Subway is installing deli slicers at 20,000 of its US locations to offer customers fresh-cut meat, an effort it calls “one of the most complex changes the brand has ever made.”
Previously, Subway’s meats were delivered to its stores and served pre-sliced.
The ad is the latest in Subway’s chain-wide turnaround effort, after spending most of the 2010s experiencing sluggish sales and a deteriorating reputation. The so-called Eat Fresh Refresh, which has also included a reboot of the entire menu of the chain, has ended with its ninth consecutive quarter of positive sales.
“Over the past two years, we’ve revisited our expansive pantry of ingredients and debuted a whole new take on Subway with signature chef-crafted sandwiches,” said Subway president of North American operations Trevor Haynes. said in a press release on Wednesday. “This year’s changes are even bigger and more transformative.”
The brand said it spent more than $80 million on the deli slicers and “gave it away” to all of its franchised restaurants in the U.S. It will mark the new launch by offering up to 1 million free 6-inch Deli Heroes subs at some of its their locations across the country on July 11 between 10 am and noon local time.
Subway remains the largest quick-service restaurant franchisor in the US by number of locations, but it said earlier this year that it began exploring a sale. The Wall Street Journal reported in June that the chain is one of the lowest value among other quick-service competitors like Wendy’s, McDonald’s and Domino’s.
Last year, a woman was able to sue Subway over a dispute over whether the restaurant’s tuna products contained 100% tuna. In May, the woman sought to have the case dismissed without prejudice after she said she could not pursue the lawsuit due to pregnancy-related health issues.
Subway responded by saying that the woman’s excuse failed the “straight face” test, and that her lawyers likely realized the company would not “just pay off the windfall settlement they hoped to get by building a high-profile racket.” .
