Copyright northernirelandworld
The first shipment of instant noodles from Whoosh, based at Bellhouse Lane in the town, has been delivered and a second order has already been confirmed for dispatch before Christmas. The breakthrough deal in Eastern Europe was revealed by Whoosh founder Thana Thammavongsa, a chef/entrepreneur and creator of the small business in 2008 “to share the rich flavours, vibrant culture, and authentic stories of Thai and Vietnamese cuisine”. What began as private and corporate catering soon evolved into a street food café in Coleraine. Whoosh then expanded into the production of a range of instant noodles for home cooks. The Coleraine company’s first international shipment was dispatched via the client’s established logistics hub in Belgium. “We’re thrilled to see Whoosh beginning to travel beyond the UK and Ireland,” said Thana “It’s a great sign that there’s growing international appetite for quality, convenience, and rich flavours.” The business opened its innovative Thai and Vietnamese street food café in 2013 in Coleraine town centre and quickly gained a reputation for its fresh selection of Thai and Vietnamese street food, freshly cooked by Thana and her team on site every day. The small café’s unique menu is made up of a blend of Thai, Lao and Vietnamese foods that “offer a great balance of delicate flavours and textures to give you all the enjoyment of great food as well as a healthy diet. “Our food is all about fresh, healthy and delicious fast food served in a casual setting or as an ideal food on-the-go alternative. Following the success of the café, we invested time in product development and turned our recipes into a range of instant rice noodle products for the food-on-the-go retail market,” added Thana. The rice noodles proved to be a hugely successful new direction for the business. They were recently included in the Grow with Aldi initiative with the German-owned supermarket chain in the Republic of Ireland. As well as customers here, Whoosh has also supplied instant noodles to the iconic Selfridges in London, one of the UK’s most prestigious and influential department stores that also features an impressive and popular food hall.
