It is rumored that the prices of instant noodles such as Uni-President and Master Kong have increased collectively.
Many instant noodle brands deny "price increases"
A few days ago, it was reported that a number of instant noodle brands, including Uni-President and Master Kong, have recently raised their prices.
A reporter from Beijing Youth Daily visited the market on February 15 and found that the prices of commodities that were rumored to be adjusted in different supermarkets and offline channels were quite different, and the market responded differently to the price increase.
In some brick-and-mortar supermarkets, brands such as Uni-President and Master Kong not only did not increase their prices, but even carried out promotions on the basis of their original prices.
In the interview, many merchants denied that they had received relevant price increase notices recently.
The market has mixed reactions to the "instant noodle price increase"
Recently, a unified instant noodle price increase notice has been circulated in the industry. Since 2021, the price of raw materials has risen sharply. In order to ensure the stable and orderly operation of the fast food business, price adjustments have been made for some products of the fast food business, and the price increases involve three products.
Subsequently, it was reported that Master Kong raised the barrel noodles from 4 yuan to 4.5 yuan; the price of the unified bag of instant noodles was adjusted from the original 2.5 yuan to 2.8 yuan; 12%.
A reporter from Beiqing Daily visited Yonghui, Jingkelong, Wumart, Carrefour, Qixian and other supermarkets on February 15, as well as online channels such as Dingdong Shopping, Meituan Shopping, and Tmall Supermarket, and found the same product. The price is quite different, and the market price has not changed much.
Take Tongyi Laotan Pickled Cabbage Beef Noodles as an example, its 121g × 5 (bag) five-pack products range in price from 11.9 yuan to 15.9 yuan, or 2.38 yuan to 3.18 yuan per package.
And Master Kong's Classic Braised Beef Noodles (bucket) 106 grams range in price from RMB 3.9 to RMB 5.8.
Not only that, some supermarkets are also promoting promotions on the basis of the original price. Among them, there are a number of products that are doing buy-and-gift activities, and there are activities on the Internet where orders over 25 yuan are reduced by 5 yuan.
And some of Master Kong's products not only participate in the supermarket's full reduction activities, but also some barreled products can be individually discounted by 10%.
Regarding the price adjustment of instant noodle brands, Beiqing Daily reporters also consulted the staff of a number of offline supermarkets. Many supermarket staff said that they had not received a price increase notice from the manufacturer.
Some supermarket staff said that most supermarket activities are different, and sometimes product prices will change.
Some smaller convenience stores said that some instant noodle products have indeed had their prices adjusted.
"Some products have changed the packaging, the gram weight has also changed slightly, and the price has risen slightly." A relevant person from a supermarket said.
Many instant noodle merchants deny "price increases"
So, has the price of instant noodles increased?
In response to this matter, a reporter from the Beiqing Daily interviewed Master Kong and the relevant parties of Unification.
A relevant person from Master Kong said that they have not received the company's notice of product price adjustment.
The unified customer service also said that there was no relevant announcement, and the price of instant noodles did not increase.
A reporter from Beiqing Daily learned that the price increase of leading instant noodle companies stemmed from a report released by Bank of America Securities last week.
According to the report, the retail price of instant noodles rose in January. After the Lunar New Year, the ex-factory prices of the main instant noodle products of Master Kong increased by more than 10%. .
The agency believes that Uniform may have the opportunity to raise the ex-factory price later, which may mark the first significant price increase in the instant noodle industry in nearly 10 years.
In fact, as early as the end of last year, due to the rising cost of various raw materials, a number of A-share listed companies in rice and noodle-related industries have completed a round of price increases.
Among them, Keming Foods announced on November 13, 2021 that in view of the continuous increase in the costs of flour, packaging materials, transportation, etc., the company will increase the prices of the company's various series of products from December 1, 2021.
The relevant person in charge of Keming Foods said that Wugu Daochang, the instant noodle brand of Keming Foods, also raised the price, but the increase was less than 1%.
A reporter from Beiqing Daily learned that the main raw materials of instant noodle products, such as flour, palm oil, sugar and PET particles, will all rise to varying degrees in 2021.
Among them, palm oil rose more.
According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the price of vegetable oils such as palm oil will rise by 65.8% year-on-year in 2021. It once fell back in December 2021, but has recently resumed its upward trend.
Some consumers are no longer price sensitive
Netizens and consumers reacted differently to the news of the instant noodle price hike.
Some netizens said that they do not understand the price increase of instant noodles, after all, the price of wheat has not increased.
Some netizens also said that they would choose brands such as Baixiang and Jinmailang without price increases.
And some offline consumers are obviously no longer sensitive to price issues.
A consumer who bought instant noodles in the market said: "I usually buy whichever one has a promotion, but I don't know exactly how much it originally sold for." Another consumer said that there are many conveniences now. Food, frozen food and prepared dishes, and instant noodles are purchased less frequently.
"Sometimes new flavors come out to try, so I don't pay attention to the price."
Although some consumers are no longer sensitive to prices, it does not mean that the "dilemma" of instant noodles has eased.
According to the data disclosed by the 21st Instant Food Conference, from January to May 2021, the cumulative output of instant noodles in China was 2.065 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 8%.
In the same period, Nielsen data shows that in the first half of 2021, the overall sales of the instant noodle industry fell by 7.7%, and sales fell by 7.3%.
Industry data show that China's instant noodle production fell off a cliff in 2018, from 11.032 million tons in 2017 to 6.995 million tons in 2018, and to 5.733 million tons in 2019.
In 2020, due to the impact of the epidemic, domestic instant noodles once recovered, but they will drop again in 2021.
Text / reporter Zhang Xin