Pasta might be easy to find in Singapore, but it’s usually part of a fancier dining experience, not something you’d grab on a quick lunch break.
But TWSYT flips that script—think of it as the fast food version of pasta.
The homegrown chain offers pastas that are affordable, customisable, and best of all, served fast, making it a convenient option for busy Singaporeans who crave a hearty meal without a hefty bill.
Behind the venture are three Singaporeans, Lester Goh, Koh Wei Chong, and Han Zhongchou (Zhong), who have, to date, grown the business to 13 outlets across Singapore.
Disrupting the scene
Lester, Wei Chong and Zhong first got acquainted with each other while working at SATS’ corporate venture building arm.
“SATS hired us to expand [the company through new ventures], and the three of us came up with the idea that we should move into F&B,” said Lester.
“We realised that there was a gap in the market—back then, if you wanted to get pasta, you’d have to go to a restaurant and that was going to [cost] over S$20 or S$30.”
Spotting an opportunity to disrupt the scene, the trio launched TWYST under SATS’ corporate venture building arm, opening their very first outlet at Raffles Place MRT station in December 2021.
Right from the outset, the trio aimed to make TWYST’s price point the brand’s key differentiator in the market.
“So there was a lot of thinking behind the launch—could we hit the economies of scale, because our pastas are really affordable,” said Lester.
To deliver on speed, the team also developed “clear and strong SOPs,” ensuring each pasta could be cooked in just 45 seconds with the minimal number of steps possible, even with over 210 customisation options available.
“We designed it to be foolproof, so even anyone without prior experience could come in and just do a simple training,” said Wei Chong. Mistakes do, of course, happen occasionally, but they are few and far between.
While fast food often carries the stigma of being frozen or reheated, TWYST’s pastas are cooked fresh. Several of its outlets, including the one at Raffles Place, feature show kitchens, allowing customers to see their meals being cooked right on the spot.
A bumpy road
With these strategies in place, TWYST’s concept appeared to resonate with customers. Its Raffles Place MRT outlet broke even in about a year and a half, according to Zhong.
“We saw signs that it was doing reasonably well, which gave us the confidence to expand our operations,” he said.
Despite TWYST’s early success, the trio’s journey wasn’t entirely smooth, especially since the business launched during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
They opened three outlets during that period, but foot traffic was initially slow. Once the crowd returned, though, the trio struggled to keep up with the influx of orders.
Hiring was another major obstacle. “It was very hard to hire during COVID-19,” said Lester. “For our first three outlets, we were always in store, from morning to night.”
Despite these challenges, the team persevered, actively working on solutions to overcome each hurdle.
Chief among their strategies was refining TWYST’s SOPs even further. The trio had to rethink everything, even down to “the movement of how each pasta was served.”
They likened their kitchen workflow to a Toyota production line—a linear, streamlined system designed to maximise efficiency and minimise delays.
As for hiring, the challenge gradually eased once the pandemic subsided, making it easier to build a more stable team. Lester claimed that the business has also managed to retain most of the staff who have been with them since the brand’s early days.
Exploring opportunities beyond local shores
After COVID-19 restrictions eased, TWYST began expanding rapidly, largely due to the strong SOPs that made their operations easily scalable.
But part of that growth also came through a franchising model.
We wanted to expand quickly and cash—how much capital we had—was also a big concern. So we decided to also tap on franchising for two things: one for the manpower, and two for the CAPEX.
Han Zhongchou, co-founder of TWYST
Currently, of the 13 outlets the brand operates across the city-state, four are franchise-run—all of which have achieved considerable success, serving more than 2,000 pastas a day on an overall basis.
Moving forward, expansion within Singapore remains firmly on the cards for the TWYST team. However, they’re also aware of the limitations of the local market.
“The unfortunate thing about the Singapore market, is that the size of [it] is small,” said Lester.
To explore opportunities beyond local shores, the team previously tested the waters in Japan with a one-day pop-up store.
While the initiative also tied in with their research into robotics and automation—none of which has been implemented yet—it served as a valuable way to gauge interest in an overseas market.
But why Japan?
“What we understood of the Japanese market was that they consume the most amount of pasta, in terms of Asia, and we thought that it was a market we should think about,” explained Lester.
Still, bringing TWYST abroad comes with its own set of challenges.
“SOPs can bring over recipes, and you can fine-tune them, but the lay of the land is different,” he said. From manpower and local partnerships to adapting flavours and understanding cultural context—localisation is key.
It’s a challenge they’re well aware of, and one they aim to tackle head-on as they move into their next stage of growth.
Featured Image Credit: TWYST/ Rachel Tan via Google Maps
