Subway Restaurants, with more than 22,000 locations nationwide, announced the “Eat Fresh Refresh” today. It introduces new recipes and a delivery service designed to stem slumping sales at the sandwich chain, which has steadily lost ground to more modern brands, such as Jimmy John's and Chipotle.
It's not enough to get this eatery back on track.
In the face of radically-changing consumer tastes, Subway has been more of a spectator than a participant. While others moved to fresher, ethically-sourced ingredients, tastier recipes and anywhere/anytime convenience, Subway fell behind.
Today’s announcement helps Subway start to get closer to competitors, but it feels more like the chain is being dragged into the present rather than leaping into the future.
Playing perpetual catch-up is never a winning strategy.
To get its restaurants rolling again, especially in the wake of recent controversies questioning the quality of some Subway ingredients, it needs to do more than the minimum.
Preserving and fulfilling its "eat fresh" brand promise demands a comprehensive review of every aspect of the brand experience, including how franchisees and employees interact with customers, the look and feel of restaurants, ordering processes, ingredient sourcing, advertising and more.
The chain's quick service competitors are eating its lunch. A soup to nuts (bread to pickle?) brand revitalization that goes beyond new sandwiches and how to get them is the only way Subway can get back to the table.
# # #
Kelly O’Keefe is co-founder and managing partner of Brand Federation, a network of independent strategists and thinkers tackling the market’s toughest brand challenges. Contact us!
