1. Industry Size and Composition: The market size for noodles is 9000 tons+ per year (Approximate).

Two types of noodles are available in the Bangladeshi market. They are: i. Instant Noodles ii. Air Dried Noodles or stick noodles i. Instant Noodles: Instant noodles come with a packet of flavoring called tastemakers. Instant noodles are eaten after being cooked in boiling water for 2-5 minutes and added with tastemaker. The market size for instant noodles is 4000 tons (approx.) which is equivalent to 45% of the total noodles market(Nielson:2008,2012).The current market leader in this segment is Maggi by Nestl with a market share of 57% (Oct 2012). Source: Nielsen ii. Air Dried Noodles: Air dried noodles, also referred to as traditional noodles, is first boiled in water, then the water is drained and finally it is cooked with oil and other ingredients like egg, vegetables, etc. The market size for these noodles is 5000 tons (approx.) which is equivalent to 55% of the total noodles market. The current market leader in this segment is Cocola Egg Noodles with a market share of 64% (Oct 2012. Source: Nielsen).

2. INDUSTRY GROWTH RATE Noodles sector people said the market for noodles has been growing by more than 10 percent a year for the last couple of years, which encourages existing operators to expand operations and attracts new entrants. Currently There is a Tk 100 crore market for noodles in our country which is now growing with a great pace. The instant noodles industry has been growing at 30% With the increasing number of working mothers, it has become a very popular tiffin for children and evening snack for the family as it is very easy to cook and takes less time to prepare than the air dried noodles. The growth is also driven by price point players with their multi-packs. There has been a clear emergence of a price point segment diving the market into Maggi and others especially Fu-Wang. The consumers are price driven, looking for value for money. There has also been an increase in the awareness of nutritious food. 3. Market Players and Existing Marketing Practice: Maggi(Nestle): Maggi Instant Noodles is the biggest player in the instant noodles market in Bangladesh with a market share of almost 57%. It is a brand under the flagship of Nestl Bangladesh Ltd. Since this product is very generic and variations are possible only in the form of taste and quality, the market is very competitive with high entry barrier and exit barrier. It requires specialized machinery to produce the cake. The tastemaker for Maggi is imported from Malaysia while Cocola brings its tastemaker from Taiwan.

Nestl has a massive marketing budget worldwide. It can cover Bangladesh market by placing advertisements on Indian TV channels like Cartoon Network, Star World, etc. In Bangladesh, Maggi has become the other name for instant noodles. People mistake Cocola instant noodles as Cocolas Maggi and Fu-Wang instant noodles as Fu-Wangs Maggi in the rural and semi-urban areas. Nestl Bangladesh Ltd. provides shelves in various supermarkets and has good delivery system. Its marketing strategy includes the following: a. Innovation & renovation b. Low cost and highly efficient operation c. Product availability- Maintain existing distribution with more effective Point of Purchase (POP) excellence d. Consumer communication- Establish Maggi as the best tasty and healthy noodles, which cannot be compared. Cocola Instant noodles and Fu-Wang Noodles (Fu-Wang Foods & Beverage Ltd.): Fu-Wang Noodles is the market challenger with 19% market share and the market share of Cocola Instant noodles is far behind. Fu-wang import tastemaker from Taiwan while Cocola Instant noodles from singapore. Their noodle is to be cooked for 3 minutes not for 2 minutes like the other instant noodles. Consumer preference is not affected though. They currently placing shelves at all major supermarkets. This move was taken recently and thus time will tell its effectiveness. It is also considering the production of TV ads to be broadcasted in the major Bangladeshi channels. Due to lack of initiative on their owners part, marketing seems to be an undernourished child of the company. Others Currently there are some niches like Dragon Noodles (Bangas Ltd.) and some foreign brand of noodles from Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. However, Sajeeb Corporation(already in the market?), Akij Group of Industries and Square Consumer Products Ltd. are planning to introduce their noodles division soon. 4. Industry change: Present and Future: The basic needs of the instant noodles market are quick preparation time, tasty and healthy product, and a certain variation of tastes, which means different flavors. These needs can be further put into categories based on the use and preparation of the instant noodles. In Bangladesh, we use instant noodles mostly for lunch break or snack purposes for the children as well as for other members of the family in school, work and at home. In these cases variation of tastes and quality of the product comes in action. When the children are given noodles as lunch, they prefer to have some added taste and variety to their food. If we give them the same flavor all the time, they lose their interest in the food. This same condition applies when noodles is used as snacks. This is one of the many reasons why Maggi captured market share so quickly and also for this reason most of the instant noodles come with more than one flavoring.

Another factor is preparation. Women who are homemakers can afford to take time to prepare noodles either for snack purposes or for their childrens tiffin by mixing several ingredients in it. And for this reason the Cocola Egg Noodles have been popular and has a large market. But recently, in our country, there have been changes in the role of women in a family. Today, a lot of mothers living in the urban areas of the country are working mothers and they play a vital role in familys income and purchase decision making. For the working mother, the time and the process of preparation is quite important. Working mothers prefer a quick and hassle-free method of preparing food. And thus, a rise in the number of working women has also induced the need for food products that are easy to cook and takes less time to prepare. Another important factor that has come into play is the nutrition factor. People are going to expect different types of nutrition value in any food they eat. So the instant noodle industry is going to put that thing in their list whereas Maggi has already started that. Some other changes like added dried ingredients(available in foreign cup noodles), different test makers are also expected.