India Food Stats

Manpuku (sometimes written Mampuku) is a Japanese television drama that hit Netflix as part of a wave of classic NHK shows made available to global audiences.  It's the 99th of NHK's "asadora" (short, wholesome morning dramas broadcast in 15-minute daily episodes) and originally ran from October 2018 to March 2019. The series is based on the true story of Momofuku Ando, the Taiwanese-Japanese businessman who founded Nissin Foods and invented instant ramen — the humble Chicken Ramen packet in 1958, and later Cup Noodles in 1971.  If you've ever survived on instant noodles as a student or eaten a Cup Noodles at 2 a.m., this show is the origin story of your meal. Rather than a straight biography, the drama is told through the eyes of his wife. The lead is Fukuko, a character inspired by Ando's real wife, Masako. The story follows the couple from pre-WWII Osaka through the war's devastation and into Japan's era of rapid economic growth, as they struggle th...

Amazon Now has rapidly become one of India’s fastest-growing quick-commerce services, competing directly with Blinkit, Zepto, and Swiggy Instamart. In 2020–21, Amazon began phasing out Pantry and merging it into the main Amazon Fresh channel. Pantry’s “next‑day” model was considered too slow compared to the rising demand for instant grocery delivery. Table shows popular e-grocers in 2021. Grofers was rebranded as Blinkit in December 2021 Amazon Fresh became the umbrella for groceries, while Amazon Now was introduced in 2025 as the ultra‑fast delivery arm, promising delivery in minutes instead of hours or days. By combining micro‑fulfillment centres (speed) with urban centres (selection), Amazon aims to dominate both daily essentials and high‑value categories. Fast facts: Now live in 120+ cities including metros and tier‑2/3 towns (Amritsar, Kochi, Bhubaneswar, Vizag, etc.).  ~800 micro‑fulfillment centres, up from ~100 a year ago. Crossed $1 billion annualised gross sales in ...

Orkla (the Norwegian industrial and FMCG conglomerate) officially entered the Indian market in 2007 when it acquired iconic Bangalore-based food brand MTR Foods. MTR was founded in 1924, giving the company over 100 years of culinary credibility. Orkla India ranks among the top 4 players in India’s overall packaged spices and convenience food sector by revenue. Rather than operating as a thin pan-Indian player, it focuses on hyper-regional dominance and export strength. Key milestones in its India expansion timeline: 2007: Acquired MTR Foods to establish its presence in South India. 2011–2012: Expanded into North Indian ready-to-cook gravies by acquiring Pune-based Rasoi Magic. 2017: Orkla launched Laban, its Norwegian human-shaped chewy candy brand, locally manufactured in Bengaluru to enter India's high-margin confectionery market. 2021: Acquired a majority stake in Kerala-based Eastern Condiments.    2023: Merged MTR, Eastern, and subsidiary brands under a unified corpo...

Walk into any Indian home or spice market and you’ll find cinnamon—warm, fragrant, and essential. It goes into garam masala, biryani, chai, kheer, and countless curries.  In Ayurveda it appears as tvak , valued for digestion, circulation, and balancing blood sugar. Yet the bark sold as “dalchini” is not always the same plant. Understanding the difference between true cinnamon (dalchini) and cassia (taj) matters for flavour, authenticity, and long-term health. Both come from trees in the same genus, Cinnamomum. They are related branches of the same family tree, and both are legally sold as cinnamon in many places. Ceylon or true cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum, also called C. zeylanicum) is the delicate, multi-layered variety historically linked to Sri Lanka and parts of southern India. Cassia comes from other species (C. cassia, C. burmannii, C. loureiroi) grown mainly in China, Indonesia, and Vietnam. In India, true cinnamon is called dalchini and cassia is called taj. Most of the ine...

When Momofuku Ando invented the world’s first instant noodles in 1958, he probably didn’t imagine that decades later his creation would reach Indian kitchens. Yet that’s exactly what happened. Nissin entered India in 1988 through Indo Nissin Foods. By 1991, its Bangalore plant was producing Top Ramen and Cup Noodles specifically for Indian tastes. Today the company operates factories in Bangalore, Rewari (Haryana), and Khurdha (Odisha), and has built a solid distribution network across the country. What sets Nissin apart is how well it has localised. While the Japanese DNA of quality and convenience remains, the flavours speak pure Indian. Top Ramen’s classic Masala and Curry Veg still hold strong, while Cup Noodles has expanded into a lively range — Mazedaar Masala, Paneer Butter Masala, Veggi Manchow, Spiced Chicken, Rogan Josh, and even bolder options like Korean Armystew and Singapore Laksa. The newer Geki Korean range has also found fans among those looking for spicier, more adven...