Mr Lee's Noodles

Market

Target market

Doesn't everyone like a good noodle?

It is estimated that nearly 98 billion instant noodle meals were consumed globally in 2015. Furthermore, the pot noodle and pot rice market is growing, according to Mintel data, from £166m in 2014 to £178m last year.

Healthy and more natural food is a major priority for many people today. And the consumption of convenience food is part of daily living. Mr Lee's will target consumers who want and need both aspects.

We believe that people would eat more cup noodles if they found a healthy but tasty option. We are working to create that option and are finding examples of people wanting a healthier and more convenient option when busy. Travel, hospitality and catering are a few sectors that we believe are in need of a healthier convenient meal option for their customers.

Our addressable market is truly international, with distributor interest having been received from multiple countries.

The 18-25 age group is a key consumer of noodles. While we will target this group, our target market also extends to families, older singles, office workers, convenience food consumers at home and on the go, vended food consumers out of home, those choosing gluten free... All sectors from 18-65+ are strongly represented in our web sales, both male and female, with 35-44 year old females the largest sector of these online sales.

Those interested in health and aspects such as gluten free, low sugar, low salt, low calories, natural and no nasties are natural consumers of our product. The corporate catering sector is particularly concerned with having healthier foods, particularly in the convenience sector, which is why we expect our product to be highly desirable. Busy parents wanting clean but convenient food for their kids are also a focus with Mr Lee's being the only food company chosen in the government's Parenting Guide initiative.

By providing a healthy and ultra convenient light ready meal, rather than just an unhealthy snack, Mr Lee's Noodles signficantly increases the appeal, occasions and consumer access platforms for consuming our noodles.

Characteristics of target market

The UK loves instant noodles and consumes lots of them. The Convenience On-The-Go eating sector is massive and growing. Convenience Foods in the UK are forecast to reach £46bn by 2018. The Instant noodle market in UK was worth £178m in 2015. Both sectors are proving popular. Whether a guilty pleasure or a time pressed eating solution, instant noodles are enjoyed by multiple demographics. 70% of Mr Lee's online sales are to a 35+ demographic, one likely to be making family purchasing decisions and with potentially higher disposable income.

In 2014, it was estimated that there were over 500,000+ vending machines in the UK vending over 7bn items per annum. How many are vending hot healthy ready meals? After hours, vended food choices almost universally offer only junk food options which do not provide adequately for food needs particularly near university libraries, in hospitals, military bases, large offices, industrial estates, govenment facilities... the list goes on.

Leading catering groups have appreciated our approach to this and Mr Lee's has been taken on by Compass UK to pilot our kiosk in their higher education sector with the initial pilot proving successful and initial conversations for a wider rollout being discussed. Large catering, retail and vending groups provide a very efficient B2B market for our kiosks where just a few relationships have the potential to lead to placements of Mr Lee's kiosks in thousands of outlets.

Marketing strategy

Our product strategy enables the previously humble pot noodle to become an ultra convenient gourmet noodle meal giving great value as a food choice. Using traditional distribution but also driving sales through innovative and non-traditional channels, we are breaking new ground in how we promote Mr Lee's Noodles. We are building a strong and widespread social media and opinion former fan base, including athletes, brand ambassadors, health bloggers and interest groups.

Our approach is to pursue the multiple channels open to us by virtue of our USPs, prioritising the areas with largest initial volume, profit and brand establishment impact and which support the premium and differentiated nature of our products. We are making our products available through retailers, directly through our website and web retailers.

We are working with affiliate groups such as charities, vegan, sports team and athlete networks to promote the brand.

We aim for our noodle kiosks to be sited through B2B partner arrangements in areas of high footfall and with a need for better 24/7 convenience/vended food options, such as universities and hospitals.

Mr Lee's is a premium gourmet product in the noodle sector and is a stand alone convenient ready meal. Its quality is reflected in a 'reassuringly' higher but still high consumer value recommended retail price of £2.99, which is backed by a sample consumer survey. We believe that this is in the sweet spot for corporate purchasing by giving good value based margin results for distributors and retailers internationally.

Competition strategy

We see our products as filling a gap in the market for time poor people, noodle lovers and people who crave quick and convenient healthful foods, giving them options to live and eat better. Our 100% tasty 0% nasty noodles benefit from high amounts of freeze-dried meat, seafood and vegetable ingredients making them a much more nutritious meal than other instant noodles. It is believed that freeze drying locks in substantially all the nutrition, flavours and shape and integrity of the ingredients. Dehydrating, a cheaper route, which many of the other brands tend to use, is believed to suck out all or most of the goodness and flavour. Mr Lee's has already received a significant convenience food industry award and other industry recognition as a premium breakout product. Our result is a fresh tasting clean soup with real tasting and looking ingredients.

The health aspect in Mr Lee’s Noodles is very prominent. The Sugarwise certification proving that they are low in added sugar is uncommon across the instant noodles market. They are also certified gluten free by Coeliac UK. Our analysis suggests that Mr Lee's compares substantially lower in salt, fat, sugar and calories than competitors such as Kabuto and Itsu.

It is expected that Mr Lees, while targeting traditional trade distribution where other premium instant noodle brands are also present, by nature of its USPs, will also prove attractive to the B2B sectors which we consider to be largely untapped. Further, our 24/7 noodle kiosks meet, what we consider to be, a currently unmet need for healthy hot vended meals in varying locations (particularly after hours and versus junk food vending choices). Judges from Compass group's The Idea Works pitch saw Mr Lee's products as right on trend and an enhancement to their own customer offer. Our intention is that the kiosks will later vend a range of superfood boosts and condiments to further personalise our noodle experience.