Subway's ambitious sandwich menu overhaul continues. Subway is extending its Subway Series menu, which company calls the "best sandwiches in Subway history." Today, eateries countrywide offer six new artisanal sandwiches.
Subway introduced its "expertly crafted" Subway Series menu in July 2022. Since Subway has traditionally sold build-your-own, customizable sandwiches, this was a major brand shift.
The 2021 "Eat Fresh Refresh" "Subway Series" menu featured 12 distinct sandwiches. Six more artisanal sandwiches bring the Subway Series menu to 18.
Four of the new Subway Series sandwiches—Sweet Onion Teriyaki, Italian B.M.T., Chicken & Bacon Ranch, and Spicy Italian—upgrade popular menu favorites. The updated versions have somewhat different names.
"All-Pro Sweet Onion Teriyaki" is the Subway Series' redesigned Sweet Onion Teriyaki sandwich. The revised Italian BMT is named the "Ultimate B.M.T," the Chicken & Bacon Ranch is the "Elite Ranch," and the Spicy Italian is the "Hotshot Italiano."
Subway claims it changed the elevated sandwiches to make them more "craveable." The Spicy Italian includes pepperoni, Genoa salami, cheese, vegetables, and sauce.
On Subway's Artisan Italian bread, the upgraded "Hotshot Italiano" has spicy pepperoni, Genoa salami, provolone cheese, jalapeño peppers, lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, and MVP Parmesan Vinaigrette.
On toasted Hearty Multigrain bread, the "All-Pro Sweet Onion Teriyaki" sandwich has grilled chicken strips marinated in Subway's sauce, American cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and red onions.
The "Ultimate B.M.T" tops Artisan Italian bread with Genoa salami, spicy pepperoni, Black Forest ham, provolone cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, and MVP Parmesan Vinaigrette.
The "Elite Chicken & Bacon Ranch" on Artisan Italian bread has rotisserie-style chicken, melted Monterey cheddar cheese, hickory-smoked bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, and Peppercorn Ranch.
Subway's last two Series are new. The Pickleball Club, unveiled in March, is a toasted Artisan Italian bread sub with thin-sliced Black Forest ham, bacon, American cheese, and a fresh honey mustard sauce.
The Teriyaki Blitz, another toasted sub, has beef marinated in Subway's Sweet Onion Teriyaki sauce, American cheese, green peppers, and red onions on Hearty Multigrain bread.
Since the special menu has been successful, the Subway Series update—the first since it launched last year—may be profitable for the chain.
Subway credited an 8.4% increase in third-quarter 2022 same-store sales to the Subway Series menu. The increased Subway Series menu drove record sales in 2022.
The Subway Series' success shows the sandwich chain's rebound after two difficult years. After the COVID-19 pandemic, franchisees closed 1,000 restaurants and sales plummeted in 2021.
Subway expects to speed new restaurant openings in North America this year and reported double-digit improvements in same-store sales in North America and worldwide in the first quarter of 2023, a hopeful reversal.