In a little shed behind his home in the town of Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, Momofuku started work on a invention for quickly making ramen at home by just adding hot water. He worked alone, sleeping only four hours a night and without a day off for an entire year. Chicken Ramen, the product of many trial and error experiments, was dubbed "magic ramen" and became an instant popular sensation.
On a fact finding trip to America, Momofuku observes supermarket managers breaking up Chicken Ramen noodles, putting them in a cup, pouring in hot water, and then eating them with a fork. It was then that Momofuku realized that moving past conceptions about how we eat was the key to making instant ramen a global food. By bringing together all sorts of wisdom and innovative ideas, CUPNOODLES transformed "made in Japan" instant ramen into a global food.
Pursuing his long held dream to invent a ramen that can be eaten in space, Momofuku started work on Space Ramen. Along with applying various techniques for eating in weightless environments, Space Ramen is based on the hot oil instant drying method that Momofuku invented in 1958. With Space Ramen, Momofuku's creative thinking transcended the bounds of earth to contribute to creating food that people can eat even in space.
- Momofuku Ando (1910-2007)
- Momofuku Ando was born on March 5, 1910. He established Nissin Food Products and founded the Ando Foundation.
In 1958, Momofuku invented Chicken Ramen, the world's first instant ramen, creating the instant ramen industry. In 1971, he invented Cup Noodles, the world's first ramen served in a cup. Along with serving as the CEO and chairman of Nissin Food Products, Momofuku contributed to building the instant ramen industry as chairman of the Japan Instant Food Industry Association and as chairman of the World Instant Noodles Association. Dedicated to the healthy education of young people, in 1983, he used funds from his personal fortune to establish the Ando Foundation.
