Fly By Jing Extends Chili Crisp Into The Noodle Category

Fly By Jing (FBJ) is trying its hand at a meal time product once again, as the Los Angeles-based brand specializing in authentic Chinese sauces and spices announced today the launch of Sichuan Noodles in Chili Crisp and Sweet & Spicy varieties.

“We love seeing the expansion of the noodle category beyond instant ramen in the last five years,” founder and CEO Jing Gao told Nosh. “Our goal was to bring the first Sichuan-sourced noodle to a larger American audience. Both Chili Crisp Noodles and Sweet & Spicy noodles contain our signature sauce packets – the spicy, tingly, umami, nuanced and complex flavors we’re known for, making these unlike any other noodles currently in market.”

The noodles are handcrafted in Sichuan, according to Gao, and come with a sauce packet made from the brand’s signature Chili Crisp or Zhong sauce, depending on the flavor. The wavy ribbon noodles are sun-dried for 12 hours, rather than fried, to create a “perfectly al dente texture” and hold the optimum amount of sauce per bite.

The noodles are now available on the brand’s direct-to-consumer site and will roll out on Amazon in October. According to Gao, the brand is currently working on a “retail-ready” version that will enter stores in 2025. In order to build awareness for the launch, the company began sharing the new product with its network of “tastemakers” last week in addition to working on a “robust organic social media, email, SMS, PR and paid social marketing plan,” she said.

“Creators are always a very important part of our launches. We are working with several creators on launch content, as well as sending noods to all of our friends. For our friends in LA, we’re having a VIP party at my restaurant Suá Superette on launch day,” Gao continued.

While the noodles will become the first non-sauce food item in its current lineup, FBJ launched a line of xiao long bao soup dumplings in 2021, but discontinued the product in March 2023. Gao believes this new line will help introduce the brand’s sauces to an entirely new audience.

“Since discontinuing our beloved dumplings last year, we have been asked for more easy, flavorful meals,” Gao explained. “Noodles were of course the first thing we thought of! Our customers especially love putting our Sichuan Chili Crisp and Sweet & Spicy Zhong on their noodles, so after a long search, we’ve finally found the perfect noodle base for our sauces.”

And Gao isn’t alone in creating meals designed around a signature flavor. Restaurant-based CPG brand Momofuku – which sparked controversy over its own chili crisp product in April – introduced a 5-SKU line of air-dried-over-fried noodles last year made by fellow instant noodle makers A-Sha. But as others, including better-for you noodle maker Immi and Omsom, have ushered in a new era for the category, consumer interest seems to have plateaued.

According to SPINS data from the 52-week period ending September 8, total category sales are down 0.6% while unit growth was up 2.3%. Compared to the category’s explosive growth in 2022, where dollar sales increased 82% to over $808 million and units were up 59%, the category’s growth trajectory appears to have slowed. By 2023, dollar sales rose only 27.3% while unit sales growth decelerated to 2.2%.