Fasta Pasta: Celebrating 35 years of Franchising Success

This year, Fasta Pasta celebrates 35 years of successfully delivering authentic home-cooked pasta as well as a variety of other dishes, great service and affordable prices. This has seen the restaurant chain gain widespread popularity.

Today, Fasta Pasta continues to focus on fresh pasta and also new contemporary Italian inspired dishes using premium local ingredients. The result is food that’s full of flavour and outstanding value for money. Offering such value keeps customers and franchisees happy.

In 1984, seven Italian families established Fasta Pasta with a mission to be ‘the leading best value local Italian restaurant chain in Australia’. Today, the same seven families own the Fasta Pasta brand.

“To win this national award in the year of our 35th anniversary proves we are offering a level of service to our customers that is up there with the best in the country.” Mr Frank Taddeo, Chief Executive Officer, Fasta Pasta.

There are currently 19 select outlets and soon to be 20 across the country, creating plenty of opportunities for more franchisees to join and share in the ongoing success.

Times are a-changing

Over the past few years, fine dining has become less exclusive while fast food, pubs, clubs, bars and cafes are all trying to deliver a better dining experience. The middle of the market, casual dining, is growing bigger each year.

This is where Fasta Pasta is a recognised and established brand. It has the ability, the means, and the know-how, to deliver the memorable casual dining experiences Australians are now looking to enjoy.

Some things change, others don’t

Recently, Fasta Pasta has made some changes so the brand is more contemporary and reflects the current environment around casual dining. It has a new logo and a new look menu while the marketing, advertising and promotion are now more engaging across multiple channels and platforms. It has refurbished its restaurant at Reynella, opened a new restaurant at Mawson Lakes and will soon open another at Elizabeth. The clean design and simplicity inherent in this new look epitomise the style and ease people are now looking for in this market segment. Fasta Pasta has changed some things to make the business stronger, but the foundation stones of this 35-year success story have never changed. It still has an unwavering commitment to its core values of quality food, great service and affordable prices.

Customer satisfaction second to none

Fasta Pasta won the Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) of the Year 2018 in the prestigious Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards. It has won this award three times in eight years and is the only QSR group to win it more than once. These wins have great merit because of the highly competitive nature of the QSR category, or casual dining segment. Through Fasta Pasta’s commitment to providing excellent service and satisfying customers, it has consistently outperformed others in the QSR category.

Central to success

The success of the Fasta Pasta concept is built around a central food kitchen. From day one, it has produced a consistently high-quality product using premium local ingredients from vegetables to meats and dairy. All their pasta is fresh.

The central kitchen has enabled Fasta Pasta to always produce a consistent and wide variety of fresh pasta, sauces, condiments, soups, pizza and new contemporary offerings to keep pace with the ever-changing tastes of customers.

The local ingredients of success

Fasta Pasta uses premium local ingredients from vegetables to meats and dairy. All their pasta is made from 100 per cent Australian durum wheat flour semolina, and it is delivered chilled to each franchisee’s restaurant. It is the real deal.

Traditional sauces like Napoli and Bolognese as well as the more contemporary Marinara and Ragu are pre-prepared and also delivered fresh to Fasta Pasta restaurants.

With this ready access to quality fresh pasta and other local ingredients, their restaurateurs can provide truly memorable

“Having worked for Fasta Pasta at the restaurant level, I could see first-hand the style of company it was, in the way, they conducted themselves both with the public and also with the support they gave to the franchisees. It is rewarding to achieve your goals in business, knowing you have the support of a strong, respected company behind you.” Alinta Elson, Fasta Pasta Franchisee.

dining experiences for even the most discerning of customers.

Italian flavours and contemporary tastes

Italian food is still the second most popular in Australia. Fasta Pasta is using its Italian heritage to deliver unexpected combinations of produce, pasta, dressings and sauces that provide contemporary taste sensations. It has put new twists on old favourites as well as creating new sauces and dishes that are fresh and tasty — typical of the modern Australian cuisine that is currently the most popular in the country.

Italian heritage. Modern Australian menu

On the menu alongside the traditional Italian dishes and pasta are salads, seafood, chicken, beef, and pork meals. There are also tempting entrees, risottos, pizzas and vegetarian options. This ever-evolving menu is the result of meticulous testing and research by Fasta Pasta’s Executive Chef, Darren Purvis, who ensures there truly is something for everyone on the menu.

The result is food that’s full of flavour at a reasonable price, - with many light and healthy options thrown in for good measure. Just another way Fasta Pasta is keeping pace with the growing trend towards healthy foods and cuisines.

Darren continuously ensures Fasta Pasta is abreast of dietary requirements by providing several gluten-free and vegetarian meal options on the menu.

Constant research, development and evolution of flavours and tastes are crucial ingredients of Fasta Pasta’s approach, so it remains at the forefront of the casual dining market segment in Australia.

Eat, drink and be happy

Customers can choose from a list of select beverages to complement their meal. White, red and sparkling wines, some reflect Italian origins, others are well-known local brands and blends of every popular variety. There are mainstream craft and international beers available at affordable prices. They can sip on a cider, a spirit, or an after-dinner liqueur. Fasta Pasta customers can still enjoy a memorable dining experience and refreshing beverages without the bill shock of over-thetop prices. They’re happy about that and so are franchisees.

Online and on-the-money

Interaction between the virtual world of online and the physical world of eating out is becoming increasingly important. Fasta Pasta is bringing the two together to benefit both the customer and the franchisee.

Franchisees can maximise the efficiency and productivity of their restaurants with Fasta Pasta’s customised and integrated Point-ofSale (POS) solution. Its capabilities include staff rostering, stock ordering online, stock control, in-depth financial reporting for accounting, and productivity tracking. This cloud-based POS system is accessible via computers, tablets and phones to enable franchisees to view sales, labour and other data in real-time. Fasta Pasta is always looking at ways to improve their technology to benefit franchisees and customers.

For customers, it’s easy to order takeaway online or take advantage of special offers from their tablet, smartphone or computer. As soon as they finalise their order, it is automatically entered into the POS system at the selected restaurant. From there, it’s sent directly to the appropriate kitchen for preparation to avoid any ‘double handling’ and to streamline the entire process. Customers can also review their orders online to minimise any miscommunication and have the option to pay online, or at the counter. This ensures that online orders are ready on time and that the customer experience is right on the money.

A stronger brand of marketing

One of the strengths of the Fasta Pasta brand over the 35 years has been the cutthrough of its marketing, advertising and promotional materials because they’re fresh and engaging. The brand is on outdoor billboards, ever-present across popular radio stations in franchised areas and its growing presence on social media is insightful, fun and customer friendly. Strong advertising activity throughout the year is tailored to local store marketing strategies. Whether it’s an in-store poster or point-of-sale item, an outdoor or online banner, an EDM, every piece is designed to be highly engaging with a strong call to action in it. This is to ensure they all work together towards a single brand purpose - to achieve an ROI for Fasta Pasta and its franchisees.

Do you have what it takes?

According to the franchisees that are already successful, all it takes is the desire and commitment to be 100 per cent focused on delivering great food and outstanding customer service in your franchised restaurant day in day out. It’s that simple.

There are no other special requirements, Fasta Pasta franchisees come from a variety of backgrounds. A great attitude, a willingness to learn and an unwavering desire to succeed will usually do the trick.

A recipe for success

If you would like more information about current franchise opportunities, how you can get a franchise on success and succeed as a Fasta Pasta restaurateur, call 08 8304 8600 today, or email: franchise@fastapasta.com.au

“The most striking aspect of this business is how much our customers seem to love the Fasta Pasta concept. The service is quick, and our customers enjoy the fact that it is child-friendly. The company is great to work with and is always evolving. I can’t see myself working anywhere else.” Val La Vista, Fasta Pasta Franchisee.