A New Era of Innovation in Instant Noodles at IFF’s Shanghai Creative Center

Instant noodles have long been a staple across Asia, evolving from a simple convenience food into a dynamic category shaped by shifting consumer preferences, health-conscious trends and a growing demand for premium, regional and cuisine-inspired flavors. According to research conducted by Fortune Business Insights, the Asia Pacific market for instant noodles was worth $49.54 billion in 2023.  

To help food and beverage brands stay ahead in this competitive space, IFF has unveiled the Shanghai Creative Center – a state-of-the-art facility designed to accelerate innovation, streamline product development and deliver an end-to-end product-design approach. Within the Shanghai Creative Center is the Instant Noodle Center of Excellence, through which, brands can collaborate with IFF’s culinary, sensory and technical experts, as well as an expert chef, leveraging advanced tools and insights to develop market-ready products faster than ever. From refining noodle texture and dough composition to crafting the perfect seasoning blend or umami-rich broth, the Shanghai Creative Center is set to redefine how instant noodles are developed, tested and launched. 

From Concept to Consumer: A Fully Integrated Approach  

At the heart of the Shanghai Creative Center is its ability to recreate and refine the entire instant noodle experience — from the noodle block itself to the flavors, textures and sensory appeal that define a standout product. The process begins with a deep understanding of local taste preferences, continues with precision formulation and rigorous testing and then culminates in a fully realized product designed for both flavor excellence and production feasibility. 

Decoding Regional Taste Preferences  
Taste is highly personal, but when it comes to instant noodles, it is also deeply cultural. For example, while chicken remains the dominant noodle flavor in global markets, China’s preferences lean toward beef-based broths, and in Japan, there is increasing demand for air-dried noodles over traditional fried varieties. Indonesia, Korea and Southeast Asia each have their own distinct approaches to noodle seasoning and mouthfeel, making it crucial for brands to tailor their formulations with precision. 

Capturing Local Noodle Flavor Profiles  
At the Shanghai Creative Center, the development process begins with multi-source market research, identifying emerging trends and pinpointing the flavors that resonate most with consumers. Through a Tasting Safari, a collaborative process that brings together customers and IFF’s technical, marketing and sensory teams, the center helps brands explore, refine and perfect their flavor profiles. 

Advanced analytical technology can further support the development of authentic regional tastes by identifying the complex flavor compounds found in traditional dishes. This scientific-meets-home-spun culinary approach ensures that instant noodle flavors are not just inspired by local dishes but that they authentically capture their depth and complexity. 

Perfecting the Noodle: Texture, Elasticity and Structure  

While flavor is critical, an exceptional instant noodle also depends on the right texture and composition. The Shanghai Creative Center is equipped with a fully operational pilot noodle production line, allowing for hands-on testing and the refinement of various noodle types. 

Fried vs. Air-Dried: Meeting Market Demands  
Fried noodles dominate the category due to their quick rehydration and rich texture, but air-dried noodles are gaining traction, particularly in China and Japan where consumers increasingly seek lower-fat options. However, air-dried noodles come with unique formulation challenges, such as longer soaking times and more delicate textures. 

To solve this, IFF’s experts have developed ingredient and enzyme solutions that maintain a product’s characteristics throughout its shelf-life and optimize bite, chew and elasticity — delivering healthier alternatives that still deliver on taste and mouthfeel expectations. 

Enhancing Noodle Performance with Ingredient Solutions  
By collaborating with IFF’s ingredient specialists and food science teams, brands can refine dough elasticity, reduce sticking and enhance texture by leveraging a portfolio of hydrocolloids and emulsifiers. Additionally, IFF’s food protection capabilities can manage oxidation for improved shelf-life, and protein can be added for fortification and better nutrition.  

Whether a brand needs a cost-effective noodle block for mass markets or a premium, bouncy noodle with artisanal appeal, the Shanghai Creative Center gives brands customized solutions and access to IFF’s wide-reaching ingredient portfolio — ensuring alignment with the brand’s production capabilities and consumer expectations. 

Crafting the Perfect Flavor Experience  

Seasoning plays a defining role in instant noodles, shaping everything from first sip to lingering flavor depth. At the Shanghai Creative Center, IFF experts assist brands in developing, testing and optimizing each component of their seasoning sachets — whether it’s a dry-powder blend, oil-based sachet or a liquid broth pack.  

Additionally, IFF’s in-dough flavoring process allows for the testing and application of different flavor components in-dough (within the dough itself). This helps with base improvement, as well as optimizing value and cost-effectiveness – ensuring a premium experience. When this in-dough process is paired with, and complemented by, delicious seasoning, the result is an even more outstanding and layered flavor experience for consumers. 

Liquid vs. Powder Seasonings: Finding the Right Balance  
While dry seasoning remains a staple, liquid and paste sachets are emerging as key drivers of indulgence, particularly in the more premium market segment. Rich bone-broth pastes and slow-cooked stocks can add a depth of flavor and mouthfeel that traditional powder-based seasonings can’t always achieve. 

The Shanghai Creative Center allows brands to experiment with different formats, stability factors and ingredient interactions, ensuring that seasoning sachets not only taste great but also perform optimally during production and shelf life. 

Harnessing the Power of Umami  
As a market leader in umami flavor solutions, IFF leverages its expertise to create broths that deliver the complexity, aroma and depth that consumers crave. 

FLAVORFIT™ [umami] is a key taste-modulation technology for culinary food applications like instant noodles, offering a delicious and clean-label alternative to MSG and more high-sodium options – as well as restoring taste impact to reduced-sodium recipes.  

Ultimately, through IFF’s proprietary tools, brands can design flavors that go beyond just taste — creating an emotional and sensory experience that resonates with local markets. 

Beyond Noodles: Advancing Bouillon Innovation 

While instant noodles are a major focus at the Shanghai Creative Center, IFF’s expertise extends to bouillon development, an essential component of many culinary applications, particularly across Asia. As a market leader in bouillon flavors in China and Greater Asia, IFF helps brands develop rich, authentic broths in various formats, including powders, granules, liquids and jellies.  

The Shanghai Creative Center allows for precise formulation and testing to create bouillon products that align with evolving consumer trends, such as lower sodium options, cleaner-label ingredients and plant-based alternatives. With advanced sensory panels, analytical tools and a deep understanding of regional flavor preferences, IFF helps brands craft customized and high-impact bouillon solutions that resonate with local markets. 

Accelerating Innovation and Speed-to-Market  

One of the greatest advantages of the Shanghai Creative Center is its ability to significantly reduce product development timelines. With an end-to-end innovation ecosystem under one roof, brands no longer need to juggle multiple suppliers or facilities. Everything from ingredient formulation to pilot-scale production and sensory validation happens in a single, streamlined workflow. 

Total Solution Approach for Faster Market Entry  
Instant noodles are a fast-moving, trend-driven category, with viral noodle flavors and limited-time offerings often defining market success. The ability to rapidly prototype, refine and scale new concepts gives brands a significant advantage, allowing them to capitalize on emerging trends with extra speed. 

By offering a total solution, from noodle dough to seasoning sachets and ingredient performance, IFF helps brands bring new products to shelves faster, with greater consistency and reduced risk. 

Knowledge-Sharing for Global Market Expansion  
Poised to lead the next generation of global instant noodle innovation, the Shanghai Creative Center serves as a hub of knowledge-sharing, ensuring insights and breakthroughs developed in China can inform product innovation across multiple markets and consumer segments across Asia, Africa and the Middle East. 

The Future of Instant Noodles Starts Here  

The Shanghai Creative Center marks a key step in IFF’s commitment to advancing instant noodle and bouillon innovation. By integrating cutting-edge technology, deep market expertise and a holistic product development approach, the center equips brands with the tools to create the next generation of instant noodles. 

As consumer preferences evolve, with growing demand for health-conscious, premium and regionally inspired offerings, IFF is ready to support brands in bringing these innovations to life. 

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This is business-to-business information intended for food and beverage brands and manufacturers and is not intended for final consumers. This information is based on our own research and development work and is to the best of our knowledge. However, nothing herein shall constitute a guarantee or warranty with respect to products of IFF or its affiliates or information contained herein and IFF does not assume any liability or risk involved in the use of its products or the information contained herein, as conditions of use are beyond our control. Statements concerning possible use of products of IFF or its affiliates are not to be construed as recommendations for any use which would violate any patent rights, regulations or statutory restrictions. Manufacturers should check local regulatory status of any claims according to the intended use of their product.