Subway Is Abandoning Customized Sandwiches for Simpler Menus

Subway is launching its new Subway Collection menu as a significant departure from its historic “develop your have” enterprise model.

The new menu includes a list of 12 sandwiches that consumers can get as is, which is the norm in most dining places but a massive adjust for Subway. They occur in four groups: Italianos, hen, clubs, and cheesesteaks.

The sandwich chain grew well known for its tailored sandwiches manufactured by staff suitable in front of clients, who could position to particularly which elements they needed. “Customers walk into a Subway with the expectation that they will customize their sandwich… It is the foundation that Subway was created on and the way it can be been for 60 decades,” Subway mentioned in a push release announcing the new menu.

Now, Subway is repositioning the menu to be a lot more like other rapid-services dining establishments, inquiring shoppers to “trust their culinary expertise, and trust in the sandwich artists to create a sandwich Subway believes shoppers will enjoy,” the chain mentioned. 

The new sandwiches grew to become offered Tuesday, while consumers can continue to make substitutions or develop their personal sandwiches. 

There are a several prospective explanations for the new menu. A standardized menu with significantly less target on customization has the probable to make functions more rapidly for staff by lessening complexity. Checks showed that the new menu “sped up operations” and led to much less inquiries from buyers, Subway North America president Trevor Haynes informed Insider at a press event.

More rapidly services could lead to bigger gross sales volumes and additional profit, Kalinowski Equity Associates president Mark Kalinowski explained to Insider. Subway has fairly low unit product sales compared with rivals like McDonald’s and Wendy’s, so the simplified menu could velocity up lines and possibly guide to much more income. Subway’s 2021 menu refresh bumped income immediately after a downward craze and confirmed some hope for the chain, so a different additional ambitious alter could be promising.

Building a menu with pre-picked choices could also press customers who do want to customise orders in direction of electronic orders. Digital orders proceed to grow across the field, and the structure is “fantastic for customization,” Kalinowski mentioned. Electronic product sales are attractive to firms thanks to improved margins, speedier planning, and lessen fees in keeping eating rooms, as shoppers typically consider the foodstuff to go.  

Subway’s embrace of full customization kick-commenced a pattern that took over rapid foodstuff, turning out to be massive with the increase of Chipotle and demonstrating up across the field, from Sweetgreen to Cava. Chipotle in certain grew popular pursuing a related assembly-line model wherever prospects could issue to substances and observe them grow to be section of a bowl or burrito. Now, it is embracing the opposing craze in the market: simplification, Kalinowski reported. 

It truly is a “good transfer” that could guide to superior customer encounters and enhanced sales, Kalinowski explained to Insider. Effects in the future quarters will clearly show if it is enough to reverse Subway’s trend of closing stores and shedding franchisees.

Are you a Subway personnel with views on the new menu? E mail this reporter at [email protected].