Maruchan Ajinomoto, a Ajinomoto’s joint venture with Toyo Suisan Kaisha, has announced to begin production and sale of instant noodles in India next month.
The joint venture between the two Japanese companies is looking to tap into the growing demand for instant noodles in the country.
Maruchan Ajinomoto has established an instant noodles factory in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu.
The joint venture was formed two years ago with an investment of JPY1.93bn ($20m).
Toyo Suisan Kaisha holds the majority stake of 51% in it, while Ajinomoto owns 49%.
The joint venture claimed that it will launch previously unavailable instant noodle flavours in India.
While instant ramen noodle maker Toyo Suisan would support for product development and production, Ajinomoto would take care of the marketing aspects including product planning and sales.
The joint venture was started with an aim to gain a foothold in the southern Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh before expanding to other parts of the country.
In Nigeria though, Ajinomoto and Toyo Suisan have ended their joint venture agreement, signed two years ago, owing to the drop in the price of crude oil.
The joint ventures in India and in Nigeria were signed in April 2014 and named as Maruchan Ajinomoto India and Maruchan Ajinomoto Nigeria respectively.
Last month, Ajinomoto in its bid to boost its frozen noodles business in North America, launched its Japanese-style ramen in the region. Ajinomoto has another joint venture with Toyo Suisan Kaisha in Oregon where it manufactures ramen noodles for North America.
