In a conventional sense, “noodles” – viewed in their generic form – might not necessarily be considered as a high value-added product.

But think, for example, sushi.

In terms of ingredients, that is basically rice, condiments and fish, which, either separately or in combination with each other, and using different preparation techniques, may as well be arranged into a dish served at a canteen or cafeteria, selling at a much lower price than what sushi restaurants, especially high end ones, charge for their products.

The same with noodles: depending on your production methods and marketing model – the very same ingredients can be used to produce different products with different price tags.

Yamato believes, and experience of our clients worldwide firmly corroborates this belief, that noodles indeed can be a high value-added product, offering great opportunities for food businesses, even under duress of various quarantine-related restrictions and limitations.

With right equipment and production techniques, artisan noodles of high quality can be produced not only manually by individual noodle making masters, who have dedicated many years to learning and practicing their art, but in semi-industrial settings, and in quantities enough to satisfy needs of a small-to-mid size businesses as well. 

Whether it is ramen, udon or soba, the history of noodle making equipment in Japan began with people being largely skeptical if the quality of machine-made noodles can be on par let alone surpass that of noodles made by hand. But as time flew, and with more knowledge accumulated, more insights gained, and more techniques developed, the attitude has changed, and such questions are no longer being raised – with even the most demanding connoisseurs admitting that quality-wise, given the best equipment and methods, such noodles can be as good if not better than the best examples of hand-made ones. 

Since the technologies are already in place, and know-hows have already been developed, opportunities for doing business with fresh craft high-quality noodles are aplenty with the most common one being opening one’s own food serving business specializing in such noodles. Such business can be a dine-in restaurant, food delivery / catering service, sales of DIY meal kits or a one that combines different elements of the above.

On the other hand, such business can focus entirely on noodle production with the sole purpose of selling the product to either other food businesses or for retail to end consumers. At Yamato, we call this a “Micro noodle factory” model, where “micro” is used to mean that the production volume is relatively small compared to large scale production of noodles. 

This does not imply that large factories producing noodle products should have no place on the market, but their construction and operation usually requires a great amount of investment both in terms of money, logistical, labor, and organizational resources, as well as securing distribution markets large enough to absorb their production volumes.

Conversely, a Micro noodle factory, like the one based on just a single unit of “RICHMEN”, “SHIN’UCHI” or “BANDOTARO” noodle machine, requires only a limited amount of investment, no more than several square meters to install, and a minimum personnel of only one operator.

In the strictest sense, “Micro noodle factory” would mean that noodles are produced exclusively for outside distribution, however practical applications of this model may also include partial in-house consumption to satisfy needs of one’s own food service business.

Versatility of Yamato-made noodle making machines allows for production of a variety of noodle products using only one single unit (by adjusting dough sheet thickness, changing cutters, or using different recipes and production procedures). For example, a single unit of Richmen Type I noodle machine (also available in variants for European and North American markets) is capable of producing a wide range of noodles from standard ramen (wok) and pasta noodles to Hong Kong egg noodles, gluten free noodles (from rice flour and starch), as well as certain varieties of udon and buckwheat soba noodles.

Compared to large scale factory installations, Micro noodle factories are also much nimbler in adapting to diverse and ever changing needs on the market, and customizing their noodle products to accommodate customers’ requirements and requests.

The concept of “Micro noodle factory” also fits into a broad context of homemade noodle production, and works well for food businesses interested in securing and maintaining independent supply of high quality noodle products.

Although, division of labor in general is a good way to increase productivity, relying too much on resources beyond one’s control can turn out to be very costly if not fatal in case of an unexpected force majeure. Besides, outsourcing can sometimes be impossible to begin with as there could simply be no providers or suppliers of what your business needs. 

In this regard, the following can be listed among possible drawbacks and potential unintended consequences of over-reliance on third-party suppliers:

As Yamato’s mission is to share with the world the best noodle making technologies – from noodle making equipment to noodle making techniques – we are committed to use our decades-long experience and expertise to introduce concepts, tools and practical methods of achieving success in noodle business.

On January 21, 2021, join us for another installment in a series of free online noodle classes we have begun late spring of 2020. In this class we will cover a topic of how to choose the right equipment for your Micro noodle factory: selecting an appropriate type of a noodle machine for the type of noodles you are planning to produce in terms of operation methods, production volume, safety features, etc.     

The class is Free, and its live broadcast is accessible by the link that will be sent to your email address after you sign up. 

(NOTE: we are looking forward for, and would definitely welcome your watching the live broadcast, but should that be difficult, you would still be able to watch a recording of the class using the same link)