Wooyook Tangmyun’s noodles, twice as thick as general ramen noodles, are geared to tantalize your palates with a softer mouthfeel and better glutinosity.
Nongshim takes a pride in Wooyook Tangmyun, describing it as the cream of the crop, which will serve as a palate pleaser for any gourmet living in the world.
Marking its 50th anniversary this year, Nongshim (one of S. Korea’s leading food makers) has launched a new-concept, differentiated ramen.
Nongshim said on Tuesday it has launched Wooyook (beef) Tangmyun that features extra-thick noodles served in a flavorful red chili broth laced with beef, mushrooms and a melange of vegetables.
What sets Wooyook Tangmyun apart from other ramens is its noodles, the thickest among Korean ramens. They are flat and wide, two times thicker than general ramen noodles (1.6mm) and 1.5 times thicker than Nongshim’s Neoguri. Nongshim’s 50 years of noodle making knowhow is enshrined in Wooyook Tangmyun, according to Nongshim.
Wooyook Tangmyun will be ready to eat 5 minutes after the water has come to a boil, the same as Nongshim Neoguri’s cooking time of 5 minutes. Its noodles will be soft on the outside but chewy on the inside in just five minutes. Besides, its noodles will remain gooey for longer than other ramens. The result of a test using a food texture analyzer showed that the elasticity of Wooyook Tangmyun lasted twice as long as other ramens. It means that Wooyook Tangmyun’s noodles will not get too mushy till your last bite.
What’s more, Wooyook Tangmyun comes with a sachet of mushrooms and vegetable flakes. Nongshim said it has made Wooyook Tangmyun visually appealing and tantalizing to the taste buds and more harmoniously delicious by adding shiitake mushroom flakes. On top of that, Wooyook Tangmyun is served in a beef, chili broth, which is rich enough to allow you to relish shabu-shabu of a different flavor. In two pre-launch consumer surveys, respondents said that the marriage of Wooyook Tangmyun’s elastic and resilient noodles and a deep spicy broth was harmonious. In particular, they rated Wooyook Tangmyun’s noodles highly.
With Nongshim’s launch of Wooyook Tangmyun, the competition for better-tasting soup in the ramen market is expected to transition into that for differentiated noodles.
“Wooyook Tangmyun’s thick noodles not only reflect young Korean consumers’ preferences but also stay in line with global ramen trends. Nongshim plans to lead both domestic and global markets by offering differentiated ramens featuring varied types of noodles. Furthermore, Nongshim will throw down the gauntlet to Japanese ramen producers in order to gain more ground in the global market,” said an official from Nongshim.
Wooyook Tangmyun’s thick noodles are designed to appeal to young consumers who favor munchy noodles that make them feel full and satisfied. In addition, global ramem makers, including Japanese makers, have been competitively launching new ramens featuring differentiated noodles in the fight for a bigger slice of the global ramen pie. Since 2008, Japanese ramen makers have pursued noodle differentiation strategies, launching noodles in various shapes and thicknesses (e.g. straight noodles and thick noodles).
Nongshim is poised to spur on its global expansion and to raise the profile of Korean ramens by globally promoting its excellent ramyun quality and differentiated noodles.
