Abstract

The aim was to study the current situation in the supply of dried noodles in China, analyzed regional disparity and trend of dried noodles markets and explored effects of variety and packaging on noodles price. Data were collected via the survey method in four representative cities in China, included Beijing, Hangzhou, Changsha and Hefei. Based on the quota sampling and simple random sampling methods, supermarkets and retail stores were selected. The brands, varieties, producers, origin, packaging style, net content and price of the dried noodles presented on the shelves were examined. No leading brand was observed in Beijing in 2010, while some brands showed distinct comparative advantages, with a large market share in 2012. Some traditional regional brands, such as “Kemen” and “Fengda”, had become nation-wide brands and hold a large proportion in many cities. As new brands from multinational enterprises, “Arawana” and “Jinmailang” were growing fast. The price of dried noodles showed some regional difference. Dried noodles in Beijing and Hangzhou, two developed cities of China, showed higher price than inland second-tier cities. The dried noodles price and the proportion of high-end products significantly increased from 2010 to 2012. Competition at high end of the noodles market was getting tougher than that at the low end. Both the variety and packaging type had significant effects on noodles price. Dried noodles targeted at children or with seasoning bags showed significantly higher price. The dried noodles with better package had a higher price.

Keywords:

Brand share, China, dried noodles, market supply, packaging, product price,

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The authors have no competing interests.

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