How the Noodelist Journey Started

I am Asian born, and I don’t eat rice.

I grew up in Finland, and I don’t eat potatoes.

I am based in Silicon Valley, and I don’t eat burritos.

I live only on noodles!

The Idea 

My Noodelist journey started in Shanghai back in 2014. I was doing an MBA in Luxury Brand Management, and a lecturer in a marketing class asked us to analyze the 7 P’s on any product that is part of our everyday life.

I had already started working on another consumer product but it was lunch time, and I was hungry. The light bulb went off and my immediate thought was to work on instant noodles - not just because I was a student but mainly because I only eat noodles whenever possible.

Igniting the Spark

Fast forward four years later to one Sunday in June 2018 when I got a call from a mentor (now one of the angel investors). He excitedly recalled my pitch about premium instant noodles, which went like this: Instant noodles 2.0 with mind, muscle and energy boosters.

Stop Talking, Start Doing

I had been talking about my instant noodles 2.0 for so long that my closest friends told me to just go and make it happen, or stop talking about it. So I went all in, quit my steady job with the Finnish government, and dipped into my honeymoon fund, with my husband’s support of course (or so I tell people ;)

And with the support of Family, Friends and Fantastic angel investors, I jumped out of my comfort zone and started my first start-up.

Discovery to Development  

I had absolutely no formal experience in the consumer packaged goods industry. However, what I have was a passion for eating. And I don’t even cook as I was spoiled by my mom’s cooking. In fact, I was always kicked out of mom's kitchen since I always nibbled the food when it was just half done. All of her different Vietnamese noodle soups are to die for. So I know what a good tasting noodle soup should be like. The taste, the broth, and the noodle texture all have to be perfectly combined in harmony. 

The Noodelist product would not have come to life without the amazing people I found through my earlier years of networking. The award-winning Chef Petteri Luoto who created the taste and culinary recipe; the food scientist Scott Loh who made it shelf stable; Dana Abarca who mixed the ingredients and packed them into pouches; and the designers Renne and Henrik Angelvuo who came up with the name, logo and design. Not to mention “a village” of mentors, advisors, investors, fellow founders and entrepreneurs, friends and family who have always been there when I needed them. 

The Why

Now it’s a year later, and what started as a school assignment from a noodle fanatic, has become an actual consumer packaged good - Noodelist, Premium Instant Noodles. Which are first and foremost tasty, healthy, and packed with protein. 

And the best part is that my friends love them too! I hope that you will all taste my love of noodles in every bite, and share with your family and friends and colleagues and neighbors. I am slurping my bowl of Noodelist everyday while enjoying my startup journey. I will keep sharing my experience in details how I found the noodles, learnt about eco-friendly packaging through test and trial, how the Chef created the soup base recipes, and more "behind the scene' stories in this Founder's Blog.

Noodle on!

Thuong