Shin Ramyun/Sin Ramyeon is a brand of instant noodle that has been produced by the South Korean food company Nongshim since 1 October 1986. It is now exported to over 100 countries, and is the highest selling instant noodle brand in South Korea. Shin Ramyun, well known for its spicy flavor, is produced in two varieties: the original Shin Ramyun and Shin Ramyun Black, which was introduced in 2011. A standard package of Shin Ramyun consists of noodles, a packet of flavoring powder, and a packet of vegetable flakes. Shin Ramyun Black contains an extra packet of beef stock soup, which gives the soup a more intensely savory flavor.
History
Shin Ramyun was introduced in October 1986 by Nongshim. The Nongshim R&D team came up with the idea of Sogogijanguk, a cabbage and beef stew, which is one of the most popular traditional South Korean dishes. After Shin Ramyun was introduced, Nongshim’s market share hit 46.3% in 1987, and exceeded 50% for the first time in 1988. With the market share of over 20% just by itself, Shin Ramyun is a leading brand of the instant noodles in Korea. In August 2014, Nongshim revised its recipe for noodle blocks across its line for a chewier consistency, along with a revamped external packaging. In 2007 Korea, Nongshim launched a Kimchi Flavour version of Shin Ramyun. In 2019 Korea, Nongshim launched a Non-frying version of its packet noodle which has almost half a reduction on calories. In 2015, Shin Ramyun achieved 28 billion units sold since it was first introduced. Shin Ramyun is listed on the National Brand Consumption Index as the number 1 brand in South Korea for its brand awareness and brand power.
Name and package
The name of Shin Ramyun is from a Chinese character, meaning "spicy"; when used to write Korean, the character is pronounced "shin." Shin Ramyun uses red and black packaging with the emphasized calligraphic word "辛". The meaning of the Chinese character is shown on the background of the package in the form of its page in a dictionary. Nongshim decided to emphasize the character "shin" for their brand with a belief that a single Chinese character delivers the brand image better than the alphabetic hangul. Additionally, the character is the surname of both the founder of Nongshim and his elder brother, who started Lotte.
Products
Shin Ramyun was first introduced in 1986. In the U.S, there are two types of Shin Ramyun: a Package type and a cup/bowl type. A package of Shin Ramyun is 120g, and there are 4 sizes of Shin Ramyun cup/bowls: Shin Cup Noodle Soup, Shin Bowl Noodle Soup, Shin Ramyun M-Cup and Shin Big Bowl Noodle Soup. In Japan, there is Shin Ramyun mini cup. Shin Ramyun Black was introduced in April 2011, which was 25 years after Shin Ramyun was first introduced to the market. Shin Ramyun Black is a slightly different version of Shin Ramyun with an additional seolleongtang powder on top of its flavor. Other ingredients include boiled beef slices, garlic and shitake mushrooms. In the U.S. there are two types of Shin Ramyun Black: a Package type and a cup/bowl type. There is also a Shin Black M-Cup. Shin Ramyun Red "Super Spicy" was launched in late 2019, in both standard packet form and the smaller instant cup size, using the same noodle blocks and vegetable packet but a much spicier soup base. There also exists a Shrimp flavor available in China.
International distribution
Shin Ramyun is the most popular instant noodle brand to date in South Korea. It is now accounting for one quarter of the Korean instant noodle market. Shin Ramyun is now exported to over 100 countries around the world, and is produced in three countries: the United States, China and South Korea. As of 2015, accumulated sold units of Shin Ramyun in the world reached 28 billion units.
Marketing and advertising
Marketing in South Korea
As part of the marketing strategies, Nongshim uses “사나이 울리는 신라면 ”. The word Sanai is a word to describe the man while emphasizing the masculinity. Most of its commercials include a famous male celebrity, frequently with his family, who is eating Shin Ramyun at home. These commercials emphasize being family friendly, being Korean, and folksiness. Psy, a South Korean singer who is well known for his song "Gangnam Style," and Park Ji-Sung, a South Korean footballer, also filmed Shin Ramyun commercials. Nongshim has many jingles for their products. Adding a simple yet catchy jingle at the end of their commercials is one of Nongshim’s important marketing strategies. They are easy to remember, and most people in South Korea are aware of them.
Marketing in China
In China, Nongshim uses a slogan: 사나이라면 매운맛을 먹을 줄 알아야지. This slogan is from a famous phrase in China “不到長城非好漢 ” by Mao Zedong. Being aware of the historical importance of Baduk, or "Go", in China, Nongshim has been sponsoring an annual Baduk Championship, “:ko:농심 신라면배 세계바둑 최강전|Shin Ramyun Cup Baduk Championship” as part of their marketing strategies since 1999.
Marketing in Japan
In Japan, Nongshim has set April 10 as a Shin Ramyun day since 2010. The date was chosen for its similarity in pronunciation with “Hot ” when a Japanese pronounces 4 and 10 in English. A Japanese word “うまからっ” " and “からい is used to describe the flavor of Shin Ramyun. As part of the main marketing projects, Nongshim offers “Shin Ramyun Kitchen Car,” a food truck that offers consumers a chance to taste Shin Ramyun, since 2013. Every year, the truck travels across Japan for seven months, promoting Shin Ramyun to Japanese consumers. As of 2016 April, the truck has hosted a total of 150 tasting sessions, and travelled more than 100,000 kilometers.
