How did this Indonesian Instant Noodle Brand become a Nigerian Staple?

As a marketer currently visiting my birthplace, Nigeria, how can I not share my commentary about Indomie! For the uninitiated, Indomie for many Nigerians is more than just a product. Over four decades, this Indonesian brand of instant noodles has swirled its way into being a staple on the dining tables of the people of this West African country, both locals and expats alike. Here, you don’t eat noodles, you eat Indomie.

As little kids in school in the early 90s, I envied that one classmate who used to enjoy those yummy soggy chicken flavoured Indomie noodles for lunch while I ate the healthy tiffin my mum packed for me (delicious as it was). As teenagers, our evening congregation was incomplete without a packet of Indomie that we crushed, seasoned, and ate off the packet (what a snack!). And as high school students studying our nights away during exam season, our hungry stomachs and tiring minds only craved that warm bowl of Indomie.

 

For years, Indomie had no competition – the noodles section on the supermarket aisles displayed only those familiar yellow packets, and with just one original Chicken seasoning. Driving back home from school, we’d see multiple advertisements of Indomie with familial, comforting imagery of the quintessential Nigerian family ready to eat their bountiful meal of a wholesome platter of noodles with a side of roast chicken or grilled fish.

 

Indomie’s advertising took all shapes and forms – on the billboards near bridges, painted on the facades of buildings in busy marketplaces, on banners at our school annual sports day function, on the tele, co-opting as brand advocates everyone, from kindergarten children and basketball-playing teenagers to homemakers and breadwinners.

A building hand-painted with an Indomie ad on the way to the very noisy and
bustling Balogun Market in Lagos

When I moved to India for my bachelor’s degree, I was exposed to Maggie fans – I just didn’t understand the hype. It never stood a chance. So, suitcases of my visiting parents carried a carton worth of Indomie packets that kept me sustained for a few months, (sometimes I made them last an entire year). From being an accessible snack, Indomie now became that rare treat. From just one flavour option, my parents started getting us newer flavours that were being introduced to the market: Spicy Chicken (an orange pack) and Onion Chicken (a green pack). Delicious as they were, the original yellow pack Chicken flavour was still something that continued to hit the spot in the heart (and the belly).

 

During one of my college breaks, I managed to get a marketing internship with the company that brought Indomie to Nigeria. Touring the factory premises, I was fascinated seeing wheat turn into noodles, and lab technicians working on seasoning powders, as I copiously inhaled that familiar Indomie aroma! This was nothing short of a movie in my mind, and of course it was called ‘Hanisha and the Indomie Noodle Factory’. The factories here churned out millions of packets daily, and I won the ‘golden ticket’ of interning under the brand manager, an Indonesian expat.

 

It was during this internship that I was surprised (shocked?) to learn that Indomie was an Indonesian brand, introduced to Nigeria by Dufil Prima Foods, the subsidiary of a Singapore-based company Tolaram Group, which was started in the 1940s by an Indian, Seth Tolaram. Fascinating!  

 

My master’s degree took me to Melbourne and I stayed in a student accommodation for the first few months and in sharing a communal dining area, I learnt that from Milo (again a popular chocolate drink brand in Nigeria – we’ll save that for another post), Mi Goreng was integral to an Aussie’s university life. Intriguing, what was Mi Goreng I wondered. Surprise, surprise, it was Indomie, but the Indonesian version. I excitedly ripped open a pack, boiled it, but alas, it tasted nothing remotely close to my Nigerian Indomie. Once again, I had to rely on my parents’ visits for my favourite snack.

 

Despite a myriad of options in the market today, Indomie remains popular with Nigerians till today. Two elements stand out to me: its affordability and its seasoning variety. Beyond introducing the run-of-the-mill flavours that are common with other instant noodles such as beef, vegetable, curry, etc., Indomie has taken product localization to another level; flavours from dishes integral to Nigerian cuisine are infused into the instant noodle packet. Today, I can enjoy Indomie Jollof, Indomie Chicken Pepper Soup and Indomie Crayfish, each one a Nigerian household.  

 

Today, I think about my love for Indomie, and I can tell you, apart from the quality product it has continued to be, its flavours appear richer to me because of the nostalgia of the simple old times. To me, that’s a power of a brand.