- Subway began overhauling its menu in 2021, adding new ingredients and bread.
- The privately-held company, which is up for sale, has added meat slicers to 20,000 stores.
Subway is giving away 1 million six-inch subs next week as the chain rolls out its third major menu overhaul since 2021.
The first giveaway was lackluster, but this year Subway is betting on a new lineup of meatier deli-style subs to lure customers.
This week, the Miami-based chain, which is exploring a sale, is introducing Deli Heroes, meat-and-cheese heavy sandwiches prepared with meats sliced in-house. The company invested $80 million, equipping 20,000 restaurants with meat slicers over nine months.
Before introducing slicers, Subway has rolled out artisan loaves of bread, upgraded soups, new meats, and dressings since 2021. It's even branched out from its classic build-your-own sandwiches by introducing standardized sandwiches as part of the chain's "Eat Fresh Refresh" marketing campaign launched two years ago.
Trevor Haynes, Subway's president of North America, called the latest menu update transformational and one of "the biggest overhauls to our menu" in many years.
"This is all about elevating the core position menu," said Haynes, who gave Insider a sneak peek of the new deli-sliced sandwiches during a Zoom call in late June.
Slicers are automated, not labor-intensive
Slicers often mean longer wait times at chains like Jersey Mike's, where slicing is done by hand in front of customers.
But not at Subway, Haynes told Insider.
He said employees are slicing meats during prep hours. The machines are also automated.
"You basically press the button, and it slices," Haynes said.
Slicing to order would be "very slow and cumbersome" for the customer, said Haynes.
The four new Deli Heroes sandwiches, developed over a year, contain more meat and cheese. Two sandwiches, Titan Turkey and Grand Slam Ham, have 33% more meat than a traditional sub. And the Beast, stacked with pepperoni, salami, turkey, ham, roast beef, and double provolone cheese, is a half-pound sandwich.
The chain said the deli-sliced meat is not limited to the Deli Heroes lineup. All sandwiches will feature deli-sliced meats.
"It will have an impact on the whole menu," Paul Fabre, senior vice president of culinary and innovation chef, told Insider.
Subway did not provide prices for the new sandwiches, noting that franchisees set prices. However, the chain said the new Deli Heroes are packed with premium ingredients and "are a better price" than if customers ordered them as a custom sandwich.
Subway credits the menu overhaul for spurring sales growth.
In April, Subway's global same-store sales grew by more than 12% in the most recent quarter, the chain said. The privately-held fast-food chain, which shares periodic updates to its financials, said it was its ninth consecutive quarter of positive sales.
The revamp comes as Subway has spent the past few years trimming corporate staff and closing stores under CEO John Chidsey. The chain closed 1,614 stores from 2020 to 2022, according to Subway's lastest franchise disclosure document obtained by Insider.
In February, Subway said it was exploring a sale for $10 billion.
About a half-dozen parties are vying for the sandwich chain, according to Bloomberg.
"We're feeling good about it," Haynes told Insider about the imminent sale.
The free six-inch sandwich giveaway will be held July 11 from 10 a.m. to noon local time at participating restaurants. It will be limited to the first 50 customers at each store.
Are you a Subway insider or franchisee with insight to share? Got a tip? Contact this reporter via email at nluna@insider.com or 714-269-8873.