Pot Noodle facts for kids
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Chicken and mushroom flavour Pot Noodle made up according to instructions
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| Owner | Unilever |
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| Introduced | 1977 |
| Previous owners | Golden Wonder |
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Pot Noodle is a brand of instant noodle snack foods from the United Kingdom, available in a selection of flavours and varieties. This dehydrated food consists of noodles, assorted dried vegetables and flavouring powder. It is prepared by adding boiling water, which rapidly softens the noodles and dissolves the powdered sauce.
The product is packaged in a plastic pot, from which the prepared noodles can be eaten. Many pots contain a sachet of sauce, such as soy sauce.
History
Instant noodles were originally invented in 1958 by Momofuku Ando, and Cup Noodles developed by his company Nissin Foods in 1971.
Golden Wonder launched the Pot Noodle brand in the United Kingdom in 1977. In July 1995, Best Foods, which produces Hellmanns mayonnaise, paid then owner Dalgety plc $280 million for its Golden Wonder Pot Noodle instant hot snacks manufacturing business.
Bestfoods, known as CPC international before 1997, was itself acquired by Unilever in June 2000. Unilever kept the Pot Noodle brand and its sole production factory, after it sold the rest of the Golden Wonder business in January 2006 to Tayto. In the same year, Unilever relaunched the brand, introduced three new varieties and reduced salt levels by 50 per cent. Golden Wonder later established another line of pot noodles called The Nation's Noodle (renamed Noodle Pot in 2016) in direct competition with their former brand.
Production
Pot Noodles are manufactured in Croespenmaen, near Crumlin, Caerphilly, Wales, which became the topic of an advertising campaign of 2006, showing fictitious Pot Noodle mines in Wales. The factory typically produces 175 million pots annually.
Around 2006, Pot Noodle's recipe was changed to make the product healthier. This mostly involved cutting down on the amount of salt in the product. A "GTi" variant, prepared in a microwave instead of adding boiling water, was introduced at the end of the 2000s and was the first Pot Noodle to contain real meat. In 2007, the brand changed their logo.
Pot Noodle has often given promotional gifts away, including a 'horn' and a 'spinning fork.' During the 2008 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Unilever sponsored a musical directed by David Sant, and created by advertising agency Mother, set in a Pot Noodle factory.
Flavours
Currently produced flavours
As of 29 December 2023, flavours of Pot Noodle currently produced are:
- King Bombay Bad Boy
- King Chow Mein
- King Chicken And Mushroom
- King Beef & Tomato
- King Original Curry
- King Sticky Rib
- Korma
- Doner Kebab
- Sweet & Sour
- Original Curry
- Chow Mein
- Beef & Tomato
- Chicken & Mushroom
- Sticky Rib
- Bombay Bad Boy
- Pulled Pork
- Piri Piri Chicken
- Christmas Dinner
- Lost The Pot Noodle: Cheese & Tomato
- Lost The Pot Noodle: Vegetable
- Lost The Pot Noodle: Noodle Curry
- Lost The Pot Noodle: Roast Chicken
- Lost The Pot Noodle: Sweet Chilli
- Lost The Pot Noodle: Champion Chicken
- Lost The Pot Noodle: Smokin' BBQ
- Lost The Pot Noodle: Chip Shop Curry
- King Pot Pasta: Creamy Carbonara
- King Pot Pasta: Bolognese
- Pot Pasta: Tomatoey Mozarella
- Pot Pasta: Bolognese
- Pot Pasta: Creamy Carbonara
- Pot Noodle Fusions: Chilli Chicken
- Pot Noodle Fusions: Thai Green Curry
- Pot Noodle Fusions: Katsu Curry
- Pot Noodle Fusions: Malaysian Curry
Related products
Golden Wonder introduced a similar convenience food "Pot Rice" at the beginning of the 1980s. Pot Rice was made from dehydrated rice, wheat protein, vegetables, and flavourings, sold in a plastic pot. Pot Rice was later manufactured by Unilever and Knorr when the Pot Noodle brand went through a series of acquisitions and takeovers in the 1990s.
Posh Noodle was a variation on the typical pot noodle, consisting of thinner, ramen like noodles and available in three Asian themed flavours, launched in 2003.
Pot Rice was discontinued at the beginning of the 2000s. Pot Rice flavours have included "Chicken Risotto", "Chicken Curry", "Beef & Tomato" and "Savoury Beef". Pot Rice received a limited relaunch in 2018. "Pot Mash" was a similar branded mashed potato snack, sold by the makers of Pot Noodle in the United Kingdom and Ireland at the end of the 1990s.
"Pot Casserole" consisting of dried vegetables and soya protein was introduced during the 1980s, but discontinued before the turn of the century. "Pot Pasta" and "Pot Spaghetti" combined dried pasta pieces with a sachet of Parmesan cheese, and was available for some time in the 1990s. However, in 2017, Pot Pasta was relaunched. "Pot Sweet" was a dessert range available in four varieties, introduced in the mid-1980s, and discontinued shortly afterwards.
In 2020, Lost the Pot Noodle, instant noodles in loose plastic packaging instead of a plastic pot, was launched in 3 flavours: curry, roast chicken and sweet chilli.
From August 2021, Pot Noodle launched another new range of pots, titled 'Pot Noodle Fusions'. This range hearkened back to earlier ranges like 'Posh Noodle' and 'Asian Street Style' with more exotic world food flavours including Chilli Chicken, Katsu Curry and the previously available Thai Green Curry flavours, as a partial rebrand and partial new launch.
See also
- Ramen noodles
- List of instant noodle brands
- Indomie
- Maggi noodles
- Sapporo Ichiban
- Shin Ramyun
- Super Noodles
- Wai Wai (food brand)
