Pot Noodle
Pot Noodle is a brand of ramen-style instant noodle snack foods, available in a wide selection of flavours and varieties. Its dehydrated mixture consists of wide noodles, textured soya pieces, assorted dried vegetables (including peas in all varieties) and flavouring powder. The product is prepared by adding boiling water, which softens the noodles and dissolves the powdered sauce. The product is packaged in a sturdy plastic pot, from which the prepared noodles can be eaten, and each pot also contains a sachet of sauce, such as soy sauce.
History
The product was originally developed by Momofuku Ando as Cup Noodle. In 1977, the Pot Noodle was developed by Golden Wonder in Japan, before being launched in the United Kingdom in 1979. The Golden Wonder brand was acquired by Unilever in 1995.
Pot Noodles are manufactured in Crumlin, Caerphilly, Wales,[1] which became the topic of a 2006 advertising campaign, showing fictitious Pot Noodle mines in Wales. The factory typically produces 155 million pots annually.
Around 2006, Pot Noodle's recipe was changed to make the product healthier. This mostly involved cutting down on the amount of salt in the product.[citation needed]
Despite the product's high sales volume, it was voted the "most hated brand" in the UK in a 2004 poll. [2]
Pot Noodle: The Musical
During the 2008 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Unilever sponsored a musical directed by David Sant, described as "a riotous hour's entertainment set in a Pot Noodle factory".[3]
Current UK flavours
- Beef & Tomato
- Sweet & Sour
- Original Curry
- Chicken & Mushroom
- Chinese Chow Mein
- Sweet & Spicy (formerly Nice & Spicy)
- Southern Fried Chicken
- Bombay Bad Boy
- Lamb Hotpot
- Chicken Satay
- Tikka Masala
- Doner Kebab [1]
Discontinued UK Flavours
- Cheese and Tomato
- Sausage and Tomato
- Hot chicken curry
- Mexican Fajita
- Bacon Sizzler (Withdrawn due to health concerns regarding contents)
- Pizza was available for a limited time in mid 2000
- Turkey and Stuffing, a limited edition festive flavour released some time in the mid-nineties
- Seedy Sanchez
- Barbecue (BBQ)
Variations
The Pot Noodle brand was also used to sell other similar snack foods, including:
- King size Pot Noodles, holding 25% more contents than an average pot
- Kids Pots, smaller versions designed for children
- Posh Noodle, with narrower noodles, designed to be more upmarket
- Pot Rice
- Pot Curry, a variation of Pot Rice with Indian flavours
- Pot Mash
- Pot Casserole
- Pot Pasta
- Pot Sweet, dessert rather than savoury flavours
- "Wot? Not in a Pot Noodle", a Super Noodles style alternative with thinner noodles, for pan cooking
See also
- Cup noodles
- Super Noodles
- IndoMie Mi Goreng
- Koka noodles
- Maggi noodles
- Mr. Noodles
- Sapporo Ichiban
- Shin Cup
- Shin ramyun
- Wai-Wai (food)