CEO Message
Creativity Has Always Been the Driving Force;
Solving Social Issues Ties Directly
to Sustainable Growth
Koki Ando
President & Representative Director, CEO
NISSIN FOODS HOLDINGS CO., LTD.
Food is the Most Important Pillar Supporting Human Life
How does the NISSIN FOODS Group envision a brighter future? To tell the story, we must begin with our founder, Momofuku Ando. We begin here, because the founding vision of our founder led to the invention of CHICKEN RAMEN and the unchanging origin of NISSIN.
Without food, there would be no clothing, no shelter, no art, no culture. Food is the most important pillar that sustains human life.
Momofuku Ando saw firsthand how people suffered from food shortages in post-war Japan. His conviction led to the invention of the world’s first instant noodles. Peace will come to the world when there is enough food. Shoku-soku se-hei is the Japanese phrase encapsulating this idea of the enduring origin of our activities.
Since our founding in 1958, the NISSIN FOODS Group has continued to ponder what is useful for humankind, and we have contributed to a better world by satisfying dietary needs. That mission will never change. The term EARTH FOOD CREATOR, as in our Group Philosophy, expresses our desire to contribute to the world and its people by creating food, the basis of all life.
The Social Issues We Face Today: Planetary Health and Human Well-being
While hunger was a grave problem in postwar Japan, today’s social challenges are many and varied. Among those challenges, the NISSIN FOODS Group identified two as global-scale issues. Those issues are Planetary Health and Human Well-being.
Planetary Health refers to our efforts to coexist in harmony with the global environment, and we pursue numerous projects to reduce our environmental impact. One of these projects is our research into cultured meat, which is attracting attention as a sustainable food source. In 2017, we began joint research with the University of Tokyo, and in 2022, we held Japan’s first-ever tasting of cultured meat by people involved in the research. We continue to take on the challenge of making cultured meat a new food option in the near future. In 2023, we succeeded in developing a plant-based eel product. We have reproduced the texture, appearance, and flavor of broiled eel without using any animal-derived ingredients. This is one way in which we aim to create sustainable food systems that preserve rich food cultures.
Human Well-being refers to our efforts to elevate humankind. While diets have become richer, especially in developed countries, the modern era is also one of food satiety. We see many food-related problems, including new issues such as obesity due to excessive calories and hidden malnutrition due to inappropriate dieting. The NISSIN FOODS Group is committed to solving these health and nutrition issues, and Optimized Nutri-Dense Meals represents one way in which we pursue this commitment. We launched our first KANZEN MEAL products in 2022, making use of the processing technologies and umami ingredients cultivated in the instant noodle business. In this way, we produced taste on par with so-called regular food, without the distinctive harsh or bitter taste characteristic of nutrients. This product line embodies one of our Enduring Values: Eat wisely for beauty and health. And we aim to improve well-being through food by offering solutions that answer issues related to modern dietary habits.
The NISSIN FOODS Group has always achieved sustainable growth by doing our part to create sustainable societies. The same is true for Planetary Health and Human Well-being to which we aspire today. We are committed to creating social value through these initiatives. And we believe we can create economic value at the same time.
During FY 3/2025, we reviewed the materiality on which we believe we must focus our efforts. To date, our materiality consisted of four elements: Contributing to improved health and nutrition, training and utilization of creative human resources, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and sustainable procurement. Given today’s social condition and changes in the economic environment, we redefined materiality under seven elements going forward: Climate change, biodiversity, deforestation, sustainable value chain management, product safety, human resource development, and health and nutrition. We categorize these materialities as leading to either PlanetaryHealth or Human Well-being, and we are accelerating efforts by formulating NISSIN FOODS Group-wide commitments for each.
We Believe Taking on the Challenge of Planetary Health
and Human Well-being to Create Sustainable
Societies Leads Inevitably to Economic Value
Change as Opportunity in the Shift to Aggressive Management
For FY 3/2025, we posted revenue of 776.6 billion yen and existing core operating profit of 83.5 billion yen, both record highs, in the face of headwinds such as rising raw material and logistics costs. While our Overseas Business has certain issues yet to resolve, including a year-on-year decline in profits in our U.S. operations, the NISSIN FOODS Group as a whole achieved steady growth.
Meanwhile, the global economy is undergoing a paradigm change. With the free trade system shaken and the formation of economic blocs, corporate management has entered a new phase. The future has become increasingly difficult to predict, but we have no intention of stopping our march toward growth. A changing world is synonymous with new opportunities. The NISSIN FOODS Group intends to seize this change as an opportunity to shift to aggressive management.
We have identified four management concerns for FY 3/2026:
1. Global management restructuring
The global economy is changing dynamically, and we must build systems sensitive to developments in the market and consumers, capable of supporting rapid decision-making. In particular, we must review functions and authority in our Overseas Business. As part of this review, we intend to establish the Regional Headquarters of the Americas. Although we have lagged our competitors in the U.S. business for many years, we expect this new management structure to help us develop strategy quickly and agilely, improving our competitive stance.
2. Accelerating capital investment in Japan and overseas
In addition to renovating facilities at plants in Japan, we are moving forward with plans to launch new plants in the U.S., Brazil, and Mexico over the next few years. We also see room for growth in our Overseas Business outside of the Americas. In the EMEA, for example, we operate extensively in a mosaic market, where market conditions vary from country to country. We hold the No. 2 market share position in Europe as a whole, and the instant noodle market is expanding. Entering FY 3/2026, we acquired land for a second plant in Europe in anticipation of construction. We continue to plan for aggressive capital investment in areas where we expect demand to grow.
3. Developing new businesses around the KANZEN MEAL
Our immediate goal is to establish and expand the KANZEN MEAL brand. Our goal is to grow the brand to 10 billion yen in FY 3/2026. In addition to packaged products, we want to expand our BtoBtoC business, leveraging collaborations with retailers, food service companies, and food manufacturers in other fields. The NISSIN FOODS Group also pursues collaboration with insurance companies and others in different industries to create a variety of touch points for multi-vector development in Nutrition Optimization Technology. Each of our businesses in Japan is on track to return to profitability, and we intend to accelerate full-scale business development overseas.
4. Strengthening efforts toward EARTH FOOD CHALLENGE 2030
Some observers believe that the global political climate will slow the momentum toward resolving environmental issues. However, we established EARTH FOOD CHALLENGE 2030 as the NISSIN FOODS Group environmental strategy and an indispensable initiative for achieving Planetary Health. Regardless of the external environment, we will continue to face this issue as a top priority, remaining a leader in the food industry.
A Mission to Create New Food Cultures
The NISSIN FOODS Group has achieved rapid growth over the past several years. While the COVID-19 pandemic served as a tailwind pushing demand for instant noodles, the external environment changes minute by minute. Will we be able to accelerate growth, or will the business slow? At this point, we understand we are entering a phase that will put our true capabilities to the test.
As our next milestone, the NISSIN FOODS Group announced our aim to achieve revenue of 1 trillion yen, core operating profit* of 100 billion yen, and a market capitalization of 2 trillion yen by 2030. We revised our ROE target upward to 15%, with a long-term target of 20%. Through these targets, we aim to become a company that is comparable to any of the top global food manufacturers.
And with these targets in mind, we have only one task: to be creative. The driving force behind the development of the NISSIN FOODS Group in every era has been nothing other than our creativity. As pioneers who invented the world’s first instant noodle, CHICKEN RAMEN, and the world’s first cup noodle, CUP NOODLE, our mission continues to be creating new food cultures. We will continue sustainable growth by solving social issues surrounding food, focused intently on Planetary Health and Human Well-being.
*Core operating profit of existing business
Becoming a Top Global Food Manufacturer:
Our Only Task is to be Creative
VALUE REPORT
2025
WHO
is the NISSIN FOODS Group?[4.05MB]
- Group Philosophy
- Social Value Creation History
- NISSIN FOODS Group Today
- Value Creation Process
- Six Capitals of the NISSIN FOODS Group
- Core Strengths of the NISSIN FOODS Group
WHAT
are our goals?[2.77MB]
- CEO Message
- COO Message
- Our Material Issues
HOW
will we achieve our goals?[18.2MB]
- CSO Message
- CFO Message
- CIO Message
- Mid- to Long-Term Growth Strategy 2030
- Growth Strategy 1 Strengthen Cash Generation Capabilities of Existing Businesses
- Domestic Instant Noodles Business
- Domestic Non-Instant Noodles Business
- Domestic Topics
- Overseas Business
- The Americas—U.S.
- The Americas—Brazil/China (Incl. H.K.)
- Asia/EMEA
- Growth Strategy 2 EARTH FOOD CHALLENGE 2030
- Challenge to Address Climate Change
- Challenge to Effectively Use Resources
- Growth Strategy 3 Pursue New Businesses
- Multifaceted Optimized Nutri-Dense Technologies
- Expanding KANZEN MEAL From Japan to the World
- Fundamental Research for Optimized Nutri-Dense Meals
- Expanding Human Capital
- Health and Productivity Management and Human Rights Initiatives
- Outside Director Panel Discussion
- Corporate Governance
- Board of Directors and Audit & Supervisory Board Members
Data [514KB]
- Financial Summary
- Non-Financial Summary / Major External Evaluations
- Global Instant Noodle Market Data
- Company and Stock Information