世論 What Japan Thinks

Due to the lack of vegetarian options I never actually eaten an instant ramen cup noodle here in Japan, but according to this recent survey from MyVoice into cup noodles (their second time, the first having been in December 2006) I’m very much in the minority as usual.

Demographics

Over the first five days of March 2009 15,584 members of the MyVoice internet community completed a private online questionnaire. 54% of the sample were female, 1% in their teens, 14% in their twenties, 37% in their thirties, 29% in their forties, and 19% aged fifty or older.

I live just two stops up the tracks from the Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum, but despite that I am still to visit! One fun feature is that you can make your own original cup which they present to you sealed in an over-large air-filled pillow, so every time I see one on the train I am reminded of my failure to travel just 10 minutes to see the place!

Research results

Q1: About how often do you eat cup noodles (including udon, soba, fried soba, pasta, etc)? (Sample size=15,584)

	This survey March 2009	Last survey December 2006
Almost every day	1.0%	1.0%
Twice or thrice a week	8.5%	9.4%
Once a week	17.4%	20.4%
Twice or thrice a month	24.4%	25.1%
Once a month	17.5%	17.3%
Once every few months	15.0%	13.4%
Almost never	12.1%	9.7%
Never	4.0%	4.7%

Q2: Over the past year, how has your frequency of consumption of cup noodles changed? (Sample size=cup noodle eaters)

Increased	4.7%
Increased a little	13.7%
Not changed	51.3%
Decreased a little	19.9%
Decreased	10.2%
No answer	0.3%

Q3: As your cup noodle consumption has increased, what has decreased? (Sample size=increased cup noodle eaters, multiple answer)

Supermarket, convenience store lunch boxes, side dishes	27.2%
Family restaurants	22.4%
Fast food	20.6%
Lunch box takeaways	16.7%
Noodle shops	14.4%
Beef bowl, rice bowl, curry shops	12.7%
Home delivery pizza, sushi, lunch box, etc	12.1%
Boil-in-the-bag, frozen foods, range up foods	11.8%
Sushi restaurants	9.7%
Izakaya Japanese-style dining pubs	7.1%
Coffee shops	6.9%
Student, work dining hall	4.8%
Other	5.1%
Nothing in particular	29.2%
No answer	0.4%

Q4: When do you eat cup noodles? (Sample size=cup noodle eaters, multiple answer)

Lunch	67.7%
When peckish	25.2%
Nighttime snack	18.6%
Evening meal	12.2%
As a snack	4.6%
When doing overtime	4.1%
Breakfast	3.5%
Other	2.1%
No particular time	8.5%
No answer	1.2%

Q5: When buying cup noodles, what points are important? (Sample size=cup noodle eaters, up to three answers)

Taste	81.0%
Price	71.5%
Soup	24.0%
Noodles	23.6%
Maker	18.0%
Volume	16.1%
Toppings	10.7%
Calories	9.4%
Brand	9.4%
Ease of preparation	6.6%
Is new product	4.9%
Package design	2.8%
Naming	2.0%
Advertising image	1.5%
Recipe by famous restaurant	1.3%
Shape of cup	1.0%
Other	1.0%
Nothing in particular	2.5%
No answer	0.5%

Q6: Where do you often buy cup noodles? (Sample size=cup noodle eaters, multiple answer)

	This survey March 2009	Last survey December 2006
Supermarket	81.2%	78.0%
Convenience store	36.2%	41.1%
Discount store	21.8%	23.0%
Drugstore	21.1%	19.3%
100 yen shop	8.0%	8.8%
Ordinary food shop	2.7%	3.4%
Work, school shop	1.1%	1.3%
Internet, mail-order	1.0%	0.4%
Department store	0.6%	1.0%
Vending machine	0.5%	0.6%
Other	0.7%	0.5%
Don’t buy myself	1.6%	1.4%
No answer	1.0%	3.6%

Q7: When buying cup noodles, up to how much are you prepared to pay? (Sample size=15,584)

	This survey March 2009	Last survey December 2006
Up to 100 yen	19.3%	18.4%
Up to 150 yen	42.4%	35.7%
Up to 200 yen	20.6%	23.1%
Up to 250 yen	6.8%	8.7%
Up to 300 yen	6.0%	7.0%
301 yen or more	1.0%	3.0%
Don’t buy cup noodles	4.0%	4.0%