothly and orderly, the price adjustment has been made for some products of the fast food business. The price adjustment product involves 3 models, of which the retail price of the bag surface is now 2.5 yuan, and the price adjustment is 2.8 yuan. Master Kong also adjusted the barrel noodles from 4 yuan to 4.5 yuan.
In this regard, the official customer service of the unified enterprise China denied it and said that no relevant announcement was issued. Master Kong also said that he did not receive a notice from the company to adjust the price of the product.
Yesterday afternoon, the reporter contacted Hangzhou Lianhua Commercial Group, and the news obtained was that the price of Lianhua supermarket was stable at present, and there was no price increase.
Hangzhou Wumart Supermarket said that it has received a price adjustment notice from Master Kong and other manufacturers, and will raise the price of some old products, with a price increase of 10%-12%, but the supermarket has not yet adjusted the price.
"There are more than 70 items in the supermarket, and there are about 20 to adjust the price, and the price increase is basically 0.5 yuan / barrel." For such semi-livelihood products, we are still very cautious about raising prices, and when we mention it, we must look at the market situation. The person in charge of Instant Noodles at Wumart Supermarket said.
Raw materials are rising too fast
Instant noodles can't hold back?
Although Master Kong and Unification have temporarily "stood still", Nissin, the "originator" of instant noodles, has publicly admitted that the price adjustment is about to be raised.
On January 5, Nissin Foods issued an announcement to raise the ex-factory price of major instant noodles in Chinese mainland, and the percentage increase in the average increase is in the number of units, effective from March 1, 2022; products include: Hewei cup noodles, out of the first dice (packaging, cup and bowl noodles), Nissin pasta, etc. The last time Nissin Foods adjusted Chinese mainland instant noodle product prices was in 2011.
According to the person in charge of Instant Noodles of Wumart Supermarket, the price of instant noodles has been relatively stable in the past decade, and the cost and profit are mainly adjusted by pushing new products, but in the past 3 years, this category has frequently increased prices. She believes that the main reason is that the international bulk raw materials have risen too quickly, and the production cost of instant noodles has been continuously pushed up.
It is understood that the main raw materials of instant noodle products, such as flour, palm oil, sugar, etc., will rise to varying degrees in 2021. Among them, palm oil rose significantly. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the price of vegetable oils such as palm oil will rise by 65.8% year-on-year in 2021.
Instant noodles that have been hit by takeaways
At present, it is ushering in a period of industry stability
Since 2013, the instant noodle industry has begun a multi-year decline in sales. According to statistics, from 2013 to 2016, the demand for instant noodles in China continued to decline, with annual sales falling from 46.22 billion to 38.52 billion, a drop of 16.66%; on the other hand, from 2011 to 2016, the size of China's online ordering market increased from 21.68 billion yuan to 166.24 billion yuan, an increase of nearly 8 times in 6 years.
At that time, a common saying was that instant noodle products suffered a cross-dimensional blow from the takeaway industry and had no power to fight back.
However, in the context of consumption upgrading in recent years, there has been a dramatic reversal - the sales of instant noodles have not only not declined in the past two years, but have lived better and better. Since 2017, the domestic instant noodle industry has begun to stop falling, reverse recovery, and grow rapidly in 2018. The latest data is the 2020 data released by the World Instant Noodles Association: about 116.6 billion instant noodles were consumed globally in 2020, Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, China ranked first with 46.35 billion servings of instant noodles, an increase of 20.3% over 2016 and a six-year high.
The person in charge of Instant Noodles of Wumart Supermarket said that the sales of instant noodles in Hangzhou stores have begun to go up from 2020, and in recent years, due to the impact of the epidemic, many takeaways have not been able to enter the community, and instant noodles have ushered in a wave of sales. "The annual sales growth rate is about 10%."
The financial report data of major instant noodle brands is also good. According to the financial report of Master Kong and Unity in 2020, the revenue of Master Kong's instant noodle business in 2020 was 29.51 billion yuan, an increase of 16.64% year-on-year; the revenue of unified instant noodle business was 9.055 billion yuan, an increase of 7.2% over the same period last year. Master Kong's performance in the first half of 2021 increased by 7.4% year-on-year, and the unified first half of the year revenue increased by 10%.
Convenience foods in consumption scenarios
It's hard to disappear completely
From the perspective of the consumption trend of instant noodles, the trend of high-end in the industry is obvious. Nowadays, many high-end instant noodles are very exquisite in ingredients, including the preparation method has become greener, and even some packages are not lost in stew. By the way, a large number of takeaway products are actually made in a similar way to instant noodles, which is done through the combination of sauce packages. Some netizens said that compared with not knowing whether it is a takeaway produced in a black workshop, it is better to trust the strict quality management in the large instant noodle factory.
In the consumption scenarios of many ordinary consumers, instant noodles still play an irreplaceable role. Unlike Westerners, who are accustomed to iced milk sandwiches, Chinese consumers still prefer the hot soup water. In Internet cafes, convenience stores, student dormitories, rental houses without kitchens, and overtime office buildings, a hot instant noodle can give every hungry soul some comfort. Many netizens mentioned that there will always be some instant noodles at home, "even if I don't eat it all the time, put it away after it expires, I will still buy another five-pack and hoard it." ”
What's more, convenience foods are constantly innovating. The person in charge of Instant Noodles at Wumart Supermarket said that in fact, instant noodle brands have been adjusting their tastes, such as hand-rolled noodles, mushroom stewed chicken noodles and other flavors, and many stores have stopped selling. This year, Chef Kong has launched a series of products such as tomato and egg flavor and Korean spicy beef. In every issue of the supermarket's promotional products, instant noodles will certainly be listed among them. Like the Grain and Oil Festival launched by Wumart from February 9 to 15, convenience foods can enjoy a discount of 28 yuan minus 8 yuan.
In addition, instant noodles have long been more than just "braised beef noodles" and "lao tan sauerkraut noodles". Internet celebrity food brands such as Ramen Talk, Cannibals, and Li Ziqi have also joined the instant noodle camp. In recent years, instant hot pots, snail powder, and instant porridge mixed with powder have also been popular among young people who do not have time to cook.
Source: Rednet