Momofuku Ando

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Momofuku Ando
Born	吳百福 (Gô͘ Peh-hok) (1910-03-05)March 5, 1910 Phoh-á-kha, Kagi-chō, Japanese Taiwan, Empire of Japan (now Puzi, Chiayi County, Taiwan)
Died	January 5, 2007(2007-01-05) (aged 96) Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, Japan
Nationality	Japanese
Alma mater	Ritsumeikan University[1]
Known for	Inventing of instant noodles
Spouse(s)	Masako Ando
Children	Koki Ando

Momofuku Ando (Japanese: 安藤 百福, Hepburn: Andō Momofuku), ORS, (March 5, 1910 – January 5, 2007) was a Japanese^[2][3] inventor and businessman who founded Nissin Food Products Co., Ltd.. He is known as the inventor of instant noodles (ramen noodles) and the creator of the brands Top Ramen and Cup Noodles.

Early life and education[]

Ando was born Go Peh-hok 吳百福 in 1910 into a wealthy family in Kagi-chō (Japanese: 嘉義廳, modern-day Chiayi County), Japanese Formosa (Taiwan), and raised by his grandparents within the city walls of Tainan-chō (臺南廳, Tainan) following the deaths of his parents.^[1] His grandparents owned a small textiles store, which inspired him, at the age of 22, to start his own textiles company, using 190,000 yen, in Eiraku-chō (永樂町), Daitōtei, Taihoku (Taipei).

In 1933, Ando traveled to Osaka, where he established a clothing company while studying economics at Ritsumeikan University.^[1]

Career[]

Founding Nissin[]

After World War II, Taiwan was handed over to the Republic of China, and Ando had to choose between becoming a citizen of Taiwan (ROC) or remaining a Japanese subject. Ando chose the former in order to keep his ancestral properties in Taiwan (since all Japanese nationals had to forfeit their properties in Taiwan). However, Ando remained in Japan.

Ando was convicted of tax evasion in 1948 and served two years in jail. In his biography, Ando said he had provided scholarships for students, which at the time was a form of tax evasion. After he lost his company due to a chain-reaction bankruptcy, Ando founded what was to become Nissin in Ikeda, Osaka, Japan, starting off as a small family-run company producing salt.

Invention of Nissin Chikin Ramen[]

A recreation of Ando's Workshop at the Momofuku Andō Instant Ramen Museum.

With Japan still suffering from a shortage of food in the post-war era, the Ministry of Health tried to encourage people to eat bread made from wheat flour that was supplied by the United States. Ando wondered why bread was recommended instead of noodles, which were more familiar to the Japanese. The Ministry's response was that noodle companies were too small and unstable to satisfy supply needs, so Ando decided to develop the production of noodles by himself. The experience convinced him that "Peace will come to the world when the people have enough to eat."^[4]

On August 25, 1958, at the age of 48, and after months of trial and error experimentation to perfect his flash-frying method, Ando marketed the first package of precooked instant noodles. The original chicken flavor is called Chikin Ramen. It was originally considered a luxury item with its price of ¥35 (¥608/US$5.69 in 2019 terms),^[5] around six times that of traditional udon and soba noodles at the time. As of 2016, Chicken Ramen is still sold in Japan and now retails for around ¥120 (US$1.12), or approximately one-third the price of the cheapest bowl of noodles in a Japanese restaurant.

Cup Noodles invention[]

Nissin Cup Noodles (1971 ~)

According to The Financial Times, Ando's invention of Cup Noodles in 1971, at the age of 61, helped spark the popularity of instant noodles overseas. He had observed that Americans ate noodles by breaking the noodles in half, putting them into a paper cup, and pouring hot water over the noodles. They also ate them with a fork instead of chopsticks. Ando was inspired, and felt that a Styrofoam cup—with a narrower bottom than the top—would be the ideal vessel for holding noodles and keeping them warm. Eating the noodles would then be as easy as opening the lid, adding hot water and waiting. This simplicity, efficiency and low price of Cup Noodles went on to transform Nissin's fortunes.^[6]

Ando began the sales of his most famous product, Cup Noodle (カップヌードル, Kappu Nūdoru), on September 18, 1971, with the idea of providing a waterproof polystyrene container.^[7] As prices dropped, instant ramen soon became a booming business. Worldwide demand reached 98 billion servings in 2009.^[8]

Riot Police Unit eating Cup Noodles during the Asama-Sansō incident

In 1972, the Asama-Sansō hostage standoff took place in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Widespread coverage of the event, which included repeated images of the prefectural Riot Police Unit eating the noodles on national television, have been conjectured as boosting awareness of the brand.^[9][10]

Failure of Cup Rice[]

Starting in July 1974, Nissin started to sell "Cup Rice". This invention was proposed by the master of food agency. He wanted someone to invent "Manufactured food of rice which you just pour in the water." Politicians and people who worked in the Food agency ate samples of the first batch of Cup Rice. Their evaluations were very high. In addition, mass communications reported that it was a "miraculous food", and they wrote "Deliverer thing that people who make rice." However, Cup Rice’s catalog price was quite high, compared to cup noodles because the price of rice was more expensive than wheat. Eventually, customers stopped buying Cup Rice because of its cost. So, Ando had to stop selling it. By the time he stopped selling, he had already spent 3 billion yen to build a factory for Cup Rice. It was twice as much as the capital fund. In addition, it was almost the same as sales in one year. At that point, Ando was filled with determination to lose it. According to this book,[1] named "魔法のラーメン発明物語"(It was written in Japanese.) Ando wrote this comment about his experience, "There is a trap in compliments."

Industry memberships[]

In 1964, seeking a way to promote the instant noodle industry, Ando founded the Instant Food Industry Association, which set guidelines for fair competition and product quality, introducing several industry standards such as the inclusion of production dates on packaging and the "fill to" line. He was also the chairman of the International Ramen Manufacturers' Association.

Personal life and death[]

In 1966, Ando naturalized through marriage and became a Japanese citizen. "Momofuku" is the Japanese reading of his Taiwanese given name (百福; Pek-hok), while Andō (安藤) is the last name of his Japanese wife.

Ando died of heart failure on January 5, 2007, at a hospital in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, at the age of 96.^[4]

Ando was survived by his wife Masako, two sons and a daughter. Ando claimed that the secret of his long life was playing golf and eating Chicken ramen almost every day. He was said to have eaten instant ramen until the day he died.^[11][12]

The New York Times wrote an editorial about his achievements.^[13]

After death[]

Commemoration[]

"MOMOFUKU Noodle", by NISSIN

On April 8, 2008, Heisei 20th, a ramen summit was held in Osaka and a bronze statue of Ando was unveiled at the Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture [2]. The statue depicts Andou standing atop a base resembling a cup noodle container while holding a cup noodles container in his right hand. Yasuhiro Nakasone (former Prime Minister of Japan) and Masako Ando (Ando's wife) attended the unveiling ceremony. There is a monument in the museum, written by Nakasone.

On October 1, 2008, the company's name was changed "NISSIN FOODS HOLDINGS". At the same time, Nissin Foods Products Co., Ltd was founded. In the same year, Project Hyakufukusi was started.

On March 5, 2015, Google placed a doodle created by Google artist Sophie Diao on its main web page commemorating his birthday.^[14][15]

The name of the Momofuku restaurants in the United States alludes to Momofuku Ando.^[16]

Honors[]

Ando was repeatedly honored with medals by the Japanese government and the emperor—including The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star, Second Class—in 2002, which is the second-most prestigious Japanese decoration for Japanese civilians.

• Medal of Honor with Blue Ribbon (1977)
• Order of the Sacred Treasure, Second Class, Gold and Silver Star (1982)
• Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon (1983)
• Director-General of the Science and Technology Agency "Distinguished Service Award" (1992)
• Order of the Rising Sun, Second Class, Gold and Silver Star (2002)

Foreign decoration[]

• Order of the Direkgunabhorn of Thailand, Fourth Clastas, (2001)^[17]

Order of precedence[]

• Senior fourth rank (2007, posthumous)

See also[]

• List of instant noodle brands
• List of inventors

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Momofuku Ando.

• Beech, Hannah (2006). "Momofuku Ando: A late bloomer invented the instant noodles that fueled the Asian Miracle". Time. Archived from the original on 2008-03-07.
• "Inventor of instant noodles dies". BBC. 2007-01-06.
• Wallace, Bruce (January 7, 2007). "Momofuku Ando, 96; inventor's Cup Noodle became an instant hit". Los Angeles Times.
• Obituary and Appreciation in New York Times. January 9, 2007.
• Noodles Museum, Nissin Instant Ramen Noodles Museum, , January 14, 2007
• Rameniac's Ode to Nissin Chikin Ramen
• A Tribute To Momofuku Ando and His Life