Uchikura & Co., LLC

The Man Who Lost Almost Everything—and Started Again at 48

Momofuku Ando (安藤百福) is remembered as the founder of Nissin Foods and the inventor of instant ramen. But his greatest success did not come when he was young.

 

It came after he had lost almost everything.

 

Born in Taiwan in 1910, when the island was under Japanese rule, Ando lost his parents at an early age and was raised by his grandparents, who operated a textile business. Watching them work gave him an early interest in entrepreneurship.

 

In his twenties, Ando started his own textile business and later became involved in several ventures in Japan. He experienced both success and failure. In his forties, a credit cooperative he was involved with collapsed, and Ando lost much of what he had built.

 

At an age when many people would have become discouraged, he started again.

 

In a small shed behind his home in Osaka, Ando began experimenting with ways to make noodles that could be stored, prepared quickly, and eaten almost anywhere.

 

In 1958, at age 48, he introduced Chicken Ramen, the world's first instant ramen.

 

But he was not finished.

 

At 61, he introduced Cup Noodles, turning instant ramen into a global phenomenon.

 

Momofuku Ando's story is not simply about noodles. It is about starting over.

 

Sometimes losing what you have built does not mean the end.

 

At 48, Ando's greatest chapter had not ended.

 

It had not even begun.