Rapid Ramen from Shark Tank

Rapid Ramen shark tank

The Rapid Ramen Cooker is a cooker that does exactly what you’d think it does: make ramen rapidly.

While instant ramen is meant to be instant (as the name suggests) it’s not actually as quick and easy to make as you’d like it to be. The stove top instructions take way more time than you’d want from a fast meal. From boiling the water to cooking the noodles and then waiting for the seasoning to settle in – it takes a lot longer than an instant.

The Rapid Ramen Cooker is the solution to the problem. With this cooker, you can cook your instant ramen instantly. All you have to do is pop your ramen into the cooker, stick it into the microwave for about 3 minutes and you’re done.

While the company started off with ramen as their main focus, they have expanded into other items as well. The product offerings now include a Rapid Ramen Cooker, Rapid Mac Cooker for mac & cheese, Rapid Rice Cooker, and Rapid Oatmeal Cooker.

The company, Rapid Brands, was started in 2012 by Christopher Johnson after having spent some time researching on the amount of water and space needed for microwaves to cook noodles, rather than just heating the water.

Is Rapid Ramen Still Active?

Rapid Brands as a company, and thus,the Rapid Ramen product line, is still very much active

The company’s products can be found in over 50,000 retail stores across the country, from Walmart to Walgreens. They are also found at plenty of college stores.

In 2016, Rapid Ramen was partnered with Nissin Foods, which makes the Top Ramen brand, and has licensing deals with Disney and Nickelodeon to put their characters on his products.

The company has made over $55 million in lifetime sales, and as of April 2022, has an annual revenue of about $5 million.

How Did The Shark Tank Pitch Go?

Chris Johnson came on Shark Tank in 2013 with some pretty great success under his belt for a company that was only a year old. He’d made $160,000 in sales so far, and had a number of orders to fill.

He asked for $300,000 in return for 10% in equity.

The product was considered something of a fad, but after some back and forth, Mark Cuban and Chris agreed upon $300,000 in return for 15% in equity, with half the investment treated as a loan.

Our Review of Rapid Ramen

The Rapid Ramen cooker does exactly what it’s advertised to do. The cooker lets you cook a standard pack of ramen noodles in the microwave using a very specific amount of water in record time.

The problem identified had been that having excess space and excess water resulted in the water being heated, but the noodles remaining uncooked. Therefore, the Rapid Ramen cookers come with a water line that lets you know how much water needs to be added for the noodles to be cooked within the few minutes you put it in the microwave.

The product is designed carefully with a lot of research around the level of water needed and how much time it’ll take to properly cook. Therefore, if you follow the instructions properly, you’ll get ramen that is cooked within just a few minutes, but tastes as if it were cooked on the stove.

Because the cooker comes as a dish, you can eat the ramen (or other foods, depending on which cooker you go for) straight from the Rapid Ramen cooker, instead of having to deal with dirty dishes. There is no need for pots or pans, either.

The cooker is dishwasher safe, BPA free and reusable as well, which makes it a worthy investment, especially if you eat a lot of instant ramen.

However, there are some concerns around it. For example, if you like your ramen softer or soggier than the average person, you may not like the ramen the Rapid Ramen Cooker makes.

The microwave it’s used in also depends on how good the outcome would be. Since the bowl is made of plastic, it’s also not quite as sturdy as you’d like it to be.

Pros of the Rapid Ramen Cooker

  • Cooks ramen perfectly in record time
  • Easy to use
  • BPA free
  • Dishwasher safe
  • Reusable
  • Minimizes dirty dishes

Cons of the Rapid Ramen Cooker

  • Some people might like their ramen cooked at different levels of softness
  • Can sometimes cause the water to overflow from the bowl
  • Plastic cracks easily

Who is Rapid Ramen For?

These cookers are best for those who eat a lot of instant ramen, but don’t have the time to hang around the kitchen waiting for it to cook. It’s also a good option for people who don’t have access to a stove top, such as college students who live in dorms, or for people traveling away from home.

It’s also a good option for mothers to have on hand so that their kids can cook their own ramen without allowing them near the stove.

Even for people who are simply too lazy to wait for the water to boil, the Rapid Ramen Cooker is a good, one-time investment.

Are There Any Alternatives?

There are no real competitors to the Rapid Ramen brand, and the product is quite original. However, there is always the option to simply cook your ramen on the stove.

You can also simply use a bowl you have at home to cook ramen in the microwave, but because of the space to water ratio that Chris Johnson researched on, this may not necessarily be successful.

Our Final Thoughts

If you fall in the target demographic of Rapid Ramen Cookers, you may find that the company has a lot of benefits to offer you, particularly if you eat a lot of instant ramen. However, it does have a few small drawbacks, so if you’re picky about how you want your ramen to taste, this product may not be for you.