Premium pot noodle brand boasts £2M turnover

Sainsbury, Tesco and Waitrose all stock the noodle brand, which was established less than four years ago by Busk, after he spotted a gap in the food-to-go market, he told FoodManufacture.co.uk.

“It cost around £50,000 to set up the brand and that was getting the branding, buying the packaging and being in a position to start selling,” ​he said.

Busk, who has based his company in Bristol, sells up to 200,000 Kabuto Noodle pots a year and is also in talks to secure contracts with Morrisons and the Co-op.

The product was inspired by Busk’s frequent visits to the Japanese restaurant chain Wagamama’s, where he would eat fresh ramen dishes.

‘Bombay Bad Boy’​

“But I would walk over the road from Wagamama’s and ​look at the noodle section in the supermarket and it would be stocked with the likes of ​[Pot Noodle’s] Bombay Bad Boys,”​ he said.

The uninspired and bad nutritional properties offered by existing pot noodle brands prompted him to bring a healthier ramen-style noodle brand to the market, he said.

Although Busk founded the brand and is regularly securing listings with companies such as Wholefoods, the manufacture of Kabuto Noodles is contracted out to co-packing specialist Alexir.

Busk’s deal with Alexir had secured dozens of jobs at the factory, md Jeremy Keeble told FoodManufacture.co.uk.

Kabuto’s increased success has also allowed Alexir, which is a £3M turnover business, to invest £250,000 in a new line at its Uckfield site in East Sussex, Keeble added.

Contracting out the manufacture of the product allowed Kabuto to be created almost instantly, said Busk. This was a model being used successfully by the fresh fruit drink producer Innocent, he pointed out.

“I came from the sales side of the food industry and I know more about that than manufacturing,” ​he explained.

Although contracting out the manufacture of Kabuto Noodles accelerated the company’s existence, there were downsides, Busk admitted.

“You give control over your process away and you can’t respond to small and spontaneous requests as easily.” ​

More upsides​

However, there were more upsides for a small start-up to contract out its manufacturing process, he claimed.

“You can get up and running on a very small amount of money; you don’t have to get all of the paperwork, such as British Retail Consortium accreditation, behind you, because the manufacturer already has it,” ​he said.

A contractor was also much better placed to work to the major multiples’ stringent demands, Busk added.

“As a small manufacturer, it’s hard to respond when a supermarket asks you to treble your order,” ​he said.

“It can be scary for a small manufacturer, but a large contractor is equipped and experienced enough to do it.” ​

Meanwhile, Busk’s next challenge is the increasing threat from new competitors in the noodle market, he said.

The restaurant chain Itsu recently launched its version of a healthier pot noodle, which, backed by its presence as a foodservice brand, could prove tricky for Kabuto, he conceded.

“It’s always a threat when a new competitor comes onto the market. ​

“Itsu is a competitor, but we have been doing pretty well and people still like our product,” ​said Busk.