Before speaking at SubscriptionX II on 09 October, Ebru Bircan, marketing and brand director at Pasta Evangelists, discusses providing a restaurant experience at home.
Q: Tell us about Pasta Evangelists and your subscription offering
Pasta Evangelists is committed to bringing the authentic taste of Italy directly to our customers through high-quality, fresh pasta. Our subscription offering provides a convenient way for customers to enjoy premium pasta dishes at home.
Subscribers receive a curated selection of our fresh pasta and sauces, along with easy-to-follow instructions, delivered to their doorsteps on a regular basis. Each box features a variety of traditional and innovative pasta dishes, ensuring our customers can experience the best of Italian cuisine without the hassle of grocery shopping or meal planning. Additionally, our dishes are designed to be cooked in minutes, making them both quick and easy to prepare. Giving them a restaurant at home experience.
Q: As pasta experts, are customers coming to you for curated recipe boxes or are you seeing more consumers looking to mix-and-match selections? Are bundles growing in popularity?
We see strong interest in both curated recipe boxes and mix-and-match selections. Many customers appreciate the convenience of curated boxes that provide a complete meal solution, including recipes and all the ingredients needed.
However, there is also a growing demand for mix-and-match options, where customers can choose their preferred pasta types and sauces to create their own custom bundles. This flexibility allows customers to tailor their orders to their tastes and dietary preferences, such as vegan or vegetarian options. Bundles are indeed growing in popularity, offering cost-effective ways to enjoy a variety of our products. For example, our ‘Al Forno Bundle’ and ‘Freezer Filler’ options cater to different needs, like new parents or those stocking up the freezer. Additionally, we offer seasonal bundles that align with different times of the year, such as healthier options in the summer and heartier dishes in the winter.
Q: Has updating your recipe kits, offering new dishes each week, been key to limiting subscription fatigue?
Yes, regularly updating our recipe kits with new dishes each week has been crucial in maintaining customer engagement and limiting subscription fatigue. By offering a rotating selection of pasta recipes and seasonal specials, including a ‘Pasta of the Week,’ we keep the experience fresh and exciting for our subscribers. This approach not only helps to keep our offerings diverse but also encourages customers to look forward to their next delivery, reducing the likelihood of them feeling bored with repetitive meals. The introduction of new dishes each week ensures that there’s always something new to try, making the subscription more dynamic and engaging.
Q: And how do you balance the subscription service with a takeaway offering, two restaurants, and pasta academy events?
Balancing our subscription service with our takeaway offerings, restaurants, and pasta academy events involves careful coordination and a focus on operational efficiency. Each component of our business complements the others, allowing us to leverage our expertise in different ways.
Our restaurants and takeaway services provide immediate access to our high-quality pasta, while our subscription service offers convenience and variety for home dining.
The pasta academy events serve as an educational and experiential extension of our brand, helping to build deeper connections with our customers. We use insights from all areas of our business to ensure consistent quality and service, and effective communication between teams helps us manage resources and meet customer expectations across all platforms.
Bircan will be joined by Orla Weir of Denzel’s on the panel at this October’s SubscriptionX II.
Following the second edition of the groundbreaking SubscriptionX conference in May, this exclusive think-tank which will explore how leading subscription businesses and challenger brands are focussing on retention as a key driver of growth, using a data-driven approach to define and refine their strategy, and creating exceptional subscriber experiences to increase customer lifetime value.
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