Instant noodles steaming back to life

Xue Enyuan, executive director of convenience store chain Bianlifeng, said that from January to October, daily sales of instant noodles at each of its stores on average rose by of 128 percent year- on-year. Bianlifeng sells seven brands of noodles, including products from Japan and South Korea.

Xue said more Chinese consumers are increasingly willing to try new products or those of niche brands. The company's stores have been introducing new brands, one of the most popular being instant noodles that feature the soft drink Sprite among their ingredients. The recipe for these noodles, which initially sold well online and were later introduced to physical stores, was developed by film star Huang Lei.

"This product sells very well in our stores," he said. "'Star effect' may be one reason, but the other main one is young consumers' curiosity and pursuit of products that are well-known online."

He said that compared with traditional flavors, many well-known and high-end products sold online by different manufacturers have proved to be extremely popular with consumers, as they have added more variety to the instant noodle market.

"In the past, who would have thought about adding Sprite to the seasoning of noodles? Would the flavor produced be a nice surprise or a total disaster? I'm sure many consumers bought it for the first time out of curiosity, " he said.