Cup noodle

Cup Noodles

Two flavors available under the Cup Noodle (Japanese) brand.
Produced by	Nissin
Introduced	1958

Cup Noodles (カップヌードル, Kappu Nūdoru^?) is a brand of instant ramen noodle snack manufactured by Nissin, packaged in a foam food container, hard plastic or paper cup. Other brand names are used in specific countries, such as the singular Cup Noodle in Japan, and the product has inspired numerous competitors, such as Maruchan's Instant Lunch.

Instant noodles were invented in 1958 by Momofuku Ando, the Taiwanese-born founder of the Japanese food company Nissin. He used Chikin Ramen (Chicken Ramen) as the first instant ramen noodles.

In 1970, Nissin formed the subsidiary Nissin Foods (USA) Co. Inc, to sell instant noodles in the United States. Nissin recognized that the bowls traditionally used to package instant noodles in Asia were not common in the U.S, so they used the paper cup designed by Ron R. Matteson. In 1971, they introduced instant ramen packaged in a foam cup. In 1978, Nissin Foods offers new varieties of Top Ramen and Cup O' Noodles. The product was known as Cup O' Noodles in the United States until 1993.

In 1998, Cup Noodles Hot Sauce Varieties introduced (Beef, Chicken, Pork and Shrimp).

Today, instant noodles in Japan are often sold in foam bowls, sometimes with plastic utensils. Foam bowls are inexpensive, disposable, light, and easy to hold, since they insulate heat well.

Different flavors are available in other parts of the world, such as tom yum in Thailand, curry in Japan, crab in Hong Kong, and brazilian barbecue in Brazil.