Kangshifu, a major player in the instant noodle market in mainland China, has long held the crown with its catchy slogan “Delicious and Fragrant, Visible Goodness.” However, recent financial reports released by Kangshifu have painted a different picture. In the first half of 2025, Kangshifu saw a 2.7% year-on-year decrease in revenue, with a drop of 1.109 billion yuan in sales, affecting both its beverages and instant noodles segments.
According to Chinese state media on August 14th, Kangshifu disclosed its performance for the first half of 2025. The financial report revealed that the company recorded revenue of approximately 40.092 billion yuan, a 2.7% decrease compared to the previous year, with sales dropping by 11.09 billion yuan. The gross profit was around 13.815 billion yuan, a 2.8% increase year-on-year, while the net profit of the group was approximately 2.688 billion yuan, showing a 20.3% rise.
Data indicated that both the sales of Kangshifu’s instant noodles and beverages have been declining. Specifically, the revenue from Kangshifu’s instant noodles dropped by 349 million yuan, a 2.5% decrease, while the revenue from beverages decreased by 706 million yuan, a 2.6% decline.
In the first half of 2025, the revenue from Kangshifu’s instant noodles was 13.465 billion yuan, down by 349 million yuan from the same period last year, marking a 2.5% decrease.
Moreover, the number of Kangshifu’s sales agents decreased from 67,215 in the same period last year to 63,806. The number of directly operated retailers also reduced from 220,623 to 219,124 this year.
Reports suggest that Kangshifu raised prices on some of its instant noodles and beverage products last year, impacting the sales volumes of its distributors.
According to Economic Observation Network, Zhang Heng, a distributor of Kangshifu’s beverage business in Anhui Province, has been with the company for nearly a decade. In March of last year, he received a price increase notification from Kangshifu, raising the selling price of all 1-liter beverages from 4 yuan to 5 yuan, consequently increasing the purchase price as well.
The notice Zhang received indicated that the terminal purchase price of Kangshifu’s 1-liter beverages increased from about 3 yuan to over 3.3 yuan, with a price increase of 3 to 6 yuan per case (12 bottles). “Once the retail price goes up, consumers are unwilling to buy, and many terminals refuse to sell,” Zhang said.
With higher purchase prices, both distributors and retailers faced thinner profit margins, and consumers were sensitive to even slight price increases. As a result, they turned to other brands, quickly eroding Kangshifu’s market share in the ice tea category.
A convenience store owner, Lin Fang (pseudonym), in Dalian, told Epoch Times, “It’s not just Kangshifu, the overall revenue of instant food categories is declining. In the past, it was mainly migrant workers and college students buying instant noodles. Now, with the economy in a downturn and a lack of job opportunities, the migrant workers have left.” “Moreover, ordering takeout is very convenient now, with prices being comparable. So, more people opt for takeout. There are too many types of instant foods available now, like snail noodles, self-heating pots, which have taken the limelight away from instant noodles.”
Gao Yang (pseudonym), a mall manager in Zhengzhou, told Epoch Times, “Previously, Kangshifu sold very well, but later, the sales of Lotan Pickled Vegetable instant noodles were greatly affected due to hygiene issues. There were those old farmers wearing slippers or barefoot, stepping on the pickled vegetables, smoking and working at the same time, throwing cigarette butts directly onto the pickled vegetables. The videos of that incident caused a huge stir, and suddenly, no one wanted to buy Kangshifu products, some were even taken off the shelves, placed in storage, or returned.”
“In addition, the price increase of Kangshifu products last year also prompted consumers to opt for other products with unchanged prices,” Yang added.