---
title: "Instant Noodles Not Selling? \"National Instant Noodle\" Jinmailang 1桶半 Sees 24% Growth Against the Trend"
description: "During a recent market survey, distributors reported that low-priced and value-added products are selling well. Despite a decline in the overall instant noodle market, Jinmailang's 1桶半 (1 and a half buckets) achieved 24% year-on-year growth in July, driven by its high cost-performance ratio and the company's full industry chain advantages."
author: "秦淮"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2024-09-11"
language: "en"
canonical: "https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/instant-noodles-not-selling-national-instant-noodle-jinmailang-1-sees-24-77c98dbd/"
markdown: "https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/instant-noodles-not-selling-national-instant-noodle-jinmailang-1-sees-24-77c98dbd.md"
original_source: "https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/BfTE_XoDiSI1DQuwGJ81vQ"
translation: "https://xinjignxiao.com/zh/articles/%E6%96%B9%E4%BE%BF%E9%9D%A2%E5%8D%96%E4%B8%8D%E5%8A%A8-%E5%9B%BD%E6%B0%91%E6%B3%A1%E9%9D%A2-%E4%BB%8A%E9%BA%A6%E9%83%8E1%E6%A1%B6%E5%8D%8A%E9%80%86%E5%8A%BF%E5%A2%9E%E9%95%BF24-77c98dbd.md"
attribution: "New Distribution — https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/instant-noodles-not-selling-national-instant-noodle-jinmailang-1-sees-24-77c98dbd/"
usage_policy: "https://xinjignxiao.com/ai-policy.txt"
---

# Instant Noodles Not Selling? "National Instant Noodle" Jinmailang 1桶半 Sees 24% Growth Against the Trend

> During a recent market survey, distributors reported that low-priced and value-added products are selling well. Despite a decline in the overall instant noodle market, Jinmailang's 1桶半 (1 and a half buckets) achieved 24% year-on-year growth in July, driven by its high cost-performance ratio and the company's full industry chain advantages.

Recently, while visiting distributors in the frontline market to discuss current business conditions, it was evident that even without going to the frontline, we could guess the feedback from distributor bosses: business is not as expected, sluggish, with declining revenue. However, this time during the survey, I changed my question angle and asked distributors, "At the market terminal, have you noticed any growing brands or categories, or market opportunities different from before?" Regarding opportunities in the frontline market, two points impressed me deeply: First, the feedback from distributor bosses that low-priced (affordable) products are selling well, such as 1-yuan or 2-yuan small packaged leisure foods made from beans, flour, or meat; Second, products with increased quantity at the same price are selling well, most commonly seen in beverages, instant side dishes, and daily chemical products. Coincidentally, I came across a set of industry news these days: In the first half of this year, Jinmailang achieved double-digit year-on-year growth, and its 1桶半 series saw a 24% year-on-year increase in July. According to third-party industry data, in the second quarter of 2024, instant noodle category product sales decreased by 2.32% year-on-year, and sales volume dropped by 4.83%. Similarly, instant noodle brands like Master Kong and Uni-President also reported unsatisfactory half-year results. While the industry as a whole and peers are declining, Jinmailang is rising against the trend. This contrast in data makes one ponder: Why can it grow? What enables such growth? As an industry observer, the growth case of Jinmailang 1桶半 is worth exploring in depth. The growth logic behind it may bring some inspiration and reflection to the current FMCG industry. I would like to interpret it from three dimensions:
> **First, meeting changes in consumer demand;**
>
> **Second, catering to the demands of industry partners;**
>
> **Third, adhering to a pragmatic business philosophy.**
**Meeting Changes in Consumer Demand:**
**Consumption Returns to Rationality** We know that in the past period, influenced by China's rapid economic development, personal incomes rose, and "consumerism" prevailed. Trends like "don't buy the right, only buy the expensive" and impulsive consumption driven by herd mentality and comparison also had many followers. Foreign big brands opened in China with long queues, and even price hikes on luxury cars couldn't stop Chinese people's purchasing enthusiasm. In 2019, McKinsey released the "China Luxury Consumption Report" stating that in 2018, Chinese people's luxury consumption at home and abroad reached 770 billion RMB, accounting for one-third of global luxury consumption. It was predicted that by 2025, China would contribute 65% of the global luxury consumption growth. However, McKinsey's "optimism" seems unlikely to materialize as 2025 approaches. I asked frontline distributor bosses why 1-yuan and 2-yuan products sell well, and why products like Jinmailang 1桶半, which offer more quantity at the same price, sell well. **The distributor bosses answered directly: Consumers have no money and are unwilling to spend more; they are starting to pursue cost-performance. The "cost-performance" here does not simply mean price discounts, but rather price discounts at the quality level. Behind this is a change in consumer attitudes when facing economic conditions and uncertain personal income expectations: consumption is becoming more rational, and consumers are paying more attention to product quality. Behind rational consumption is an improvement in cognition. Consumers know which products are good and which brands are good. On the basis of good products and good brands, adding affordable prices is the real demand of current consumption.** 1桶半, at the same price, offers half more quantity, making it the king of cost-performance under 5 yuan. According to Jinmailang's official introduction, this national instant noodle has sold a cumulative 12 billion servings, equivalent to each Chinese person eating 8 servings. Behind it, Jinmailang is a 30-year-old national brand. For a good bowl of noodles, Jinmailang grows its own wheat, processes its own flour, and plants 450,000 mu of high-quality wheat. Perhaps without such quality trust support, no matter how much you pursue high cost-performance, consumers would not choose you. There is consumer demand but they want to spend less; what enterprises need to do is: **high-quality cost-performance**, with price on one hand and quality on the other. In August, Jinmailang Chairman Mr. Fan Xianguo also expressed at an industry conference: The more rational consumption is, the cheaper prices become. As consumer cognition improves, enterprises must win competition with more cost-effective products.
Jinmailang Group Chairman Fan Xianguo's speech at the 24th China Convenience Food Conference Some may say that Jinmailang 1桶半 is a stroke of luck, hitting the trend of rational consumption. But I want to say, this is not luck; rational consumption was bound to come, just a matter of time. It could be early, in 2020; or late, in 2026; no one can predict precisely. In 2015, Jinmailang observed the market opportunity in instant noodles: "one bucket is not enough to eat, two buckets are too much to eat," and decisively launched the 1桶半 and 1袋半 series. You can interpret it as catching the trend, but I think we should see more of Jinmailang's persistence in cultivating after grasping market opportunities and demands. I believe consumers are not stupid; they need cost-effective products, and enterprises are willing to give more benefits to consumers at the same price, allowing consumers to benefit.
**Catering to the Demands of Industry Partners** Just now we looked from the perspective of rational consumer demand; now let's look from the perspective of industry partners. In fact, the instant noodle industry has not been peaceful this year. In June, a wave of public opinion was triggered by Master Kong's price increase, with topics like "Why are instant noodles getting more expensive?", "Instant noodles are increasingly falling behind young people", and "Have instant noodles been abandoned by young people?" successively trending on Weibo. Besides the overall industry data decline, Master Kong and Uni-President's recent half-year reports are also not optimistic: Master Kong's instant noodle revenue in the first half was 13.814 billion yuan, down 1% year-on-year; Uni-President's food business in the first half was 4.947 billion yuan, only growing 0.9% on the basis of a significant decline in the same period last year. Why do products like Jinmailang 1桶半, which offer more quantity at the same price, gain favor? The feedback from frontline distributor bosses at the beginning has already indirectly verified this—at the downstream retail end, the wave of discounting and the return to the essence of commodity sales have become the main theme of industry operational reform in recent years. For this reason, for essential categories for the mass population, retailers have put forward core demands for product management:
> **1. High quality and fair price;**
>
> **2. Upgrade without price increase;**
>
> **3. Good goods not expensive;**
>
> **4. Just cheap.**
From the core demands of downstream industry partners for product management, we can understand that the growth of 1桶半, with its larger quantity and ultra-high cost-performance, in the frontline market is not only **truly meeting consumer demand but also catering to the needs of downstream industry partners.** Seeing "larger quantity, half more," I think of the large packaging products represented by 1L bottles becoming an industry hotspot this summer. According to Nielsen's "2024 China Beverage Industry Trends and Outlook" released in March, large bottled ready-to-drink beverages in the 600ml to 1249ml specification will become a new growth highlight in the industry. The sales share of this specification segment in all specifications increased from 6.4% in 2019 to 11.3% in 2023. Large ready-to-drink includes multiple categories, among which functional beverages saw a 213% sales increase in 2023 compared to 2019, ready-to-drink tea increased 105%, and carbonated beverages increased 101%. "Big is good," for today's young people, **three yuan is face, four yuan is life; it's not that small packaging can't be afforded, but the plus version has better cost-performance.** Whether at the distribution or retail end, in the context of slowing industry growth, the downstream also needs products with extreme cost-performance like Jinmailang.
**Adhering to a Pragmatic Business Philosophy** External consumer demand and downstream retail demands provide the soil for Jinmailang 1桶半's growth. But whether it can meet market demand tests more of the enterprise's internal strength and business philosophy. The reason Jinmailang can achieve high-quality cost-performance is, on one hand, because it keenly captures and meets consumer needs at the terminal; on the other hand, it lies in its unique, non-replicable full industry chain advantages, which greatly reduce costs, giving it the confidence to benefit consumers.
Jinmailang was founded in 1994, and its high-quality wheat project started in 2005. It has now built a full industry chain for high-quality wheat integrating planting, acquisition, processing, research and development, and sales. Relying on large-scale production and strong control on the supply chain side, Jinmailang controls costs to the cent, insists on self-sufficiency, and avoids external procurement whenever possible, all to return more value to consumers, allowing them to enjoy higher quality and more affordable products.
Not only does it grow wheat and produce flour itself, but Jinmailang also has its own seasoning factory and bone soup factory, ensuring that every link from raw materials to finished products meets high standards. As of now, Jinmailang's annual instant noodle production capacity is 14 billion servings, processing 4 million tons of wheat annually, ranking in the top three globally in the same industry.
In a period of industry turbulence, how can one grow? Only by relying on internal strength and insisting on exchanging quality for market. How to achieve high quality? Jinmailang relies on long-termism. High-quality products are not achieved by a single link or factor like R&D or technology, but by a combination of multiple leading factors, plus the determination to persist through cycles. For 30 years, it has insisted on doing the whole chain from field to R&D to sales, working hard and slowly, accumulating solid strength to cross cycles. From another perspective, we can also find evidence: the once popular internet-famous brands, backed by capital and driven by internet effects and traffic, brought a so-called "prosperous market," but now they are fading away. The high-profile market environment is hard to reproduce; next is a shrinking market, a professional market, and a refined market. Only products and brands that truly provide value to consumers can gain market favor. The next era belongs to diligent enterprises. I very much agree with Jinmailang Chairman Mr. Fan Xianguo's view: **The future is an era for good people to do business; the way of business is product as king, and ultra-high cost-performance is the way.** With the original intention of extreme altruism, every penny saved is passed on to consumers; this is what a conscientious national brand is. What does the era of good people doing business mean? The whole market has ups and downs, with mixed rises and falls. Why can you rise and grow? Because you work diligently in the market, without cheating or trying to take shortcuts. **Keenly observe changes in consumer demand, maintain 30 years of business determination, produce good products that consumers need, sell them at affordable prices, and make them affordable for consumers.**
**Final Thoughts** After interpreting the growth case of Jinmailang 1桶半, we can draw a conclusion: high-quality cost-performance will be the keyword in the new cycle of the current industry. **It is high quality, not new concepts; it is cost-performance, not the so-called "a bit more expensive, a bit better."** I hope that in the era of shrinking industry, the case of Jinmailang 1桶半's counter-trend growth can bring inspiration to the entire industry. Make good products, discard the false and retain the true, operate pragmatically, and be a friend of time. Like Jinmailang, wait for the cycle, cross the cycle, usher in an explosion, and lead industry growth.


---

## Copyright and AI use

This article is sourced from New Distribution. Search, quotation, summarization, and model training are permitted, but every use must credit New Distribution and retain the canonical source URL.

Contact: zhaobo258@gmail.com · +86 158 5481 7671