Subway Just Launched 6 New Artisanal Sandwiches
Subway has been on an ambitious mission to revamp its iconic sandwich lineup, and it's not slowing down anytime soon. The chain is expanding its Subway Series menu it touts as offering the "best sandwiches in Subway history." As of today, six new artisanal sandwich options join the menu and are available at restaurants nationwide.
In July 2022, Subway launched its Subway Series menu, a lineup of elevated sandwiches with "expertly crafted" combinations of proteins, cheese, sauces, and vegetables. This was an extremely notable shift in Subway's brand since the company has traditionally relied on build-your-own, customizable sandwiches instead of sandwiches with pre-decided components.
The initial Subway Series menu included 12 signature sandwiches that were designed to highlight the new and improved ingredients from the "Eat Fresh Refresh" initiative of 2021. With the addition of the six new artisanal sandwiches, the Subway Series menu is up to 18 options.
Four of the new Subway Series sandwiches are upgraded takes on several established, fan-favorite menu items: the Sweet Onion Teriyaki, Italian B.M.T., Chicken & Bacon Ranch, and Spicy Italian. The upgraded versions are all distinguishable from the original versions due to slightly altered names. The revamped version of the Sweet Onion Teriyaki sandwich on the Subway Series menu, for instance, is called the "All-Pro Sweet Onion Teriyaki." The revamped Italian BMT is called the "Ultimate B.M.T," the Chicken & Bacon Ranch is called the "Elite Chicken & Bacon Ranch," and the Spicy Italian is called the "Hotshot Italiano."
While the elevated sandwiches still feature some core elements from the original versions, Subway said that it has implemented certain changes to make them more "craveable."For example, the classic customizable Spicy Italian, comes with pepperoni and Genoa salami, plus the customer's choice of cheese, veggies, and sauce. The upgraded "Hotshot Italiano" features spicy pepperoni, Genoa salami, provolone cheese, jalapeño peppers, lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, and a drizzle of MVP Parmesan Vinaigrette on Subway's Artisan Italian bread.
The "All-Pro Sweet Onion Teriyaki" sub features grilled chicken strips marinated in Subway's Sweet Onion Teriyaki Sauce, American cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and red onions on toasted Hearty Multigrain bread. Meanwhile, the "Ultimate B.M.T" piles Genoa salami, spicy pepperoni, Black Forest ham, provolone cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, and the MVP Parmesan Vinaigrette atop the Artisan Italian bread. The "Elite Chicken & Bacon Ranch" is a combination of rotisserie-style chicken, melted Monterey cheddar cheese, hickory-smoked bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, and the Peppercorn Ranch on the Artisan Italian bread.
The final two Subway Series are brand new to the Subway menu. The Pickleball Club, which Subway initially announced in March, is a toasted sub on Artisan Italian bread topped with thin-sliced Black Forest ham, bacon, American cheese, and a brand-new honey mustard sauce available exclusively on this sub. The other is the Teriyaki Blitz, another toasted sub featuring steak marinated in Subway's Sweet Onion Teriyaki sauce, American cheese, green peppers, and red onions, on Hearty Multigrain bread.
The Subway Series update—the first since it launched last year—may be a lucrative opportunity for the chain, since it has already reported great success with the special menu. Several months after the Subway Series menu launched, Subway attributed an 8.4% rise in same-store sales in the third quarter of 2022 to the new signature sandwiches. And in today's announcement about the expanded Subway Series menu, the company said it helped drive record-setting sales in 2022.
The Subway Series success underscores a wider trend of recovery for the sandwich chain after a couple of troubled years. The company struggled to recover sales after the COVID-19 pandemic and shrank rapidly in 2021 as franchisees shuttered about 1,000 restaurants. In a promising turnaround, Subway said that it plans to accelerate new restaurant openings in North America this year and just reported double-digit increases in same-store sales in North America and globally in the first quarter of 2023.
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