Instant noodles are a noodle dish, sold in a dried and precooked noodle block, with flavoring powder and/or seasoning oil. The flavoring is usually in a separate packet, although in the case of cup noodles, the flavoring is often loose in the cup. Some instant noodle products are seal packed; these can be reheated or eaten straight from the packet/container. Dried noodle blocks are designed to be cooked or soaked in boiling water before eating, but can be consumed dry.

Global instant noodles market was valued at 30.74 billion US$ in 2018 and is projected to reach 31.52 billion US$ by 2024, at a CAGR of 0.42% during the forecast period, China accounts for 38% of the global market share. In terms of the sales volume of instant noodles, the global instant noodle market is facing a huge crisis, and the retail sales volume of instant noodles has declined sharply, global consumption of Instant noodle is 95.75 billion units in 2018 and is projected to reach 80.45 billion units by 2024, at a CAGR of -2.86% during the forecast period, It's mainly because people are paying more and more attention to health.

The main raw materials for the instant noodle industry are wheat, flour, and palm oil. Related upstream industries include grain and oil production (wheat, palm oil production), and flour processing, the fluctuation of upstream wheat and palm oil prices and the development of the flour processing industry have an important impact on the production of instant noodles, the instant noodles are mainly divided into three types: fried instant noodles, non-fried instant noodles, and wet instant noodles; according to packaging, they are divided into barrels, cups, and bags.

Key players in global instant noodles market include: Master Kong, Indofood, Nissin Foods, Uni-President, Nong Shim, Jinmailang, Baixiang, Maruchan, Acecook Vietnam, TF, Nestle, Vietnam Food Industries, Sanyo Foods, Monde Nissin, Mareven Food Central, Universal Robina etc.