Nissin Foods is the Japanese company that invented instant ramen. Founder Momofuku Ando launched Chikin Ramen on 25 August 1958 from a workshop behind his house in Ikeda, Osaka, after eight years of experimentation. The company was formally incorporated in 1963 and expanded globally through the 1970s — entering the United States in 1972, launching Top Ramen for the American market in 1977, and opening its namesake Instant Ramen Invention Museum in Ikeda in 1999. Ando's most commercially important follow-up, Cup Noodles (1971), remains available in over 80 countries today.
The core product families are Chikin Ramen, Cup Noodles, Top Ramen, the premium Raoh line (launched 1991), and Demae Ramen, a Hong Kong-focused brand that holds 60–70% of that market. Raoh covers the canonical Japanese styles — tonkotsu, miso, shoyu — with shop-quality seasoning and a thicker noodle. Regional variants adapt to local palates: Tom Yum and Pad Thai in Thailand, Masala and Curry in India, Galinha Caipira in Brazil, Habanero in Mexico, Currywurst in Germany, Chicken Tikka in the UK, and halal-certified lamb in the Middle East.
Nissin operates in 100+ countries from 40+ manufacturing facilities with over 15,000 employees, producing more than 10 billion servings annually. The 1958 flash-frying breakthrough — immersing steamed, seasoned noodles in 140–160 °C oil for 1–2 minutes to create microscopic air pockets — is the technology that makes instant ramen possible. A 2005 Japanese poll ranked instant ramen the greatest Japanese invention of the 20th century.