Better Than Bouillon, the premium concentrated base brand owned by Summit Hill Foods, is entering the packaged ramen segment with a co-branded kit developed alongside A-Sha Foods USA, the Taiwanese-style noodle maker. The product, marketed as Better Than Ramen™, will debut exclusively at select Costco warehouse locations across the Southeast United States beginning August 3, 2026.
The Partnership Logic
The collaboration links two brands positioned at the premium end of their respective categories. Better Than Bouillon has built its equity on restaurant-quality flavor concentrates used widely across retail and foodservice channels, while A-Sha Foods USA has differentiated itself through its Air-Dried, Never Fried® production method — a process rooted in a traditional Taiwanese recipe that the company argues preserves texture and flavor better than conventional instant-noodle manufacturing. Combining a high-recognition pantry staple with a specialty noodle maker signals a calculated effort to trade consumers up from commodity ramen, a category that generated billions in U.S. retail sales annually even before pandemic-era pantry stocking accelerated demand.
Costco as the Launch Channel
The decision to open exclusively through Costco's Southeast footprint is strategically notable for the food and beverage industry. Warehouse club retail rewards products that can command a meaningful unit count per SKU while still offering perceived value, and a co-branded premium kit — combining a named sauce base with specialty noodles — fits that format well. A regional rollout also gives both brands a controlled environment to gauge velocity before any broader expansion. For Summit Hill Foods, which markets Better Than Bouillon primarily through grocery and e-commerce, the Costco placement represents a distinct channel add. For A-Sha Foods USA, whose Air-Dried noodles have built a following in specialty and Asian grocery retail, the partnership provides mainstream mass-club visibility.
What It Means for the Category
The premium at-home ramen segment has attracted sustained investment from both legacy food manufacturers and challenger brands over the past several years, driven by consumer appetite for restaurant-quality meal solutions that retain convenience. A kit format — pre-portioned noodles paired with a flavored base — occupies a middle ground between instant noodle packs and scratch preparation, targeting time-constrained home cooks willing to pay a modest premium. The Better Than Ramen™ launch follows a broader pattern in food and beverage of established pantry brands seeking growth through limited-edition collaborations and channel-specific exclusives, a strategy that can generate trial and media attention without the full commitment of a permanent SKU expansion. Operators and retail buyers watching the club channel will be tracking whether the Southeast test warrants a national push.
Summit Hill Foods has not disclosed pricing, unit configuration, or sales targets for the launch.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
