I went to the focus group yesterday morning, my first. It o.k. There were 8 people, 3 women and 5 men. All late 30's to mid 40's I would say. It lasted about 2 hours and the gist of it was Ramen is attempting to get their product to the dinner table as a side dish(pasta) in addition to the snack or quick lunch item they currently market.
It's actually a new product, new packaging and everything. From our group, the general feeling was a 'thumbs up'.
So we shall see, if it hits the shelves at the store, I'll let y'all know so you can check it out.
So now for the question, for you Ramen fans would you buy it, just knowing what I've told you?
ETA: It is lower sodium. There is no flavor packet, the seasoning is infused in the noodles. And it will come in a family sized box, they said yesterday at a price of $1.00.
I buy smart pasta that is fortified with calcium, protien, fiber. So - for me - no.
However, my husband and son love Ramen, so I would buy it for them as a snack.
In my mind Ramen is empty calories, carbs, and sodium - which makes it a snack, not a meal. If the new product is more nutritious than that and the marketing can convince me of that, I might try it as a side.
If you told me they lowered their sodium in their product maybe - but since you didn't I probably would not.
Glad you went tho!
Nah....at $1.00 per box, it sounds like processed crud. Not for me.
I'm all for indulging in the sporadic Ramen Noodle fix, but I wouldn't try to incorporate it into my dinner meals.
If I pay more than 10 cents for my noodle package it isn't going to happen.
it would depend on the ingredient list. first thing i look for is msg which is in most ramens. plus if it has a loooong list of things i can't pronounce or recognize, it goes back on the shelf.
Based on the fact that I Ramen-ed myself out in college, probably not ;)
It's not a bad idea though, I see the angle they're coming from and I'm sure if the price remains about the same, that people will buy it!
Nope.....I would go with the regular sized brick of noodles and divide it up prior to serving. I would be curious as to whether the "New look, same great taste" would = higher cost...... Could you imagine paying more than a dollar for ten of these hahaha! :o)
I might buy it if they found a way to make it healthy...but then I guess it wouldn't be Ramen!
Because I have hereditary high blood pressure and with my medication cannot have excessive amounts of salt/sodium...probably not just because as Sam I am said...it's a lot!
our family loves that stuff....I throw in cut-up grilled chicken to pump it up a bit. :)
If it was their low sodium version (which they do offer for the quick soup variety), then my family would try it. During the midweek scrum, who can argue with quick dinner options? Besides if you add things to Ramen, it improves marginally or greatly depending on your culinary prowess.
what about the msg? that's the only reason I don't buy ramen
Sounds good if they could just make their products without MSG - I'm allergic and so many people are too. I guess it's asking too much for them to make it without that? I'd pay 3X the price if they would.
We already buy Ramen noodles fairly frequently especially when it's on sale.
We tend to eat it as soup, for lunch or with a salad for dinner.
I'd give their new product a try.
I would buy it. I already use Ramen mixed with frozen vegetables and ground meat as a main dish.
I try not to use it because the flavor packets have msg.. so no-- my daughter loves it but I don't buy it.
If I normally served lots of pasta and such I probably would. But husband is pretty "aware" of what it means to eat healthy and so we don't serve a lot of carb laden foods. Like another poster before me, we typically use the "smart" pasta noodles when we DO have pasta. The ones with Omegas and fiber and flax added, etc.
So for our family, probably not.
I would need a mental shift and not just pretty packaging to put it on the table for dinner with all the noodle options out there. I don't fault them for trying, but while we do keep Ramen around, I keep having flashbacks to college every time I make it for DD. Rice a Roni makes noodles that my family likes that I can get for a similar price.
My big question would be: what about the MSG. That is the reason we don't eat Ramen noodles. If I didn't care about our health, yeah, I might try them based on what you said.
yes, we would probably try it. I do keep it on hand for "lunch emergencies". So the kids eat it maybe once a month. I do make Rice-a-Roni on occasion as a side so we could try the new Ramen side also.
Most likely I would, yes. We like Ramen here in the winter.
Lower sodium is always good!!
Thanks for keeping us updated! I think it's great and fun that you did this!!
Depends on what they price it as. I hate the stuff but it is a staple side dish in our house. If it doubles in size and the price more than doubles, I wouldn't be interested. The only appeal Ramen has to me is it is cheap and fast.
Probably not, only because you can use it in its current state as I side dish and I never do.
I cannot eat the ramen noodles not only because my body hates carbs (insulin resistant) but also because it would give me a heachace/ migraine if I ate them. Grew up on them and lOVE them but they are terrible for you. I wont even buy them for my kids.
Probably cause my boy LOVE Ramen soup! They eat it almost dailey!!!!! So more varietys of stuff they love I will buy.
