Hua-Tiau Chiew Chicken Noodles (花雕雞麵) produced by Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corp (TTL, 台灣菸酒) became the top-selling instant noodle brand at RT-Mart International Ltd (大潤發) last year.
The product rose six places from a year earlier to top the sales list, passing Wei Wei A-series Chicken Noodles (味味A排骨雞麵) produced by Vedan Enterprise Corp (味丹) and Wei Lih Jah Jan Men Noodles (維力炸醬麵) made by Wei Lih Food Industrial Co (維力食品).
TTL, which is the only producer of Hua-Tiau Chiew in Taiwan, uses 15-year old liquor made from fermented rice as a major ingredient in the instant noodle broth and the special flavor has pushed up sales, analysts said.
According to RT-Mart, one of the leading hypermarkets in Taiwan, almost 1.5 million packs of Hua-Tiau Chiew Chicken Noodles were sold at its outlets nationwide last year, generating more than NT$30 million (US$1.01 million) in sales.
On the online Good Market operated by Kuobrothers Corp (創業家兄弟) in Taiwan, Hua-Tiau Chiew Chicken Noodles earned 4.42 points from consumers on a five-point ratings scale.
TTL has said Hua-Tiau Chiew is light in flavor but rich in amino acids, making it a perfect food ingredient and a good match for instant noodles.
Wei Wei A series Chicken Noodles came in second place, up one from the 2016 rankings, with RT-Mark selling 1.4 million packs last year, while Wei Lih Jah Jan Men Noodles fell from the top position in 2016 to third with almost 1.3 million packs sold, according to RT-Mart.
The top three took advantage of their familiar flavors to beat imported products from Japan and South Korea. In addition, intensive promotional campaigns during the Ghost Festival also boosted sales of food items, including instant noodles, for worship.
The Ghost Festival falls on the 15th day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, which last year was Sept. 5.
TTL, Vedan and Wei Lih Food were the three largest winners in the RT-Mart instant noodles sale rankings last year, taking three, two and three spots, respectively, on the top 10 list.
TTL’s Sesame Oil Chicken Noodles (麻油雞麵) and Hua-Tiau Chiew Beef Noodles (花雕牛肉麵) with pickled cabbage were the fourth and fifth-biggest sellers in the rankings with about 800,000 packs sold each, RT-Mart data showed.
Vedan’s Wei Wei Premium Beef Noodles(味味一品原汁珍味牛肉麵) came in sixth ahead of Wei Lih Jah Jan Men heavyweight pack (110 grams vs. the standard 90 gram size), Ve Wong Instant Beef Noodles (味王牛肉麵) produced by Ve Wong Corp (味王), Wei Lih’s Yuanzu Chicken Noodles (原祖雞汁麵)and Wei Lih’s I Duo Zang Beef Noodles (一度贊紅燒牛肉麵), according to RT-Mart.
Meanwhile, PX Mart Ltd (全聯實業), one of the largest supermarket chains in Taiwan, said local consumers on average spend NT$89 to NT$100 per instant noodle purchase.
In 2016, the production value of instant noodles in Taiwan rose 20 percent from a year earlier to NT$11.5 billion, according to data released by the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
The ministry has not released the figures for last year.
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