On Wednesday, Subway announced that it will begin freshly slicing its deli meat. That means consumers can expect their ham, pepperoni, salami, turkey and roast beef to be sliced on-site at the sandwich chain's roughly 20,000 U.S. locations. Per Subway, the latest change took over two years to prepare for and was primarily aided by feedback from Subway customers. In the wake of Tunagate — when there were allegations that the tuna salad served at the chain didn't actually contain tuna — Subway spent more than $80 million in automatic deli meat slicers for all of its U.S. franchisees, according to a recent report from Today. The chain previously sliced meat at its factories and then delivered it to stores. Now, it will have the slicers on display near the deli counters in approximately 80% of stores.
In addition to the slicers, Subway is revamping its Subway Series menu with "a collection of the ultimate deli subs" that can be ordered by name and number. The special subs include The Titan Turkey (#15), The Grand Slam Ham (#99), The Garlic Roast Beef (#17) and The Beast (#30). "This year's changes are even bigger and more transformational," said Trevor Haynes, Subway's North American president, in a press release obtained by Today. "The addition of freshly sliced meats is the most impactful yet as it gives our guests a better sandwich — raising the bar even higher for the brand that defined fresh. We can't wait for America to taste the difference and see how far we have come on our journey."
Subway's recent updates succeed its 2021 "Eat Fresh Refresh" campaign, in which the chain introduced new sandwiches and refreshed its restaurant appearances to hike up sales. It also updated its ingredients list with improved bread, including new artisan Italian and hearty multigrain options, and improved ingredients, like fresh mozzarella and smashed avocado, Black Forest ham, steak and rotisserie-style chicken.
