Naked Noods, Or How To Pivot During A Global Pandemic – Vite Ramen

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Naked Noods, Or How To Pivot During A Global Pandemic

Foreword:

We’ve linked this blog in several places, but it is a historical document and should be read as such! Some of the specifics, like shipping rates, Naked Noods being limited, etc. will have changed since then. We’re still very proud of the story and grateful that it’s been so well received though, so we’re leaving the text as is.


We’re also very proud to say that Naked Noods has quickly become one of our most popular products - to the extent that we’re now offering them as a permanent addition, including a monthly subscription option if you love them as much as we do!


The story starts below!



Hi everyone, Tim and Tom here.


It’s our birthday tomorrow (July 28th), and… 


We’re announcing a new, limited edition product -- Naked Noods!

For our Golden Birthday (we’re turning 28!), we’d like the present of... Vite Kitchens surviving the problems caused by the global pandemic.



Read on to learn the story of what’s going on behind the scenes, and why we made Naked Noods, and help us through these difficult times.



What are Naked Noods?

You’ve probably already guessed it. Naked Noods are a variation of the Vite Ramen noodle cakes. Just the noodles!


High in protein and dietary fiber, these noodles pack in your gains, keep you pleasantly full and are ready in just 3 minutes.

Wait, so what happened to make you guys do this now?

A lot of you already know that we’re firm believers in transparency, and to meet those goals, we’ll be sharing with you the process of decisions that led to the making of Naked Noods.


When the whispers of a novel virus started out in the news, we began to make as many plans as we could to purchase materials well ahead of time, just in case. Our orders generally had a 6-8 week lead time, meaning after they were placed, we could expect them in about two months. Just to be sure, we ordered 3 and a half months ahead.

A global pandemic didn’t care about our plans. Our suppliers were just as hard hit as we were, suffering their own supply chain issues and their own labor shortages, which fed down the supply chain to us.


We called and emailed and tried time and time again to get our materials in quicker, but each time were rebuked, told that they were unable to get what we needed. First, it was delayed a few weeks. Then, more than a month. And now, we’re now looking at our materials being delayed 3 months past when they were due, and as a small business, we don’t have the bargaining power to do anything about it but wait.

We’re now stuck with tons of materials and money sitting in limbo, and nothing to show for it. We’re not a big manufacturer with millions in cash reserves, or other income streams. We only make and sell Vite Ramen, and without all the necessary materials to make our product, we were forced to completely stop all marketing and ads to try and stretch our stocks as long as possible.


Even with those austerity measures in place, once we sell out of our current stock, we will be looking at up to a month where we’re unable to sell Vite Ramen.

Wow, that sucks. So how did that lead to Naked Noods?

e refuse to do nothing and wait, and we’re not going down without a fight. So what can we do? We pivot. We’re scraping together what materials we have left to make a new product.


We’re calling it Naked Noods.


We’ve taken what materials we can secure on short notice to make a version of our noodles that has some of the nutrients, most of the protein and fiber from the full Vite Ramen, because we’re going to do everything we can to keep going and reaching for our dream!

With these noodles, you can make high protein, high fiber stir fries, like Tim’s fried scallion and toasted soy sauce cold noodle bowl! Naked Noodles can be the perfect noodles for those who love to craft their own homemade broth and just need noodles to complete their dish.


We’re pivoting to keep operations going and to keep the Vite Team employed. Because of this, you may notice that Naked Noods will come in a simpler packaging -- we’re using what we can get quickly. Some of you will be happy to know that they’ll be coming in more bulk packaging than the standard ramen though!


We’re really excited to hear everyone’s thoughts about them!

Will Naked Noods be around forever? (EDIT: YES! Yes they will be!)

No, Naked Noods will be a limited release product for now! We may bring Naked Noods back again in the future depending on demand. Let us know what you think! At the moment, producing Naked Noods alongside Vite Ramen will have an impact on our production output when we resume normal operations. 

Does that mean I can’t buy regular ramen any more?

Vite Ramen will still be here! Once we receive the materials needed to produce Vite Ramen, we’ll resume production. Right now we have set aside enough noodles to cover all current Vite Ramen subscribers with renewing subscriptions as well as a small amount of new orders. We will not be accepting any new subscription orders until we’re able to resume production.


When we sell out, we will not be restocked until sometime mid to late August 2020.


We’re really excited to hear everyone’s thoughts about them! You can check out the full nutritional facts and ingredients above, or at the link here! Click the button below to get your Naked Noods before they’re gone!


— Tim and Tom 

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