Once relegated to cash-strapped college students, instant noodle packs are now haute cuisine that's selling like hotcakes.This is thanks to Gen Z gourmands zhuzhing them up with top-shelf accouterments like spring onions and Kewpie mayonnaise.
"Instant noodles have come a long way from being just a cheap, quick meal," Dean Harper, chef and director at UK caterer Harper Fine Dining, told us."Now, thanks to TikTok and social media, people are turning them into gourmet dishes."
Indeed, the hashtag #ramenhacks boasts over 22,000 posts on TikTok, which depict 20-something Snack-gyvers ritzing up their prepackaged ramen.
"Welcome back to pimp my ramen," declares travel influencer Serena.She then proceeds to festoon her noodles with bacon, chilies, eggs and more in a dish she dubs "Firecracker Carbonara Ramen."
Meanwhile, ramen rebooter Joely Hiles gave her noodles an upmarket makeover by adding pan-fried shiitake mushrooms, kewpie mayonnaise and even maple syrup.
In fact, this idea of upwardly mobile insta-noodles has even been repped by celebrities.
In 2016, a celebrity shared a post on how to pimp ramen with butter, garlic and egg — a recipe that quickly took the food world by storm.
This fancy instant noodle trend has unsurprisingly been a boon for retailers.
Sales of instant noodles have spiked by 50% year on year on the online supermarket Ocado, while searches for ramen noodles have jumped by 35%.
The craze has reached such a fervor that brands are using influencers to rep their products.
"In recent years, they have been marketed on TikTok to engage younger audiences through creative and interactive content," said Jonny Forsyth, senior director of Mintel's food and drink division."Brands are tapping into TikTok's short-form video format to resonate with Gen Z."
