Pastofino targets 300 franchise branches by 2028, when is a new brand ready to franchise?
Pastofino, a fresh pasta brand that opened its first restaurant at KoruFlorya AVM in Istanbul, is targeting 50 franchise branches by the end of 2027 and 300 in total by the end of 2028 (Perakende.org, 30 September 2026). The target list includes Istanbul, Ankara, İzmir, Antalya, Trabzon and Diyarbakır, and abroad the brand is looking at Europe, starting with Germany and Greece. The founder is Hilal Suerdem and the consulting chef is Murat Bozok.
What it means for you: a fast growth target puts one question on the table, namely what has to become standard before you franchise. In autumn 2026, for food and beverage operators in Türkiye’s malls (AVM is the Turkish term for a shopping mall) and big cities, the real issue is not branch count. It is whether the recipe, the quality checks and the brand can be copied.
What does Pastofino’s target of 300 franchise branches by 2028 cover?
The target has two steps. First comes 50 franchise branches by the end of 2027, then 300 branches in total by the end of 2028. According to Perakende.org, 300 is the total, not an addition on top of the 50. The cities are named and Germany and Greece lead the European plan, but no opening schedule or number of branches abroad is given.
Which food and beverage businesses does Pastofino’s franchise target affect, and how?
It touches three groups in different ways. Investors who want to open a restaurant through franchising get a new category to consider. Pasta and Italian restaurants in malls face a more systematic rival for the same customer. Food suppliers and kitchen equipment sellers in the target cities may gain a new prospective customer, indirectly.
When is a food and beverage brand ready to franchise?
When the taste does not change as the operator changes. The test is whether the product comes out the same on a day when the founder or chef is not in the kitchen. That takes written recipe cards, standard equipment, a training programme and an inspection routine. If one of these is missing, the brand gets watered down as branch numbers grow.
How does Pastofino’s surprise inspection model protect franchise quality?
By making inspection unpredictable. Bozok’s unannounced visits to branches push the franchisee to run every day as if it were inspection day. A branch prepares for an announced inspection, while a surprise one measures the plate customers actually see every day.
What should a restaurant brand preparing to franchise standardise on its website, in search and on maps?
The brand’s name, logo, menu and branch details should look the same in every channel. Even the Ekonomi Gazetesi summary spelling the brand “Pastafino” shows how easily name consistency breaks. As branch numbers rise, every branch’s map listing, opening hours and menu link should be managed from one place.
What should a restaurant owner thinking about franchising do this week?
Start by testing your own kitchen through a stranger’s eyes. This week, write recipe cards for your five best sellers, check whether the product comes out the same on a day you are not in the kitchen, and pull all your map listings under one name. Setting a franchise fee comes after these steps.
Quick Summary
- Pastofino targets 50 franchise branches by the end of 2027 and 300 in total by the end of 2028 (Perakende.org).
- Target cities are Istanbul, Ankara, İzmir, Antalya, Trabzon and Diyarbakır, with Germany and Greece leading in Europe (Perakende.org).
- Pasta is made daily in the restaurant on machines from Italy, and consulting chef Murat Bozok inspects branches unannounced (Perakende.org).
- The TL 169 starting price is an opening campaign, not a permanent price (Perakende.org).
- The test of franchise readiness is whether the product comes out the same when the founder is not in the kitchen.
Short Glossary
- Franchise
- A franchise is the business model used to let another operator use a brand’s name, products and operating system under set terms.
- Recipe card
- A recipe card is the kitchen document used to fix a dish’s portion weight, cooking and plating steps in writing.
- Surprise inspection
- A surprise inspection is the control method used to measure a branch’s everyday quality without notice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Next Step
If you want to assess together whether your brand is ready to franchise, fill in the consult your expert form and we will get back to you. More stories are on our retail page.
Sources: Perakende.org, 30 September 2026 · Ekonomi Gazetesi, column by Vahap Munyar, 1 October 2026 · TAB Gıda restaurant count: Forbes Türkiye · bayimolurmusun.com.tr
Updated: October 2026
Sık Sorulan Sorular
Founder Hilal Suerdem is a board member at KİĞILI, according to Ekonomi Gazetesi, and has more than 30 years of experience in retail. Consulting chef Murat Bozok oversees recipe development and quality standards.
Suerdem explains the model: “We brought our machines from Italy and make our pasta in the restaurant every day.” The sauces use the brand’s own recipes, with no additives.
No. Menu items starting from TL 169 is an opening campaign. The permanent menu price is not in the report. Fettuccine Alfredo and rigatoni with roasted aubergine are the menu examples given.
Suerdem says fresh pasta has no place yet in Türkiye’s fast food culture, so the brand is positioning itself in an empty category. An empty category is an opportunity, but how demand holds up from city to city is not yet known. Investors should ask the brand directly, in writing, for details such as the franchise fee and payback period.
When a rival concept opens on the same food court, the difference shows in taste and speed. An independent business with hand-rolled pasta, its own sauce and steady quality should put that up front. Where the product is ordinary, customers simply do not come back.
Of the 2,066 restaurants that TAB Gıda, Türkiye’s largest quick-service chain, had at the end of the first quarter, 906 are franchises. Franchising is a decisive tool for scale. We look at the same chain’s sales channels in our piece on TAB Gıda’s digital channel share.
Let’s say you run a franchise branch of a pasta brand in a mall; this scene is illustrative. In the morning the machine is running, dough is being rolled and sauce is on the stove. The brand’s inspector walks in unannounced, and nothing has been prepared for the visit. Whatever lands on the plate at that moment is the brand.
A recipe card is the document that sets out a dish’s portion weight, cooking time and plating step by step. If the taste slips when the cook changes, the recipe lives only in someone’s head. A taste that is not on paper cannot travel through a franchise.
Pastofino makes its pasta on machines brought from Italy. The same equipment in every branch is the first guarantee of the same product. Pasta made on a different machine can come out differently, even with the same recipe.
Recipe compliance, hygiene, serving time and plating. These belong on a written checklist, so that whoever does the inspection uses the same yardstick. Inspection that depends on one person jams up as the branch count grows.
Hardly on their own. As branches multiply, the chef’s know-how has to pass to regional managers and into a training programme. The report does not explain how this structure will be built, and that is the most critical link in the growth plan.
Inspection rights, the duty to follow recipes and supply terms should be written clearly into the contract. You can find general information on franchise systems and brands on franchise portals such as bayimolurmusun.com.tr. Verify with the official source; this is not legal or financial advice.
Each branch needs its own map listing, but the name, category and photo style should stay the same. One branch with the wrong hours or an old menu sends customers away from the door, and the whole brand takes the hit.
A franchise investor looks for the brand on its website first. A brand without a proper corporate site leaves a serious investor’s first question unanswered. Branch pages, the menu and a franchise application page belong under one roof; we also cover what a sales website should change in our take on Tepe Home’s online store redesign.
Map reviews are the digital version of a surprise inspection. If cooking or sauce complaints pile up at one branch, the recipe is probably drifting there, so head office should track reviews branch by branch.
Spend one day out of the kitchen and taste the same dishes in the evening. If something is off, use the recipe card to find where it starts. It is the cheapest inspection you can run before any contract.
Building brand identity, name consistency and the franchise story together is part of our brand consultancy work. The recipe and kitchen standard stay in your hands and your chef’s.
Branch count does not grow a brand; a plate that repeats does. The day you are ready to franchise is the day the same taste comes out of a kitchen you are not in.
The franchise fee, investment amount and payback period are not in the reports. You need to ask the brand for this information directly, in writing.
Standards matter more than branch count. If your recipes are not written down and the product changes when you are out of the kitchen, set up that system first.
Inspection rights, recipe compliance and supply terms should be written out clearly. Work with a lawyer on the contract; this information is not legal advice.