DESIGNER

Andrew Le

PROFILE/DESCRIPTION

Maruchan cup noodles is a company that wants to share their original broth and noodle recipes around the world. They started in Japan and in the US, their headquarters are in Irvine, California and their intended audience is for people who don't much time to make a proper meal and for others who may not have enough money to afford a proper meal. So Maruchan seeks to pack as much quality of flavor as possible in such a small bag while making it as cheap as possible so everyone can taste. Right now, one of the most well known designs is the wonderful noodles and broth featured on the package but there are pictures of cooked chicken on the package which leads to sort of a false advertise since the package doesn't come with the chicken. The intent was to tell everyone that it is chicken flavored with cicken ingredients but a majority of the time, it doesn't come through.

GOALS

The goal of the design is to look more simple/clean. Right now, many ramen noodle packagings have a lot of stuff going on like signs that say “spicy” or “low msg” etc. My plan is to change the look of the package to show which ingredients is used in the flavor as well as keeping the face of the package less crowded.

PRIORITIES

1. product name/flavor
2. all of the raw/unprocessed ingredients used to make the product
3. maybe simple vector designs to fill some space (also makes the package more friendly to the consumer and so the consumer feels less bombarded)

TARGET AUDIENCE

Maruchan cup noodles is for everyone that is 7 or older because Maruchan cup noodles is not the most healthy option for meals (similar to “junk food” or “fast food”) and so it is logical for children to not be exposed to such products at such an age. This product is intended mainly for high schoolers, college students, and maybe busy workers in the workforce who don't have time to fix a meal for themselves. Similar to the children age recommendation, Maruchan isn't recommended for older people since their health is very serious and unhealthy foods like cup noodles may not be the best choice for an elderly's diet. 

BRAND CHARACTER

slogan: “more than just a broth”

All Maruchan products have the same packaging design where they have the noodles and whatever the main ingredient is to make the flavor for the background (as well as a slight change of color on the package to reflect the flavor). 

Maruchan noodles also makes it clear that the broth is packed with flavors.

COMPETITIVE SITUATION

Although Maruchan cup noodles is one of the most famous cup noodles brands internationally, but there are many other brands that simply look more attractive. For example colors that pop more and designs that look more attracting; normally these brands are noodles that are extremely spicy. Examples include: Shin Ramyun noodles soup and Neoguri.