Customers can cook Korean noodles themselves in the restaurant, half the cost: Low investment, high margin ‘self-service ramen bars’ are becoming the choice of restaurant owners.

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The craze of Korean noodles i.e. Ramyan is turning into a new business model in the Indian food market. At ‘self-service ramen bars’, customers choose a packet of noodles of their choice, add toppings and spices like egg, cheese or chicken and cook it themselves at the counter. For restaurant owners struggling with sluggish demand and rising costs, this is becoming a low-investment, low-staff and high-margin model.

At the same time, Korean noodles companies are also finding a new and bigger market by bypassing the supermarkets and reaching consumers directly. According to Vinod Kumar, founder of Myon Hub, Chennai, it costs around ₹20 lakh to start a self-service ramyan bar.

This is much lower than traditional restaurants with big kitchens, heavy infrastructure and specialized chefs. Since it is a completely packaged food, there is no risk of food getting spoiled and the work can be done even with less staff. Keeping this advantage in mind, Nongshim, one of the largest noodles companies in South Korea, has joined hands with Reliance Retail’s Freshpick in India. Udit Jain, director of Rama Vision, the official distributor of Nongshim in India, said that these ramyan bars are giving customers the opportunity to experience authentic Korean taste and customization at a lower price without going to a full-service restaurant.

According to Dhruv Kohli, founder of ‘Boba Bhai’, Gen G (youth) and working professionals are its biggest customers who are coming again and again. The effect of this increasing demand is now visible on startup investments also. Gurgaon-based Korean food startup Gimmie Michi has raised $1 million seed funding led by IndiaQuest. Started just six months ago, the company’s net monthly sales have crossed Rs 1 crore and are growing at the rate of 60% every month, with half of its sales coming from tier-2 and tier-3 cities. Wow on this trend!

Momo founder Sagar Daryani said that Korean food has now been included in the menu of the entire Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) sector. His own packaged Korean noodles are earning ₹1 crore per month, while his total noodles business is generating ₹2 crore per month.

Market – Huge demand for Korean noodles in small cities, 34% share in total noodles sales

Korean noodles accounted for 34% of total noodles sales on quick-commerce platform Blinkit, Datum Intelligence reported. Its demand in small cities was much higher as compared to 31% in Delhi-NCR, in which 45% of Korean noodles were sold in Kochi, 44% in Dehradun and 41% in Ludhiana. Nongshim and Samyang brands account for a quarter of Blinkit.

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