---
title: "Young People Don't Eat Instant Noodles Anymore? Baixiang Hires Top Celebrity Endorser, Revealing Industry Anxiety"
description: "Baixiang Foods recently announced actor Wang Yibo as its brand ambassador, sparking online buzz. However, behind the celebrity endorsement lies a grim reality for the instant noodle industry: consumption in China fell by 4 billion packs from 2020 to 2023, dropping to 43.8 billion packs in 2024, with sales declining 8.9% year-on-year in Q2 2025."
author: "专注消费的"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
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published: "2025-10-11"
categories: "Brand Marketing"
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# Young People Don't Eat Instant Noodles Anymore? Baixiang Hires Top Celebrity Endorser, Revealing Industry Anxiety

> Baixiang Foods recently announced actor Wang Yibo as its brand ambassador, sparking online buzz. However, behind the celebrity endorsement lies a grim reality for the instant noodle industry: consumption in China fell by 4 billion packs from 2020 to 2023, dropping to 43.8 billion packs in 2024, with sales declining 8.9% year-on-year in Q2 2025.

### **Source** | QinCe Consumer Research **ID** | wq365sxy Author | Focused on Consumer
Recently, Baixiang Foods officially announced young actor Wang Yibo as its brand ambassador. This collaboration, dubbed by netizens as "a perfect match," has sparked widespread discussion: a 1997 Henan youth meets a 1997 Henan brand. _However, behind the buzz of celebrity endorsement lies the less optimistic reality of the instant noodle industry. According to the World Instant Noodles Association, China's instant noodle consumption decreased by 4 billion packs between 2020 and 2023, dropping to 43.8 billion packs in 2024, with Q2 2025 sales down 8.9% year-on-year._
**How long has it been since you last ate instant noodles?
**At some point, the instant noodles once stocked at home have quietly disappeared. When returning late from work, ordering takeout via an app delivers a hot meal with two meats and two vegetables in half an hour, saving more time than boiling noodles. When family members start focusing on healthy eating, they often see warnings about instant noodles' harms and stop stocking up. Even the "high-speed rail instant noodles" once essential for long trips are being removed from suitcases as travel times shorten and station dining options expand.**
**As a result, China's instant noodle market is facing unprecedented challenges. From a peak of 47.23 billion servings in 2020, sales have declined to 43.8 billion packs in 2024. Selling 4 billion fewer packs in three years, this former national fast-food "first choice" has lost its glory.**
Data source: World Instant Noodles Association, QinCe Consumer Research
Financial reports from industry giants confirm this trend. In the first half of 2025, Master Kong's instant noodle revenue was 13.465 billion yuan, down 2.53% year-on-year, with high-priced bagged noodles down 7.16%. The once ubiquitous national food seems to be losing consumer favor.
Data source: Master Kong corporate financial reports, QinCe Consumer Research
Multiple factors squeeze instant noodles, facing comprehensive challenges
According to iiMedia, China's instant noodle usage scenarios are centered on home quick meals, campus emergency, and outdoor convenience. 56.4% of consumers eat them 1-3 times per week, with school dormitory scenarios accounting for 50.1%. Additionally, 42.1% use them for temporary hunger during travel or overtime, and they are the most favored convenient food in single-person dining scenarios at 61.5%. Under triple pressure, the instant noodle industry is severely squeezed.
First, the rise of food delivery platforms has dealt a fatal blow. In 2024, China's food delivery market exceeded 1.27 trillion yuan, with 592 million users, meaning one in two Chinese netizens regularly orders takeout. Meituan's "Pin Hao Fan" with an average price of 7 yuan directly challenges instant noodles' price anchor with extreme cost-effectiveness.
Data source: China Industrial Internet Research Institute, QinCe Consumer Research
Data is more convincing: research shows that for every 1% increase in the food delivery market, instant noodle consumption decreases by 0.0533%.
When prices are similar, consumers' choice between a steaming, meat-and-vegetable stir-fried takeout and a relatively monotonous instant noodle is obvious. If food delivery is an "external substitute," then health awareness is an "internal deconstruction." From school education labeling instant noodles as "junk food," to recent short video dissemination, this concept has become deeply ingrained in consumers' minds.
Image source: Baidu Images
An iiMedia 2024 survey shows 59.3% of consumers worry about fried processing in instant foods, fearing trans fatty acids and acrylamide. China Nutrition Society data is more striking: a typical pack of instant noodles contains 6 grams of salt, exceeding the adult daily recommended limit of 5 grams, and 25 grams of fat, accounting for 83% of the daily recommendation. The "unhealthy" label is increasingly solidified.
Additionally, a major consumption scenario for instant noodles was the slow green trains. With high-speed rail expansion and faster journeys, the "green train necessity" scenario has been completely eliminated. Data shows that for every 1% increase in high-speed rail operating mileage, instant noodle consumption decreases by 0.3191%. By the end of 2024, China's high-speed rail network reached 48,000 kilometers, with average speeds of 350 km/h significantly shortening travel times, dissolving the "hunger relief" necessity of instant noodles.
Can celebrity endorsements awaken young consumers?
Celebrity endorsement is a classic path for FMCG brands to regain attention. Facing an industry downturn, Baixiang Foods invited the highly popular Wang Yibo as brand ambassador, a key move in its ongoing brand youthification and trendification. According to industry monitoring, within a week of the announcement, Baixiang's search volume on Tmall and JD.com surged by 150%. Data shows a significant sales boost from the endorsement. Mintel's 2025 China Instant Food Report indicates that instant noodle products with celebrity IP see a 30% increase in purchase intention among young consumers (18-35). Baixiang seized this opportunity to launch low-sodium healthy versions and creative DIY packaging, targeting the "lazy economy" pain point. After the giant LED billboard exposure at West Lake in Hangzhou, the social media topic #WangYiboBaixiang exceeded 280 million reads, further consolidating the brand's youthful image.
However, such boosts are often short-term. Historical data shows that celebrity endorsements can drive first-quarter sales peaks of 20%-30% growth, but subsequent decay rates are as high as 15%, requiring continuous content marketing to maintain momentum.
Image source: Weibo
From a product perspective, how are leading companies responding?
1\. "Novelty flavors" as short-term customer acquisition tools
In recent years, coriander noodles, fish mint noodles, and various local niche flavors have frequently launched, creating social buzz and first-day hit effects.
But these often rely on "novelty" for first purchase, with repurchase depending on taste and price. Baixiang's coriander noodles, featuring freeze-dried whole coriander as a memory point, exemplify the traffic conversion of novelty flavors. Baixiang capitalized on the "love-hate" coriander controversy, launching "Baixiang Coriander Noodles" in late 2023, positioned as "Sichuan-Chongqing flavor." Iterated three times from 2024-2025, the market response was enthusiastic: over 1 billion Douyin exposures in the first month, with cumulative sales of 3 billion packs. Baixiang's coriander noodles are not only a sales engine but also spawned the "Stinky Fragrant Noodles" series (e.g., snail noodles, stinky tofu flavor), proving that novelty flavors can drive traffic and double GMV.
2\. Healthification and process upgrades are the real long-term direction
Facing the "junk food" label, brands urgently need to remove it. Patent numbers surged after 2019, with cumulative patents exceeding 2,100 by 2024. This shows companies are not just changing ingredients but focusing on noodle texture, de-oiling/non-fried processes, and seasoning packet technology to address low-oil and low-salt demands.
Image source: Gongyan Industry Consulting
Take Uni-President as an example: its instant noodle revenue grew nearly 10% in H1 2025, driven by the "Man Han Da Can" and "Nutrition Bowl Noodles" series.
Man Han Da Can continues the imperial cuisine style, adding "bird's nest chicken shreds" and "cordyceps flower fish maw" flavors, enriched with collagen and vitamins, positioned as a "beauty and health meal."
Nutrition Bowl Noodles feature a 120g large bowl, with fruit and vegetable particles and whole grain noodles, reducing sodium to below 1500mg per serving, catering to the "healthy light meal" trend.
Image source: Uni-President official website
Conclusion
"Does anyone still eat instant noodles?" The answer is: yes, but the scenarios and frequency have changed. Currently, China's instant noodle market is at a crossroads of transformation. This transformation may be lengthy; short-term traffic dividends are fleeting, and building a health-oriented label takes time. Wang Yibo's endorsement has won Baixiang attention at the brand level, but the celebrity buzz will eventually fade. Yet consumers' pursuit of convenience, health, and taste will not change. Over the next five years, the industry's total volume may not grow significantly, but value enhancement will become the main theme. Whether instant noodles can once again win over young people's hearts depends on whether companies can truly understand consumers and win back market trust with solid product strength.


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## Citation metadata

- Publisher: New Distribution
- Author: 专注消费的
- Published: 2025-10-11
- Canonical: https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/young-people-don-t-eat-instant-noodles-anymore-baixiang-hires-top-celebr-0c71b388/
- Original source: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/7KioJaC2pfLT7R_NIx9buw

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