Nissin to launch caffeinated cup noodles and curry rice in Japan

TOKYO – Night owls looking for an alternative to energy drinks can soon turn to caffeinated noodles and rice by Japanese noodle maker Nissin.

The products are being rolled out in a bid to appeal to a burgeoning video-gaming crowd in Japan, which has been growing annually, the international food giant announced on Monday.

The number of gamers in the Land of the Rising Sun is said to have exceeded 50 million, according to the company. That is roughly 40 per cent of the country’s population in 2022.

The caffeine-infused foods are set to hit the shelves in Japan on Sept 18. They will be available in two flavours: garlic and black pepper yakisoba, and ginger keema curry rice.

Both products contain ingredients present in energy drinks. These are caffeine, arginine – a type of amino acid that helps the body produce proteins – and niacin, also known as vitamin B3.

Both products are soupless, so gamers will not need to fret about getting their hands or surroundings dirty, the company said.

They are expected to deliver copious amounts of energy, with Nissin touting the snacks as “buff meshi”, or buff meals. 

In the gaming world, a buff gives in-game characters an advantage by improving their strength, according to Tokyo-based news site SoraNews24.

The yakisoba will be sold at the recommended retail price of 280 yen (S$2.60) while the curry rice will cost 298 yen.

So far, the products have drawn a mixture of curiosity, excitement and trepidation, with one user on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, describing the rainbow packaging as “dangerous”.

Another X user wrote: “I don’t play that hard, but I want to eat it!”

Nissin is synonymous with instant noodles to many people; its founder is credited with inventing the snack in 1958.

Over the years, the company has diversified its products to include quirky ones such as mystery cup noodles in 2016 and instant ramen for consumption in space in 2020.