Hefu Noodles fined RMB$30,000 for featuring taboo phrases in ads

The Shanghai Municipal Administration (SMA) has fined Chinese noodle chain Hefu Noodles (和府撈面) RMB$30,000 for featuring taboo phrases in some of its ads at its Shanghai Wenfeng Square branch, such as "national-level", "number one", and "best".

Founded in 2012, Hefu Noodles claims to be specialised in traditional noodles with an emphasis on health, sustainability, and organic ingredients. The brand has since expanded to over 80 cities across China, boasting more than 20 million members and over 600 directly operated stores. In early 2024, it ventured into overseas markets with its first Hong Kong outlet on Russell Street, Causeway Bay, which attracted long queues on its opening day.

According to an official statement, SMA stated that Hefu Noodles displayed billboards at its store at Shanghai Wenfeng Square in December 2024, proclaiming itself the "number one Chinese noodle brand", violating China’s Advertising Law, which bans superlatives such as “best” or “highest-level” without verified certification.

Following the issue of penalty notice, Hefu Noodles swiftly removed and replaced the corresponding advertisements across the store by 20 January. The SMA reduced the fine to RMB$30,000 in light of the company’s cooperation.

Notably, a check by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE on the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System shows that this is not Hefu Noodles’ first brush with advertising regulators.

In July 2024, its subsidiary Nanjing Kunfu Catering Management was fined RMB 60,000 by Nanjing authorities for promoting "Chlamydomonas reinhardtii" in its low-fat noodles as a blood sugar-lowering ingredient. This claim breaches rules against medical implications in food advertisements.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Hefu Noodles for a statement.

In recent years, China’s catering industry has seen frequent advertising violations, prompting regulators to tighten scrutiny over unsubstantiated claims, including absolute terms and unauthorised health benefits.

One notable case occurred in 2022 when beverage brand Nayuki Tea (奈雪的茶) was fined RMB 15,800 in Shanghai for falsely promoting its "Powerful Black Mulberries" drink as containing wild-harvested berries, when the ingredients were actually farmed.

In 2021, Chinese premium tea brand Heytea (喜茶) was fined RMB 450,000 by Shanghai authorities for false advertising after its claims about "upgraded Dongkui bayberries" and "premium ingredients" in products like its Ice Mountain Yangmei Cone were found to be misleading.

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