Subway has unveiled its largest ever menu overhaul in a bid to boost its flagging sales – attempting to reclaim its iconic ‘eat fresh’ mantra by adding a host of premium ingredients to its offerings, including smashed avocado and fresh mozzarella.
The move comes just six months after the sandwich chain found itself at the center of a bitter controversy over claims that its tuna is ‘fake’ and not actually made from real fish – an accusation that quickly went viral after being shared in a TikTok video posted by an unnamed employee.
Subway’s new menu will still feature the controversial tuna filling, which the chain maintains is made from ‘100 per cent wild-caught’ fish, however it will be joined by several new offerings, including two new bread varieties and a selection of sliced deli-style meats.
The ‘eat fresh refresh’ menu selection is intended to make up for a years-long lack of innovation on the part of the sandwich giant, according to its CEO.
Updates: Subway has announced the largest ever overhaul of its menu, which will see a slew of new ingredients – included smashed avocado and fresh mozzarella – added to its offerings
Eat fresh again? The newly-revamped menu is intended to try and revive the chain’s flagging sales, which went into a sharp decline in 2020
Tasty treats: Subway is hoping that the addition of ingredients like avocado and mozzarella, as well as several new sandwich varieties, will help it to reclaim its ‘eat fresh’ motto
However, retail experts are warning that even this drastic new attempt to lure in customers may not be enough to ‘pull [the sandwich chain] out of this hole’ after it experienced a dramatic decline in sales during the pandemic, following several years of steadily-decreasing figures.
The chain has floundered since co-founder Fred DeLuca died in 2015, the same year its popular spokesman Jared Fogle pleaded guilty to child pornography charges, and as it faces stiff competition from major fast food chains like Chick-fil-A and Popeyes.
Then, in January of this year, Subway was sued by two Bay Area college students over claims that it uses ‘fake’ tuna.
Karen Dhanowa and Nilima Amin of Alameda County filed a lawsuit in San Francisco federal court last week accusing the fast food restaurant franchise of misrepresenting its tuna sandwich.
The plaintiffs claimed that they performed independent lab tests of samples of tuna taken from several Subway locations in California.
Shortly after their case was made public, a TikTok video resurfaced in which a Subway employee claimed to reveal how the chain’s tuna was made – demonstrating how the sandwich filling is prepared by dunking a frozen block of the fish into a bowl and mixing it with mayonnaise.
In the clip, the employee takes the tuna from vacuum-sealed packaging labeled as ‘flaked light tuna in brine’, with the ingredients on the packaging listed as: ‘tuna, water, salt’.
Controversy: The chain has said it will keep its controversial tuna filling – despite facing a lawsuit over claims that the ingredient is ‘not made from real fish’
Viral: In January, after it was announced that two Bay Area residents were suing the chain over its tuna, a video resurfaced on TikTok in which a Subway staffer revealed how its tuna is made
The video sparked a frenzy online – with many people poking fun at the irony of the chain’s ‘eat fresh’ motto in light of the clip’s content.
Now however, Subway is hoping to reclaim its status as a purveyor of ‘fresh’ dishes with the release of its new menu items.
The revamped menu, which was made available on Tuesday, includes Cali Fresh Turkey and All American Club sandwiches, a slew of new ingredients, and two types of bread,
It is intended to reinvigorate the chain’s long-standing menu, which has gone years without any real updates, said Chief Executive Officer John Chidsey, who joined Subway in 2019.
Some older items, including rotisserie chicken and roast beef, are also being added back after the chain removed them last year to streamline operations and speed up service amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The company’s restaurants are also replacing ‘outdated’ items, such as swapping guacamole with smashed avocado, Subway executive Trevor Haynes said in an interview.
In order to promote its new menu, Subway is throwing a huge amount of money behind advertising, boasting the second-largest ad budget among restaurants behind McDonald’s Corp and renovation of restaurants, Chidsey said, without disclosing any numbers.
Promises: The new menu is intended to reinvigorate the chain, which has gone years without any real updates, said Chief Executive Officer John Chidsey, who joined Subway in 2019
Subway had experienced a few years of ‘malaise’, Chidsey admitted in an interview, but hopes that the latest steps the chain has taken will help to reverse its poor fortunes, which have been blamed on a variety of factors – including changing tastes and a lack of drive-thru and delivery options during the pandemic.
‘We just want to get back to what we consider our fair share of wallet and stomach,’ he said.
The chain’s sales have been steadily declining since 2016, however they experienced a sharp drop in 2020. Between 2016 and 2019, Subway experienced a $1.3 billion decline spread out over four years, however last year, its annual sales plummeted from $10.2 billion to just $8.3 billion.
However, despite the best efforts of its executive team, Subway, which boasts more than 22,000 locations across the country, may not be able to crawl its way out of the financial hole that it currently sits in, according to some retail experts.
Speaking to Bloomberg, John Gordon, who is the principal at Pacific Management Consulting Group, warned that the new changes may well have come too little, too late.
‘Subway has sat on its laurels for so long; it’s kind of difficult to pull out of this hole,’ he said. ‘The sales have fallen so much in the store.’
Media reports have said Subway is tidying itself up for a sale, but the restaurant chain has denied it.