Meet The Manufacturer: Interview With Asian Thai Foods

A while back I was contacted by Asian Thai Foods – they were curious if there was a way to send me instant noodles to review. As it turns out, they’re in Nepal, a place whose noodles I’ve never reviewed before. I thought a Meet The Manufacturer was in order, and here we are! Here’s the interview I conducted with them via email. Enjoy!

THE RAMEN RATER> Thank you for agreeing to this interview! Can you tell my readers about the history of Asian Thai Foods?

ASIAN THAI FOODS> Asian Thai Foods (P) Ltd. is a business organization in the FMCG market. It was established 12 years ago in Biratnagar, Nepal. The corporate office is located in the Capital City Kathmandu. It is a partnership within 2 companies – Jaju Group & Sharda Group. We have various products in noodles and snacks segment and are expanding the product line to Indian and US markets. We are among the top noodles manufacturing companies in Nepal. Our popular brands are Rumpum, 2pm and Preeti. Log in to our corporate website for more information.

TRR> What was the first product you made?

ATF> RUMPUM, it was the first product we manufactured. We were the pioneers in marketing of noodles and consumer schemes activations. For more information find us on Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest.

TRR> Your company is located in Nepal. Can you tell us a little about your country?

ATF> The manufacturing unit is located in Biratnagar, while the corporate office is in the Capital City Kathmandu.
Nepal has diverse culture, climate, geographical locations, languages, class, castes etc. Therefore, we try to offer products in various tastes, price and offers suitable for the consumers from various backgrounds.

TRR> Can you tell us about the varieties of instant noodles you make?

ATF> We have various varieties of Instant Noodles.
Most Popular Brands: RUMPUM, Preeti and 2pm.
Other brands: Mast Mast, Krissh, Miteri, Dautari, Gaurav, Fatafat, and many more.
Type: Standard pack, Meal pack, Cup Noodles, Tiffin Pack, etc.

TRR> What do the names Rumpum and Preeti mean?

ATF> Rumpum means happiness/music.
Preeti means love.

TRR> Why one of your products is called 2pm? What is the significance of this time of day?

ATF> The lunch break here is around 2 pm; therefore we came up with the idea to target the consumers who have noodles during lunch time. It was basically targeted to students and working couples.

TRR> I see that a lot of your varieties are ‘brown noodles.’ What are brown noodles?

ATF> Brown noodles are brown in color and are more baked and cooked hence you can eat them raw which is not the case in White Noodles because brown noodles are made with soup base and spices while white noodles are bland in taste unless cooked.

TRR> How does your noodle making process differ from other instant noodle manufacturers?

ATF> We are HACCP certified, which our most of the competitors are not. Though the process making is similar, we differ in the usage of quality raw materials and unprocessed products which makes our product healthier and tastier.

TRR> Are instant noodles the only products you make?

ATF> As of now we have only instant noodles, but we are looking at expanding the product line with soupy noodles as well. We also have various products apart from instant noodles which comes under the Snacks category like Cheese balls, Corn puffs, Potato chips, Peanuts, Bhujiya, Crackers, etc under different brands names.

TRR> A lot of people are concerned with their sodium intake. How would you recommend people enjoy your product as part of a healthy meal?

ATF> Sodium intake has been a concern for everyone, as you will see the sodium % in our product will be more due to salt and various spices. The salt used is iodized salt and the spices used are organic and the best quality used. We have the HACCP certification for high quality products; therefore people are not concerned much as we enrich the products with other essential elements like Protein, Calcium, Iron and other Vitamins & Minerals.

TRR> Are you involved in in your local community or participate in charities?

ATF> Yes, we do charities with various NGO and also donate free packets to orphanages and distribute educational items to schools. We also sponsor various sports tournaments as well; recently we had sponsored a Football tournament.

TRR> Are there any new products coming soon?

ATF> Yes, there are new products or products extension coming soon.
Rumpum will be out in 4 different flavors.
Preeti will be extended to white noodles and soupy noodles.
Mast Mast is a new brand launched for kids.
Nawab Halal Noodles is a new brand launched targeting the Muslim customers.

TRR> When you make noodles for yourself, what do you like to add to them to make them extra special?

ATF> I add a little more spices and herbs and have it with tomato sauce and mayonnaise.
Most of the times I eat it raw as it doesn’t require cooking, but when I cook I add various vegetables like Carrots, Peas, Capsicum and Coriander. Add chili powder and oregano for different taste.

TRR> Thank you very much for this opportunity to learn about Asian Thai Foods and your products!