Restaurant chain Subway will freshly slice the meat used in its sandwiches at U.S. stores starting this week.
Subway Slices Their Own Meat
Last summer, Subway started quietly testing a new product in some of its U.S. markets, but it wasn’t an addition to its Subway Series line of sandwiches, another Fresh Melt, or even a new flavor of cookie.
As reported by Restaurant Business, Subway planned to roll out the German-made slicers in its 20,000-plus restaurants this year, adding them to stores as soon as it can get its hands on them.
Subway customers will get freshly cut meat, an endeavor they call “one of the most complex changes the brand has ever made.”
“Over the past two years, we overhauled our expansive pantry of ingredients and debuted a whole new way to Subway with chef-crafted signature sandwiches. These major changes led to rave reviews from our guests and record-breaking sales,” said Trevor Haynes, President, North America at Subway.
“This year’s changes are even bigger and more transformational. The addition of freshly sliced meats is the most impactful yet as it gives our guests a better sandwich – raising the bar even higher for the brand that defined fresh. We can’t wait for America to taste the difference and see how far we have come on our journey.”
Previously, Subway used meat sliced in factories and was shipped to its locations.
The company spent over $80 million getting $6,000 in meat slicers to franchisees at the chain’s 20,000 U.S. locations.
Meat Slicers In Every Store
Subway estimates that a new slicer was installed in a store every five minutes over the course of nine months. Around 80% of Subway locations will have their slicers placed prominently near the counter for customers to view.
In smaller locations, the slicers will be in the back or on a mobile cart.
Subway corporate leaders said the new meat slicers would not lead to an increase in labor costs for franchisees.
“Franchisees were concerned about an increase in labor, but there’s ample time to do that during the day. So it doesn’t add costs,” Subway President for North America Trevor Haynes told Nation’s Restaurant News.
Subway Hopes To Catch Up To Competitors
Subway’s sales at US stores open for at least a year continue to increase – up 7.8 percent since 2021.
Although the sales exceeded expectations, Subway is still gaining momentum to kick off the year.
It’s catching up with its competitors like Jersey Mike’s Subs.
The chain is promoting their recent additions with a new line of Deli Heroes sandwiches, including the Titan Turkey, Grand Slam Ham, Garlic Roast Beef, and the intimidatingly-named The Beast, the latter of which boasts half a pound of meat.
As part of its promotion of the new slicers and fresh meat, the chain is offering a free six-inch Deli Heroes sub on Tuesday, July 11 from 10 a.m. to noon to the first 50 people at participating restaurants nationwide.
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