A new sound is starting soon in every restaurant at America’s largest sandwich chain, Subway: the sound of ham, turkey and roast beef cut on the spot.
On July 5, Subway announced the arrival of fresh cut meats at its restaurants nationwide. The chain announces how this has been its latest, biggest and most substantial change to its offerings since it began its “Eat Fresh Refresh” campaign in 2021. It first told Restaurant Business Online about its switch to automatic slicers in August 2022. .
Sliced meat’s big entry into the game was evidenced after it revealed a major expansion of its Subway Series menu as a new category it calls “a collection of the best sandwiches” that are ordered by name and number, including a sandwich heavy that has half a pound of meat.
“Over the past two years, we’ve revisited our expansive pantry of ingredients and introduced a whole new take on Subway with signature chef-crafted sandwiches. These significant changes have led to rave reviews from our guests and record sales,” said Trevor Haynes, Subway’s president of North America, in a press release obtained by TODAY.
“This year’s changes are even bigger and more transformative,” Haynes continued. “The addition of freshly sliced meats is the most impactful yet, providing our guests with a better sandwich, further raising the bar for the brand that defines fresh. We can’t wait for America to taste the difference and see how far we’ve come on our journey.”
Subway says it spent more than two years preparing for the debut of fresh-cut meats at its US restaurants, adding that it was one of the most complex changes it’s ever made. These preparations included reorganizing its supply chain and installing a slicer at 20,000 Subway restaurants, which meant that over nine months, a slicer was installed approximately once every five minutes.
Subway spent more than $80 million on slicers for all of its US franchisees. The slicers, by the way, are automatic, which means Subway employees won’t have to manually slice all the meat. The chain added that feedback from Subway customers helped inform all of these updates.
THE NEW SUBWAY SANDWICHES
Subway says its culinary team spent more than a year crafting the quartet of new classic deli-style sandwiches to highlight the new cutting technology. The Titan Turkey and Grand Slam Ham boast 33% more meat than traditional sandwiches, and the aforementioned Beast is the big boy at half a pound of meat.
The new line of new Deli Heroes, all served on “artisan Italian bread” with double cheese, sauces and fresh cut vegetables, includes:
- The Titan Turkey (#15), which comes with turkey, double provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion and mayonnaise.
- The Grand Slam Ham (#99), which comes with ham, double provolone, lettuce, tomato, red onion and mayonnaise.
- The Garlic Roast Beef (#17), which comes with roast beef, double provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion, and roasted garlic aioli.
- La Bestia (#30), which comes with pepperoni, salami, turkey, ham, roast beef, double provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion, mayonnaise, and MVP vinaigrette.
