Momofuku Ando, the founder-chairman of Nissin Food Products Co, who was widely known as the inventor of instant noodles, has died of heart failure at a hospital in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, Japan, his family said. He was 96.

Born on March 5, 1910 in Taiwan, Ando initially ran clothing companies in Taipei and Osaka while he was a student at Ritsumeikan University.

In 1948, he founded the precursor of Nissin, before introducing Chicken Ramen, the world's first instant noodle product, in 1958.