Tailor-made pasta meals at an affordable price are the mainstay of casual dining brand Pastacup.

This Australian-owned and operated chain of 15 stores has created its own niche in the market, serving up delectable, customised meals at affordable prices.

Franchisor Courtney Ryan says “We’re blurring the lines between full service and quick service restaurants. Pastacup provides restaurant-quality food at a convenient and affordable price point that works for families.”

Courtney and his team take pride in the premium quality of their meals, which start with fresh, locally sourced ingredients.

Tailor-made meals, endless options

And there’s a twist. At first glance Pastacup’s menu offers a respectable selection of pasta meals – and then the fun begins.

Customers start with a choice of 12 different pastas, choose from 18 sauces (not including limited time offers) and then add in optional extras such as prawns, pepperoni, mushroom or avocado.

That creates an incredible 1700-plus variations customers could pick!

For those consumers for whom too much choice is, well, too much, Pastacup suggests signature pasta dishes.

Customers can enjoy Italian classics and new favourites that become popular menu items after a successful run as limited time offers.

While the number of customised meal options are myriad, an efficient production system ensures franchisees can freshly cook and serve these Italian delights in a restaurant with a 70sqm footprint.

Pasta is the hero product

Each store operates an industrial pasta machine which produces the variously shaped fresh pasta.

“We’ve planned and created the pasta range, so it allows us to have many different options from the same bases. The important base parts we make in store, and customers can select additions to the base sauces,” Courtney says.

“This has been part of the company’s culture for a long time, it essentially defines the business,” he explains.

Of course, regulars find their favourite meals, and love to repeat order what they enjoy. Promotional offers and limited time offers serve to tempt these loyal customers, and those new to the brand, to try a pasta with a difference.

“We promote the pastas themselves, whether it’s a white sauce carbonara, or a new type of sauce like the vodka flavour,” Courtney explains. “The product is our strength.”

The exceptional pasta meals are the heroes of the Pastacup brand, which is exactly what its consumer-oriented marketing conveys.

Smart combination offers that include a drink are also included in marketing campaigns which direct locals to their nearest Pastacup store.

Supporting local franchisees with local marketing

“Our marketing is hyper focused on location; we don’t do broad-based marketing. Pastacup concentrates on community events rather than radio or bus shelter ads,” Courtney says.

The 15 stores across Perth attract a lunch crowd looking to combine convenience with excellent quality. However, it is in the evening that Pastacup comes into its own, providing an affordable family friendly dining experience with endless choice for the fussiest of eaters!

With a predominantly evening trade Pastacup is best suited to street-facing sites, whether strip mall or in a neighbourhood shopping centre.

Think local and act local is the key to this Australian-owned and operated business.

Courtney is proud to be leading a business focused on franchisees and providing the best support – which it can do as a local operation.

“Australian ownership affects the franchisees because the money stays in the country and serves them,” he explains.

“Our business decisions are made locally, based on local knowledge and events – we are not swayed by global issues. A company like ours is purely focused on what’s happening in the market our franchisees are involved in. There is no percentage going offshore, or management decision made overseas.”

A local operation also enables speedy responses to local franchisee queries, he says.

Pastacup’s focus on delivering the best service to franchisees means there are no supplier rebates.

“We want to source products or services at the best price,” Courtney says. “We are focused on making sure profits staying with our franchise owners and in the company.

“As a franchise business, Pastacup is all about growing collaboratively and benefiting from that growth,” Courtney says.