THE SUBWAY® RESTAURANT CHAIN NOW LETS YOU BUILD YOUR BETTER BREAKFAST
New Line of Breakfast Sandwiches Available in all Locations

Whitehouse, Ohio April 5, 2010 – The SUBWAY® restaurant chain, which already provides a bounty of choice and healthier alternatives with its lunch and dinner meal options, will now offer a breakfast sandwich menu which includes a Western Egg White Muffin Melt omelet on a light wheat English muffin containing just 4 grams of fat.

“Breakfast is an important meal because it provides the fuel your body needs to start your day,” said SUBWAY® Dietitian Lanette Kovachi. “But some people often skip breakfast or make less than optimal choices while on the run. By offering an item such as an egg white omelet, which can be complimented by adding any of our fresh vegetables, on a light wheat English muffin or 9-Grain bread, customers can now enjoy a great, as well as a smart and nutritious, way to start their day.”

To make building a better breakfast sandwich even better, SUBWAY® will offer four Fresh Fit egg white muffin melts that are each under 180 calories, contain less than 4.5 g of fat and have 5 g fiber:
Western Egg & Cheese (with Black Forest Ham, Red Onions, Green Peppers)
Egg & Cheese
Black Forest Ham & Cheese
Steak, Egg & Cheese

“With all of our sandwich offerings, we are careful to make sure we meet the high standard we set for ourselves by providing a satisfying meal with a varied range of flavor profiles,” said josh Torres.. “In the end, though, it is the customers that create the best sandwiches with the choices they make with toppings, sauces, cheeses, breads and condiments. Our breakfast will be no different. Customers can have a little fun with this meal by adding anything from sliced tomatoes to spicy jalapenos to our signature Sweet Onion Sauce on a regular or egg white omelet sandwich.”

Like all sandwiches and salads offered at the SUBWAY® chain, the breakfast sandwiches will be made right in front of customers to their specifications with all the choices available at a SUBWAY® restaurant. Customers can choose to have their Breakfast sandwiches made on any of the seasoned 6-inch or footlong breads, flatbread or light wheat English muffin.

The breakfast menu also features healthier sides, such as yogurt and apple slices, as well as Freshly Brewed Seattle’s Best coffee.

While customers can build their better breakfast at each SUBWAY® restaurant, the full menu will be available as well, so they can also grab a sub for lunch while they stop in for breakfast.

The breakfast launch will be supported by a national advertising campaign. National broadcast will feature: 15 and :30 second spots across all time slots including primetime. Additionally, the launch will be supported with social media, radio, PR, and digital executions.

About SUBWAY®
The SUBWAY® restaurant chain is the world's largest submarine sandwich franchise, with more than 32,000 locations in 91 countries. Headquartered in Milford, Connecticut, and with regional offices in Amsterdam, Beirut, Brisbane, Miami, and Singapore, the SUBWAY® chain was co-founded by Fred DeLuca and Dr. Peter Buck in 1965. The SUBWAY® brand was ranked the number one Franchise Opportunity and the number one Global Franchise Opportunity in the 2010 edition of Entrepreneur magazine's ‘Annual Franchise 500’ survey, an honor that the SUBWAY® chain has received 17 times in the past 23 years.
For more information about the SUBWAY® restaurant chain, please visit www.subway.com or www.subwayfreshbuzz.com.

2010-04-01] Late last year, Subway began rolling out breakfast food with Starbucks' Seattle's Best coffee, and now the brand is jumping whole hog into a new breakfast menu.

"Subway's entry into the breakfast daypart will be successful and will challenge the likes of McDonald's and Starbucks, as well as Kellogg's and Jimmy Dean," says Gary Stibel, CEO and restaurant team practice leader at the Westport, Connecticut–based New England Consulting Group.

The New England Consulting Group has worked on some of the largest breakfast franchises in the world, from market leader cereals and frozen foods to the original launch of quick-service breakfast, the most successful restaurant breakfast offerings in history, and more.

Today, the New England Consulting Group continues to aggressively work the breakfast daypart with foodservice and packaged food clients, in addition to what Stibel calls the single biggest meal occasion of the day: snacking.

"American's consume more food and beverage at multiple snacking occasions throughout the day than at any other single daypart," Stibel says.

"The breakfast daypart makes even more sense to Subway than most because the brand and franchise has done so good a job of building a healthy image and Americans eat healthier in the morning than at any other time during the day," says restaurant practice team member David Stone.

Overall, New England Consulting Group believes Subway will be very successful in breakfast and that this success will help, not hurt, the balance of their day.

Subway restaurants today announced the results of an online poll that asked fans across the country to vote for their favorite footlong sub at www.SubwayFreshBuzz.com. The poll asked fans: What is America's favorite footlong?

Thousands voted, and atop the leader board, with 26 percent of total online votes, the Italian B.M.T. was voted the nation's favorite Footlong. Known as 'the sandwich to conquer all hunger," the Italian B.M.T. is served on freshly baked bread with sliced Genoa salami, pepperoni, Black Forest ham, cheese, and a choice of vegetables and condiments. Following are the top three "Favorite Footlongs" as voted by fans:

Italian B.M.T. (26 percent)

Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki (17 percent)

Oven Roasted Chicken (12 percent)

Results mark the culmination of the seven-week long "Footlong Nation Appreciation" campaign, developed to give thanks to the fans that made Subway footlongs famous. To provide an additional "Thank You," Houston, the location which cast the most online votes, has been deemed "Capital of Footlong Nation" and will receive a donation of 500 footlongs to a local food bank.

Consumers also had the opportunity to win a variety of prizes, including free footlong subs for a year. New winners have been selected everyday via various online games, and fans will continue to have the chance to win prizes by entering at www.SubwayFreshBuzz.com through April 15, 2010.

"The Italian BMT certainly has some loyal fans, and we are glad we could offer it as a $5 footlong for a limited time," says Tony Pace, chief marketing officer of the Subway Franchisee Advertising Fund Trust (SFAFT). "Congratulations to Houston, Texas, for earning the title 'Capital of Footlong Nation.' And thanks to all our fans that voted for their favorite footlongs."

[2010-03-26] The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) scored a big victory this week when it announced a commitment from Subway to eventually use 100 percent cage-free eggs.

The commitment comes on the heels of Subway's announcement that it will roll out a breakfast menu.

Matthew Prescott, corporate outreach director for the factory farming campaign at the HSUS, says there is no timetable yet on when Subway will reach 100 percent cage-free usage, but that the sandwich chain will start by using 4 percent.

"They're starting with 4 percent cage-free eggs, which we can safely say will spare tens of thousands of birds from life inside a cage," Prescott says. "When they reach 100 percent, it will put that figure in the hundreds of thousands."

Other quick-serve chains have agreed to switch to using cage-free eggs, including Burger King, Wendy's, and CKE Restaurants. Subway is the first to commit to using 100 percent cage-free eggs.

"It's part of a growing trend of, not just companies starting to use cage-free eggs, which really started with Burger King in 2007 as far as major corporations go, but now we're seeing this is a trend to do 100 percent," Prescott says.

"Subway is the first [quick-serve] chain to commit to 100 percent, but in other sectors, just even over the last few weeks we've seen this."

Prescott says other foodservice companies that have switched to 100 percent cage-free eggs include Unilever, in it's Hellmann's Light Mayonnaise, and Walmart, for its brand-name eggs.

Because Subway has more units in the U.S. than any other restaurant chain, an immediate switch to 100 percent cage-free eggs would be impossible.

"What Subway is doing, the reason why they're starting with 4 percent and then moving to 100 percent over time, is to give their egg suppliers time to catch up to the demand," Prescott says. "If they said today, 'We want to do 100 percent starting tomorrow morning,' they wouldn't be able to get it."

[2010-02-15] While most quick-service chains boast nutritional claims of one sort or another, it's Subway's that consumers trust the most, a recent survey reports.

Decision Analyst Inc., a Dallas-based market research firm, conducted a survey of more than 16,000 consumers, asking them to name quick-service restaurants that they "trust completely," "trust somewhat," and "do not trust."

Some 24.2 percent of respondents said they completely trust Subway's nutritional claims, double the amount of the second-most trusted quick serve, Chick-fil-A.

"We believe what's happened with Subway is … that they kind of own the whole healthy-nutrition-in-restaurants arena right now," says Diane Brewton, senior vice president of the Market Intelligence Division at Decision Analyst.

"When [consumers] look at a [quick serve], typically what we hear is great-tasting food, that's the thing that comes up, why they like it. But Subway's been able to break through and really own this arena."

Rounding out the top six quick serves that consumers "trust completely" were Quiznos at 11.1 percent, Wendy's at 10.5 percent, KFC at 8.4 percent, and Taco Bell at 7.5 percent.

Brewton says that Taco Bell is a new player to the nutritional claim game with its drive-thru diet menu of al fresco items.

"What we're seeing is that nutrition may be a tougher sell for Taco Bell," she says. "People don't typically visit Taco Bell, at least not right now, for their healthy menu."

Brewton says that Subway had another important distinction coming out of the survey.

"Subway really stands out in terms of the fact that it has more people who completely trust than those who do not trust," she says.

Only 16.2 percent of respondents said that they do not trust the chain's claims.

Meanwhile, the other top quick serves did not fare as well with survey respondents. Some 38.1 percent of respondents did not trust Chick-fil-A's nutritional claims, while that figure stood at 29.4 percent for Quiznos, 36.7 percent for Wendy's, 46.3 percent for KFC, and 46 percent for Taco Bell.

The SUBWAY® restaurant chain has again been named the Number One Franchise opportunity, as well as the Number One Global Franchise opportunity, for 2010 by Entrepreneur® magazine in its annual “Franchise 500” rankings.

This is the 17th time in the past 23 years that the SUBWAY® chain has been recognized with the overall top honor.

First established in 1980, Entrepreneur magazine’s “Franchise 500” listing is considered to be the most comprehensive and influential set of rankings in the world, taking many factors into consideration, such as financial strength and stability, growth rate, size of the system and start-up costs.

This past year, the SUBWAY® chain continued its tradition of promoting healthier dining options, expanded its successful $5 footlong promotion by incorporating its value message into its permanent pricing structure and opened more than 2,000 new locations in 49 U.S. states and the District of Columbia; seven Canadian provinces; and in 67 countries.

Now, at more than 32,000 locations in 90 countries, the chain is poised to become the world’s single largest restaurant brand, in terms of number of locations.

Contributing to the brand’s growth is its ability to find new markets and adapt to unique locations. This strategy has allowed SUBWAY® restaurants to be found in spaces where competitors just could not fit or found impractical.

Richard Schragger is a multi-unit SUBWAY® franchisee in the New York City area. For the next two years, his newest store will be located on top of the world! Richard’s newest SUBWAY® restaurant will be on a crane, rising along side the construction of One World Trade Center – also known as the Freedom Tower – providing meals for construction workers as the structure rises 108 stories. At 1,776 feet, it will be the tallest building in the United States and one of the tallest buildings in the world.

“The simple operation of a SUBWAY® restaurant, its reputation for quality, low fat menu options and the fact that you do not need a grill or fryer, make it a natural fit for non-traditional locations, which not only brings our great tasting food to customers, but also provides additional business opportunities for franchisees,” said Richard, who had a background in accounting before becoming a SUBWAY® franchisee five years ago.

Also contributing to the SUBWAY® chain’s success is that it continues to keep its concept and operations simple, start up costs low and seeks franchisees who embrace the entrepreneurial spirit.

One such example is SUBWAY® franchisee and development agent Bob Hurley. As a development agent in the Boston area, Bob is responsible for seeking out prospective new franchisees for his territory, guiding them through the process of opening a SUBWAY® restaurant and acting as mentor to both the new and established small business owner’s while providing training, information on new initiatives and best practices that will help ensure a franchisees’ success.

“Coming out on top of the Franchise 500 list is quite an achievement. Doing it 17 times is an indication of the amazing accomplishments and vast opportunities that define the Subway brand,” Bob said. “We have had tremendous potential in the Boston market, where we have 175 stores there and are looking to increase that number by 130 over the next five years. Along with filling about 150,000-square-feet of retail space, opening 130 restaurants over the next five years will also provide about 1,300 additional jobs at the new restaurants.”

The SUBWAY® chain has been expanding internationally since 1984 when it opened its first overseas location in the Middle Eastern nation of Bahrain. Now with more than 9,000 individually owned and operated restaurants outside of the U.S., the chain is known as a source of a wide variety of menu options that not only meet the needs of the average customer, but also honor cultural preferences and religious requirements, all while providing business opportunities to local entrepreneurs.

"Strong global support systems and brand recognition has helped us grow to almost 800 stores in Germany and are a big reason that SUBWAY® is able to maintain its distinction as the Number One Global Franchise opportunity," said Michael Pokorski, Area Development Manager for SUBWAY® restaurants in Germany. "We can attribute our success to the fact that this is a brand made up of local men and women who are committed to making their businesses work and represent hundreds of success stories throughout Germany. Along with providing German entrepreneurs with a chance to realize their dream of owning their own business, our franchisees are able to provide about 8,000 positions to jobseekers throughout the country."

[2009-12-09] A recent study from foodservice industry consultant Technomic found that the sandwich segment of the quick-service industry performed strongly in 2008.

According to the report—the 2009 Top 100 Limited-Service Sandwich Chains Restaurant Report—the Top 100 limited-service sandwich chains had a collective sales increase of 8.6 percent (to $20.3 billion), while the entire sandwich segment of the limited-service industry grew by 6.9 percent (to $22.6 billion).

Also, while total restaurant industry units declined by 0.6 percent in 2008 and the total limited-service industry unit count increased by 0.6 percent, the sandwich segment of limited service increased in units by 1.4 percent. The Top 100 increased to more than 39,000 units, a 1.8 percent climb over 2007.

"The limited-service sandwich chains that continue to perform well have conveyed a strong value equation to their customers—from craveable flavor profiles to reasonable pricing to convenience of ordering," said Darren Tristano, executive vice president of Technomic, in a statement.

Unsurprisingly, Subway led the charge as 2008's top sandwich chain, helping drive the segment's growth. The sub chain's sales increased 17.1 percent to $9.6 billion, and an additional 686 Subway units were opened over the course of the year.

The study reported that menu trends for the Top 100 sandwich chains included "use of flatbreads and premium ingredients, bolder flavor profiles, new hot panini-style sandwiches, healthier offerings, and the use of natural, organic, local, and sustainable sandwich components."

"Given the challenging economic environment, leaders should understand the shifting expectations of their customers and be prepared to make the necessary changes to remain relevant, while keeping a watchful eye on margin erosion concerns," Tristano said in the statement.

Starbucks to put Seattle's Best Coffee in 9,000 U.S. Subway shops by year-end, Schultz says

Posted by Melissa Allison


Starbucks is backing away from its long-held dislike of fast food to partner nationally with Subway. Its Seattle's Best Coffee brand will be in 9,000 Subway stores by the end of this year, and will move into more of the sandwich shops next year, CEO Howard Schultz told analysts during a conference call about its quarterly results Thursday.

"Candidly, given the fact that fast-food players have gone after the breakfast business - specifically McDonald's - in such a big way, and made such big push into coffee, their core competitors want to compete directly with them in that space," Schultz said. "SBC is in the infant stages of what it could be domestically and internationally."

The company declined to give details, pending a press release early Friday morning. Subway said almost a year ago that it would test SBC brewed coffee in about 1,900 locations.

Starbucks has long recoiled at the thought of being a fast-food player itself. Schultz said in his 1997 book, "Pour Your Heart Into It," that he was pained by comparisons to fast-food businesses.

The company stuck by that reasoning a few years ago, when McDonald's approached Starbucks about supplying coffee for its new espresso program.

"We passed because it simply was not a good brand fit, and we're confident that was the right decision," Starbucks spokeswoman Deb Trevino said earlier this year.

It hasn't always been as cautious with the Seattle's Best Coffee brand, which it bought in 2003. SBC supplied some McDonald's stores in the Pacific Northwest until a couple years ago, and it has traditional franchises that Starbucks does not.

But there's a difference between being in some fast-food stores in the region and partnering nationally with a company that will soon pass McDonald's in total locations worldwide (about 32,000).

"It's certainly a change in attitude from what they've said in the past," said R.J. Hottovy, a restaurant analyst who follows Starbucks for the research firm Morningstar. "McDonald's probably would have been a stronger partner, given that they still have some company-owned locations, a stronger brand name and a better relationship with franchisees."

Still, it's a sign of progress that Starbucks is realizing what it has with SBC, he said. "It's a way of expanding in the U.S. without diluting the Starbucks brand, and Subway is probably just as excited to have a relatively well-known brand name partnering with them as well."

More information on the jump about Starbucks' earnings, including CFO Troy Alstead talking about when it will decide what to do with its $600 million pile of cash.


Investors sent Starbucks shares up quickly after it posted a fourth-quarter profit of $150 million, or 20 cents a share, better than analysts had expected and a vast improvement from its $5.4 million profit during the fourth quarter last year.

Sales dropped 4 percent to $2.4 billion, but the company more than made up for it with $580 million in annualized cost cuts --$30 million better than it had promised Wall Street. For the quarter, operating expenses were down 11 percent to $2.3 billion.

Starbucks also saw its seventh consecutive quarter of same-store sales declines, but the 1 percent drop was the least severe in all those quarters--and better than the 3 percent decline that many analysts expected. It's an improvement from the 5 percent drop last quarter and the 7 percent decline during the fourth quarter a year ago.

After a fiscal year in which it closed more stores than it opened - bringing its worldwide total to 16, 635 - Starbucks plans to slowly start growing again. It expects to add 100 stores in the U.S. and 200 stores internationally in the coming year.

On the call Thursday, Schultz was particularly excited about the company's prospects in China, which he said will someday be its biggest foreign market. Currently, its biggest international markets are Canada and the U.K.

On a recent visit to China, Schultz said, he was reminded of Starbucks' early growth in the U.S. "The China market, which now has nearly 700 stores, holds the potential for thousands," he said.

During the quarter, Starbucks took $53 million in restructuring charges, compared with $99 million in the fourth quarter last year. Without the charges, it would have earned 24 cents a share, better than the 21 cents that analysts expected, according to Thomson Reuters.

Its overhead was up 38 percent to $133 million because of higher performance-based compensation, Chief Financial Officer Troy Alstead said during the call with analysts.
Starbucks expects its Via instant coffee, which recently rolled out in the U.S. and Canada, to be "profit neutral" for fiscal 2010, because of up-front investments in selling the product outside Starbucks stores, Alstead said. Via recently became available in Costco and Target stores.

In answer to a question from the analyst community, which is always eager to know when a company flush with cash will start paying a dividend, Alstead said Starbucks will wait until after its current holiday quarter to make any decisions about how to use excess cash.

When its fiscal year ended Sept. 27, Starbucks had $599.8 million in cash, more than double the $269.8 million a year earlier.

For the year, it earned $390.8 million, up 24 percent from the previous year, on net revenues that fell 6 percent to $9.8 billion.

Investors applauded the results, sending shares up quickly after Thursday's earnings announcement, which came after the close of regular trading. Shares gained 49 cents to $19.70 in regular trading, and another 73 cents to $20.43 in after-hours trading.

Starbucks stock has traded between $7.06 and $21.11 over the past year, down from highs approaching $40 in 2006.