To say that Lucky Me’s instant noodles and instant pancit canton are a part of the Filipino modern culture is hardly an understatement. Since it first offered its instant mami product in 1989 and followed by instant pancit canton in 1991, the brand has fed millions of Filipinos, including those abroad.

Monde Nissin Corp.’s Lucky Me plant in Malvar, Batangas is the newest facility of the brand. It first opened its doors in 2021 and today serves as the main production center of the instant noodle products, capable of making 1 million packs of instant noodles in a single day. The key to making such a large volume of products in automation. The entire production line is done by machines, from mixing the noodle dough to stacking the container boxes.

The process starts with the milling. Lucky Me mills its own flour using wheat kernels sourced from the US, Canada, and Australia. The flour is then fed to a long cylindrical mixer where additional ingredients are added and mixed to form the noodle base. It is then extruded and flattened by machines before it is cut into sheets and curled into the shape we recognize. The wavy pattern allows steam to settle in the nooks and crannies made by the noodles, speeding up the cooking process.

The noodles are then steamed to cook them through before being cut into portion sizes, folded into shape, and then fried in oil to dehydrate the noodles. This makes them shelf stable, allowing the noodles to be stored for months at a time. The pancit canton noodles undergo another water dipping process which makes them firmer compared to the instant mami noodles.

Once completed, the individual noodle servings are packed in plastic along with their seasoning and flavoring mixes. A machine does a final check on the weight of each noodle pack to ensure that they all weigh the same before being packed into boxes. Finally, the boxes are stacked by a robotic palletizer.

Throughout this process, factory workers monitor each machine using tablets, and no human hands come into contact with the product at any phase. This is to ensure consistency in the product and to avoid any cross contamination due to human interaction.

Monde Nissin prides itself on using high-quality ingredients in making its Lucky Me noodles. The only preservative they use is a green tea extract, which serves as an antioxidant to prolong the noodles’ shelf life.

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