You probably have a packet stashed in your desk or cupboard for when you need a quick hit of slurp-able goodness, but do you know the origins of instant ramen?
Keep this fact in your head for that next round of trivia: The inventor of instant ramen noodles was Momofuku Ando. Born in Taiwan in 1910, he emigrated to Japan after World War II and was struck in his 40s by the inspiration that “noodles could cure world hunger.” He developed the process for flash-frying noodles, founded Nissin in 1958 and went on to invent Cup Noodles in 1971. At the time of Ando’s death in 2007, Nissin was recording $300 million in annual profits. But his success, however, didn’t come without some bumps along the way.
Read the whole story on Vox!
- Photo: Nissin Foods
