The person responsible for a variety of Indomie’s iconic flavours, Nunuk Nuraini, has passed away on January 27 (Wednesday). She was 59.
This sad news was confirmed by Indofood’s Head of PR, Nurlita Novi Arlaida, who was reported saying “Hajjah Nunuk Nuraini passed away [yesterday] and returned peacefully to Allah.” She did not specify the cause of death.
Nunuk worked as a flavour development manager in Indofood’s instant noodle division for nearly 30 years. During her tenure, Indomie has become one of the favourite instant noodle brands of the Indonesian people.
The flavour expert
Nunuk was a graduate of Padjadjaran University (Unpad) in Bandung, majoring in Food Technology.
As a flavour development manager in Indofood, some of her creations range from typical Indonesian flavours such as soto, rendang, chicken curry, and sambal matah; to the classic Indomie Mi Goreng flavour which is still the most popular to this day.
The popularity of Indomie’s Mi Goreng extends beyond Indonesia; the instant noodle is also enjoyed by people across many countries. Indomie has been marketed in 80 countries around the world such as Australia, New Zealand, US, Canada, Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East countries.
Until 2019, Nunuk has been devoted to concocting Indomie flavours for more than 28 years.
Recognition from the United States
On November 2019, the United States newspaper Los Angeles Times named Indomie as the tastiest brand in its instant ramen power rankings list. However, Indomie is actually in the category of instant noodles, not instant ramen.
Food columnist Lucas Kwan Peterson was quoted by the Los Angeles Times as saying “Placing Indomie as a champion is actually cheating, because Indomie is more accurately described as instant noodles than ramen.”
Nunuk was also a topic of conversation when West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil called her a “hero for the boarding house kids”.
In his Instagram post @ridwankamil, he wrote “Students, say thank you and good prayers to Mrs. Nunuk, a hero figure for boarding school children, especially at the end of the month. Live Unpad.”
The college student community certainly resonates with this statement. This is because Indomie is an instant noodle product that is synonymous with college life and end-of-month meals.
Indonesians have since taken to social media to express their grief and gratitude to Nunuk.
“Thank you for the delicious taste of Indomie, I hope that every bite of anyone who eats the noodles with their gratitude will be a reward for Ibu. I hope your good deed and prayers will be accepted and placed in a beautiful place by His side,” the tweet above reads.
