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Cup Noodles

Maybe

Returns run at only 0.0% of orders. But demand is soft, at -10.6% this quarter, so Cup Noodles is a Maybe.

Flapen Score
56
56 / 100
Top 12% of 2,976 Grocery niches · +10 vs the category median of 46
Market size
£254K/yr286K searches / yr
90-day growth
-10.6%search demand this quarter
Competition
30%top-5 click share · 15 brands · 108 sellers

Flapen Score

Cup Noodles against its category

The dotted line is the Grocery average. Past it, Cup Noodles is stronger. Inside it, weaker.

56Maybe
Big MarketTrendingHigh ConversionOpen MarketLow ReturnsPrice rangeAvg priceNo Dominant BrandLow Review BarrierQuality Gap
This niche Category average

Market

The Cup Noodles market on Amazon at a glance

Shoppers on Amazon United Kingdom searched for Cup Noodles 286K times last year and spent an estimated £254K. The top 5 brands take 88% of clicks. Demand peaks in Oct. Flapen scores it 56 out of 100, a Maybe.

01 · Demand

9.6% of searches ended in a purchase last week.

Shoppers searched for this 286K times in the last 12 months. That counts every search on Amazon United Kingdom for this niche's terms. In the latest week, 9.6% of those searches ended in a purchase. Searches in the last 90 days moved -10.6% against the 90 days before. Searches, conversion and average price together put the market at an estimated £254K a year.

Searches, last 12 months
286K
Growth, 90 days vs prior 90
-10.6%
Conversion, latest week
9.6%
Market size, estimated
£254Ka year
Peak month
October1.8× the quietest month
Top search term
soba noodles98K searches a year

02 · Price

A sale here is worth £9.28.

Listings sell for £9.28 on average, from £0.89 to £37.47. Amazon reports units sold in ranges. This niche sold 30K to 40K a year. The average listing sells 500 to 750 of them. At £9.28 that is £5K to £7K a year per listing.

Average price
£9.28under the $15 to $100 sweet spot
Price range
£0.89–£37.47
Amazon United Kingdom median price
£12.12across 27,606 niches
Units sold a year
30K–40K
Units per listing a year
500–750
Revenue per listing a year
£5K–£7K
Returns
0.0%of orders · Amazon United Kingdom median 0.6%

03 · Entry bar

The bar here is low.

27% of listings pay for placement with sponsored ads. 85% ship with Prime. On an average day, 5.9% of listings are out of stock. The average listing ranks #193 within Instant Meals & Sides. It carries 634 reviews at 4.52 stars, so a new listing needs social proof before a better product.

Sponsored listings
27%
Prime listings
85%
Out of stock, average day
5.9%
Average rank
#193in Instant Meals & Sides
Average rating
4.52 starsAmazon United Kingdom average 4.36 stars
Average reviews
634per listing
Listings tracked
48

04 · Newcomers

Amazon counts 2 of last year's 4 launches as successful.

4 products launched here in the last 12 months. Amazon counts 2 of them as successful launches, new products that hit its first-year sales bar. The brands on the shelf have sold for 52 months on average, so the names here are settling in.

Launched, last 12 months
4
Successful launches
2Amazon's first-year sales bar
Average brand age
52 months

Products

Top Cup Noodles products & what they sell for

Every tracked product: its share of the shelf, its reviews, and its price.

Competition

Competition: brands, sellers & click share

The top 5 products take only 30% of clicks. An open shelf where new products get seen.

£0£8K£15K£23K£31K1101001K10K Review Count Sales
Beatable (≤4.3★) Contested Strong incumbent (>4.7★)

Brands

15 falling

Sellers

108

Top-5 brand share

88%

Top 20: 100%

Top-5 click share

30%

Top 20: 75%

Open market

9%

  • NISSIN68%
  • Nongshim7%
  • WaNaHong5%
  • Hime4%
  • Emma Basic4%
  • Nissin3%
  • Open — no brand owns it (9 brands, 9%)

Demand

Cup Noodles search demand

Weekly searches over the year, seasonality beneath. Pick a range.

8K6KSpike '24Holiday '24Spike '25Prime Day '25Spike '26SepDecMarJunAugNovMarMay

Peak months: Oct · busiest ÷ quietest = 1.8×

Search terms

Top Cup Noodles search terms shoppers use

The exact words shoppers type, with yearly volume, growth, and conversion.

  • soba noodles98K/yr
  • cup noodles72K/yr
  • soba25K/yr
  • nissin cup noodles22K/yr
  • cup noodle16K/yr
  • shin cup noodles8K/yr
  • cup noodles nissin10K/yr
  • noodle cup8K/yr
  • nongshim cup noodles6K/yr
  • shin ramyun cup3K/yr

Reviews and returns

What reviews say buyers love and hate about Cup Noodles

What buyers praise, what they complain about and why they send it back, from the reviews.

Complain

Taste-Overall16%+2.21

The cheese and chicken ones are very bland, the small seasoning sachet did not flavour the noodles well

Tasted Awful

No taste at all it's tasteless cheap for a reason

Spiciness13%−0.01

Too chilli hot

Very spicy

I didn't like the spices

Value For Money10%+0.71

You can probably buy them cheaper elsewhere

Too expensive

a bit pricey for what you get

Flavor9%+0.13

Wrong flavour sent

The cheese and chicken ones are very bland, the small seasoning sachet did not flavour the noodles well

they aren't nearly as flavourful as the packets

Quality-Overall5%−0.05

Not the best

Low quality

Love

Taste-Overall46%+2.21

Fantastic Taste

Very clean taste

A tasty Snack

Value For Money13%+0.71

Good deal

Great value

Good value for money

Flavor11%+0.13

Really nice flavour easy to make

Great flavour

flavour is strong

Ease Of Use5%+0.74

convenient they are

Really easy to make

Easy to prepare

Spiciness4%−0.01

Lovely and spicy

Very tasty, and great spice level

the spice is just right

FAQ

Common Cup Noodles questions

Answered from the same tracked data.