"They Really Might Take No.1"... Nongshim Narrows Gap with Japan from 9.2% to 1.9% in a Year, Closing In on Market Leader

Euromonitor Data Cited by aT

1.9 Percentage Point Gap Between No. 1 and No. 2 in U.S. Market

Nongshim Scales Up and Closes In on Japan’s Maruchan

Samyang Foods Surpasses Nissin Foods to Claim No. 3 Market Share

In the United States, regarded as one of the most fiercely contested global instant noodle markets, K-ramyeon has closed the market share gap with Japanese instant noodles to single digits as of last year, moving rapidly to catch up. In particular, Nongshim has narrowed the gap to just 1 percentage point behind the Japanese market leader, aiming to claim the number one position.

According to data from Euromonitor International cited by the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT) in its '2026 Instant Noodle - Processed Food Submarket Status Report' released on September 16, Maruchan, produced by Toyo Suisan of Japan, was the top brand in the U.S. instant noodle market among the top ten brands last year, with a 26.8% share—down 2.7 percentage points year-on-year. In the same period, Korean company Nongshim increased its share from 20.3% to 24.9%.

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The market share gap between the two brands shrank dramatically from 9.2 percentage points to just 1.9 percentage points in one year. Maruchan's share dropped from 31.9% in 2023 and has continued to slide for two consecutive years, falling into the 20% range. Nongshim, after surpassing the Japanese brand Nissin Foods to secure second place in the U.S. market in 2017, expanded its share from 16.4% in 2023 to more than 20% the following year, scaling up its presence in the market.

Samyang Foods, boosted by the global popularity of its Buldak Bokkeum Myeon (Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen), ranked third last year with a 9.5% share. In 2024, Samyang surpassed Nissin Foods’ Top Ramen brand, and last year, it overtook the Nissin brand itself as well. In the U.S. instant noodle market last year, Nissin ranked fourth with 7.0%, followed by Top Ramen with 4.5%. Both Nissin Foods brands have seen their market share decrease for three consecutive years.

For years, Japanese food companies have dominated the U.S. instant noodle market. Toyo Suisan and Nissin Foods have maintained high shares across both the ultra-low-price base product segment and the premium segment. However, over the past two to three years, K-ramyeon products from Nongshim and Samyang Foods have quickly established themselves, especially through the premium segment and wider distribution channels, leading to an intense Korea-Japan rivalry in the market.

Last year, the market share gap between Korean and Japanese brands among the top 10 in the U.S. was 5.6 percentage points. Combined, the Korean brands Nongshim and Samyang reached a total share of 34.4% among the top ten brands, surpassing 30% for the first time. Among the Japanese brands (Maruchan, Nissin, Top Ramen, and Sapporo Ichiban) in the top ten, the collective share was 40.0%—a decrease of 7.8 percentage points in two years from a high of 47.8% in 2023, but still narrowly maintaining a 40% level. Based on the top 10 brand shares, Korean brands grew rapidly from 18.9% in 2021 to over 20% for the first time in 2023, reaching above 30% in just two years. While Japanese brands grew alongside Korean brands from 2021 to 2023, their share has declined over the past two years.

The United States, after China, Japan, and Indonesia, is the fourth-largest instant noodle market in the world and is considered the country with the greatest growth potential among the top five markets. The U.S. instant noodle market, which was valued at USD 3.9 billion last year, is projected to expand to USD 5.5 billion by 2030. According to aT, "The U.S. instant noodle market is largely dominated by popular flavors such as chicken and beef, but there is increasing diversity with Korean-style spicy noodles and unique flavors that reflect local food culture."

In addition to the United States, K-ramyeon is expanding its market share in other major countries. In China, the world's largest instant noodle consumption market, the combined share of Korean brands last year was 2.5% (Samyang 1.7%, Shin Ramyeon 0.8%). Samyang’s market share in China has grown steadily from 0.4% in 2022. In Germany, a representative European market, last year's K-ramyeon share exceeded 20% for the first time, with Samyang at 12.7% and Nongshim at 7.4%. Nissin Foods, which ranked first, expanded its share by 2 percentage points year-on-year, widening the lead over second-place Samyang. In Japan, the only Korean brand ranked among the top 10 was Nongshim, which recorded a 1.9% share last year.

Meanwhile, exports of Korean agricultural and fishery products, including instant noodles, surpassed USD 10 billion in just 253 days this year, breaking the record for the fastest time to reach this milestone—19 days earlier than last year. By product, instant noodle exports increased 27.2% to USD 1.3076 billion, posting the highest growth rate. By country, shipments to the United States, the largest export destination, reached USD 1.81448 billion, a 12.9% increase compared to the same period last year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.