"Men Eat More Ramen Than Women"... Nongshim Holds No.1 Ramen Market Share

Men consume ramen 1.8 times per week, women 1.5 times
Nongshim leads ramen market share... Shin Ramyun is top brand
More eaten on weekends than weekdays... Lunch is peak time
Ramen market shows short-term growth outlook... Population decline and other variables also noted

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] A survey revealed that the average frequency of ramen consumption among Koreans is about 1.7 times per week. Men in their 20s and 50s showed the highest consumption rates, while women in their 30s and 40s were found to eat ramen the most. Additionally, most people tend to eat ramen more often at lunch than at dinner, and more on weekends than on weekdays.

The Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation disclosed these findings on the 18th through the '2022 Processed Food Segmented Market Status - Ramen' report, based on an online survey of 500 individuals aged 15 to 65 who had purchased ramen products last year.

According to the report, men consume ramen an average of 1.8 times per week, while women consume it 1.5 times weekly. By age group, men in their 20s and 50s consumed ramen the most, averaging 2 times per week, and women in their 30s and 40s had the highest frequency at 1.6 times per week. Regarding ramen purchases, men bought ramen about once per week on average, while women purchased about 0.8 times per week, showing men slightly higher purchase frequency. As for the timing of ramen consumption (multiple responses allowed), 58.2% ate ramen at lunch, the highest proportion. This was followed by dinner (43.2%), as a snack substitute (26.8%), depending on the situation (20.0%), late-night hours (19.4%), and breakfast (10.8%).

Ramen consumption was reported to be more frequent on weekends at 78.6%, compared to 65.8% on weekdays. Satisfaction with currently available ramen products scored an average of 3.9 out of 5, with a positive response rate of 80.8%, indicating very high satisfaction. By gender, women rated satisfaction at an average of 3.95 points with an 83.6% positive rate, while men rated an average of 3.85 points with a 78% positive rate, showing that women are relatively more satisfied with currently available ramen products than men.

As of last year, the domestic ramen retail market size was approximately 2.01 trillion KRW, a 6.7% decrease compared to 2020's 2.15 trillion KRW. This decline is attributed to a relative reduction in increased home dining caused by COVID-19. Market share by manufacturer showed Nongshim leading with 49.5%, followed by Ottogi at 26.4%, Samyang Foods at 10.2%, Paldo at 8.2%, Pulmuone at 0.8%, CJ CheilJedang at 0.5%, and others at 4.4%, with little change from the previous year. By brand, Nongshim's Shin Ramyun accounted for 16.9%, Ottogi's Jin Ramen 9.5%, and Nongshim's Chapagetti 7.5%. Distribution channels for ramen were 50% large supermarkets, 11.2% independent supermarkets, 19.1% convenience stores, and 15.0% online, showing a decline in offline channel distribution and an increase in online channel share compared to the previous year. The industry analyzes that the surge in online orders since COVID-19 has been maintained.

Last year, ramen export value reached 670 million USD, an 11.7% increase from the previous year, marking seven consecutive years of growth since 2015. By country, China accounted for the largest share at 22.2%, followed by the United States (12.0%), Japan (9.7%), Taiwan (4.7%), Thailand (4.4%), the Philippines (4.2%), Malaysia (4.1%), Australia (3.1%), and Indonesia (1.7%). The COVID-19 pandemic led to social distancing measures worldwide, which contributed to ramen being recognized as a convenient meal and excellent emergency food.

The industry expects the ramen market to continue growing overseas rather than domestically in the future, maintaining the current trend or experiencing short-term growth. However, in the mid to long term, factors such as domestic population aging and increased health awareness may pose challenges to market expansion.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.