Sneak Peek: 5 Most Popular Instant Noodle Brands in Indonesia Facing Price Hikes

Global wheat supplies have been impacted by the Russia-Ukraine war, causing a surge in commodity prices. Indonesia, heavily reliant on wheat imports for its instant noodle industry, is particularly vulnerable.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Indonesia was the world's largest wheat importer in 2020, importing 10.29 million tons.

Instant noodles, a derivative of wheat and a staple food in Indonesia, saw consumption reach 13.27 billion packages last year, representing 11.23% of global instant noodle consumption.

Agriculture Minister Syahrul stated that the war in Russia has prevented the export of 180 million tons of wheat, impacting Indonesia's food industry. He warned, as quoted by Katadata.co.id (Thursday, August 11, 2022), "Be careful those who eat instant noodles, (the raw materials) are largely wheat. Tomorrow the price could triple."

Indomie: The Most Popular Instant Noodle Brand

Independent research firm Frontier Group conducted research on the most popular instant noodle brands in Indonesia. Indomie secured first place in the Top Brand Award 2022.

Indomie achieved the highest Top Brand Index (TBI) score among instant noodle brands, at 72.9%. Mie Sedaap followed with a TBI score of 15.5%.

Sarimi ranked third with a TBI score of 2.6%, followed by Gaga 100/Mie 100 at 2.2%, and Supermi at 1.6%.

This assessment was based on a survey of 8,500 respondents across 15 major Indonesian cities. The respondents comprised 6,000 random samples, 1,700 booster samples, and 800 B2B booster samples.

Three parameters were used in the assessment: Top of Mind (the first brand mentioned by respondents), Last Usage (the brand last used by respondents), and Future Intention (respondents' desire to use the brand in the future). The Top Brand Index score was calculated by weighting the average of each parameter.

(See also: Instant Noodle Sales Continue to Increase Over the Last 5 Years)