Domestic noodle companies are strengthening their presence both domestically and globally as demand for instant noodles continues to surge.

Wai Wai, one of the most popular noodle brands in Nepal, commands 45 percent of the domestic market share and has been growing at a healthy rate, said GP Sah, vice president of CG Foods. “The company has been making an annual turnover of more than Rs7.5 billion.”

“We are selling 2.2 billion packets of noodle in the global market annually,” he said. The company has a production capacity of 2.5 billion packs annually. He said that due to the growing demand, the company has been increasing its capacity every year. According to Sah, Wai Wai is being exported to more than 40 countries from different production units like Nepal, India and Serbia. The company plans to expand its manufacturing units in Bangladesh, Egypt and Kazakhstan, he said.

Similarly, CG Foods plans to launch a new noodle brand soon with an exotic flavour, he said. Meanwhile, Sah said that domestic noodle manufacturers are under pressure to increase the prices of noodles largely due to the appreciation of the US dollar and increased excise duty. Market demand of Asian Thai Foods, the manufacturer of noodle brands like Rum Pum and Preety, has also been growing.

Hari Prasad Shrestha, general sales manager at Asian Thai Foods, said they currently hold around 25 percent of the domestic market share. The company’s monthly production stands at around 800,000 cartons, he said, adding that half of the production is consumed in Kathmandu. The company has been exporting its noodles to India, Qatar and the US. The company has its manufacturing unit at India as well.

Similarly, Him Shree Foods, the manufacturer of the popular Rara white noodle brand, plans to expand its production unit in Nepalgunj. According to Surya Bahadur KC, chairman at KC Group, the Nepalgunj plant is expected to come into operation in March 2020. “We are also planning to export our product manufactured from the new plant,” he said.

Apart from Rara, the company has been producing Oho, Aaha and Rupa including other brands in the brown noodle segment. Ramesh Baral, financial consultant at KC Group, said that the white noodle holds market share of around 70 percent, while brown noodle holds market share of 15 to 20 percent. The company has been making an annual turnover of around Rs450 million, he said. The company exports its noodles to countries like the UK and Australia.