Sagami, a newly-launched instant noodle product of Vietnam’s Masan Group - accidentally or not - is also the name of a Japanese condom brand.

The Japanese condom brand is also available on the Vietnamese market, according to magazine Doanh Nhan Sai Gon (Saigonese Businesspeople) magazine.

Typing Sagami on Google search will redirect web surfers to the Japanese condom brand with 1.67 million results as of Sunday afternoon.

The local magazine, after the finding, contacted Le Tran Quang Nhat, the head of the instant noodle product development department under Masan, for explanation.

Nhat told the magazine that the introduction of Sagami is part of Masan’s bigger plan in 2013 to develop many product lines positioned in the lower-priced segment compared to its previously announced noodle brand Omachi.

The first criterion for the name Sagami to be selected is that it should rhyme with Omachi.

Moreover, before launching the product, Masan had done many surveys and more than 90 percent of the surveyed consumers liked the name because it was easy to read and remember, he said.

The Masan representative told the magazine that “the Sagami instant noodles sell very well”.

Regarding the fact that Sagami particularly sounds like the Japanese condom, Nhut told the magazine that the Japanese condom brand is not familiar with the local market and not popularly known across the nation.

“We are confident that we can build the Sagami brand to become a familiar instant noodle product with local customers,” he announced.

On Sagami official website, it is stated “Sagami Rubber Industries Co., Ltd. was founded in 1934, the first condom manufacturer in Japan. Since then we have supplied our condoms to over 80 countries.”

Beware: Sagami is elastic but can easily break

Although the Masan representative was very confident, local experts told the magazine that the early success of Sagami may be due to the fact that consumers are embracing a new product and also they did not know they were eating food associated with condoms.

But in the long term, it may be another story, as Sagami noodle’s slogan “Dai Dai - Gion Gion” (Elastic and Crispy) sounds like it is talking about a new generation of condoms which are both elastic and tasty.

Do Thanh Nam, director of Win Win consulting firm, said Masan would face difficulties and even legal charges, if it was to export the noodles.

In this case, what Masan can do is replacing it with a different brand, which may cost the firm some VND20-30 billion ($980,000-$1.5 million).