Subway is an American restaurant franchise that primarily sells submarine sandwiches (subs) and salads. It is owned and operated by Doctor's Associates, Inc. (DAI). Subway is one of the fastest growing franchises in the world with 37,776 restaurants in 100 countries and territories as of October 1, 2012. It is the largest single-brand restaurant chain globally and is the second largest restaurant operator globally after Yum! Brands (over 37,000 locations).

 

Subway's main operations office is in Milford, Connecticut; five regional centers support Subway's growing international operations. The regional offices for European franchises are located in Amsterdam, Netherlands; the Australia and New Zealand locations are supported from Brisbane, Australia; the Asian locations are supported from offices located in Beirut, Lebanon, Malaysia, Singapore and India and the Latin America support center is in Miami, Florida.

 

Doctor's Associates

Doctor's Associates, owner of Subway, was founded by Fred DeLuca and Peter Buck in 1965. That year, they opened the first Subway restaurant, in Bridgeport, Connecticut.The name comes from the fact that Buck holds a doctorate in physics. Doctor's Associates is not affiliated with, nor endorsed by, any medical organization.

 

History

Fred DeLuca borrowed $1,000 from family friend Peter Buck, to start his first sandwich shop on August 28, 1965.

The first Subway outside of North America opened in Bahrain, in December 1984.

 

Since 2007, Subway has consistently ranked in Entrepreneur magazine's Top 500 Franchises list. It ranked #2 in 2012. It also ranked #2 on the "Fastest Growing Franchise" and "Global Franchise" lists. In March 2011, Subway was named "the most loved fast food chain in the US" by Amplicate.com, based on their analysis of opinions expressed on social media websites.

 

At the end of 2010, Subway was the largest fast food chain on Earth, with 33,749 restaurants worldwide, 1,012 more than McDonald's. In terms of revenue, McDonald's still led Subway.

 

Products

Subway's core product is the submarine sandwich (or "sub"). In addition to these, the chain also sells wraps, salad and baked goods (including cookies, doughnuts and muffins). While some menu items vary between countries and markets, Subway's worldwide signature sub varieties include:

 

• Italian B.M.T.

• Roasted Chicken

• Subway Club

• Tuna

• Meatball Marinara

• Subway Melt

• Chicken Teriyaki

• Steak & Cheese

 

Subway's best-selling sandwich, the B.M.T., contains pepperoni, salami and ham. The name originally stood for Brooklyn Manhattan Transit, but now stands for "Biggest, Meatiest, Tastiest".

 

Subway also sells breakfast sandwiches, English muffins and flatbreads. In 2006, "personal pizzas" debuted in some US markets. These are made to order (like their subs) and heated for 85 seconds. Breakfast and pizza items are only available in some stores. In November 2009, Subway signed a deal to exclusively serve Seattle's Best Coffeecoffee as part of their breakfast menu in the US.

 

A 2009 Zagat survey named Subway the best provider of "Healthy Options" (in the "Mega Chain" category). Subway was also first in "Top Service" and "Most Popular" rankings. It placed second in "Top Overall", behind Wendy's.

 

Regional variations

Subway's menu varies between countries, most significantly where there are religious requirements relating to the meats served.

 

In 2006, the first kosher Subway restaurant in the United States opened, in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. Subway spokesman Jared Fogle attended the opening. A press release stated, "With slight modifications, such as no pork-based products, and the use of soy-based cheese product, the menu is virtually identical to that of any other Subway restaurant." Since then, kosher Subways have opened in New York, Los Angeles, Kansas City, and Baltimore,[19] and plans were announced for Milwaukee and Boston.

 

Kosher stores on Wall Street and in Livingston, New Jersey have since closed.Subway restaurants in India do not serve beef and pork products, and sell an extended vegetarian range. There are 264 Subway restaurants in 26 cities of India. On September 4, 2012, Subway will open its first all-vegetarian outlet on the campus of Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Jalandhar, Punjab.

 

Most Subway restaurants in Muslim countries offer a halal menu. At least two Subway restaurants in the United States, three in Canada and over one hundred in the United Kingdom do the same.

 

Nutritional content

In 2011, Subway introduced gluten-free bread and brownies to some locations in Texas. It also cut the salt content of its sandwiches by 15 percent.

 

In the UK and Ireland, Subway has reduced salt content across its entire range by 33% and has committed to further reductions, in line with government targets. Subway's range of "Low Fat" subs is endorsed by the charity Heart Research UK.

 

Subway uses the advertising slogan "Eat Fresh", and focuses on how their sandwiches are made from freshly baked bread and fresh ingredients, in front of customers to their exact specifications, by employees whom Subway calls "Subway Sandwich Artists".

 

In November 2007, Subway's US commercials featured the cartoon character Peter Griffin (from Family Guy) promoting its new Subway Feast sandwich. Subway has also used "instant win" games, based on the game Scrabble.

 

Subway has run a product placement campaign in the US TV series Chuck since its first season. As ratings dwindled in the second season, a campaign to "save Chuck" was launched for fans, encouraging them to purchase a footlong sub from Subway on April 27, 2009, the date of the season finale. Tony Pace, Subway's marketing officer, called it the best product placement the restaurant chain has done "in several years."

 

In 2008, Subway began to offer all foot-long submarine sandwiches (excluding premium and double-meat varieties) for five dollars, in the continental United States and Canada, as a "limited time only" promotion. "Five Dollar Footlongs" quickly became the company's most successful promotion ever.[citation needed] Upon the initial promotion's completion, customer response prompted Subway to create a permanent "$5 Footlong Everyday Value Menu" that offered some footlong sandwiches for $5. As of 2011, there has been a monthly rotating $5 footlong.[30] Which subs are permanently priced at $5 varies by market.

In October 2011, a similar promotion was launched in the United Kingdom. Customers can buy one of nine subs and any drink for £3 (for a six-inch sub) or £5 (for a footlong).

 

Sub Club

In early June 2005, Subway announced its customer reward program would be phased out due to counterfeiting. The "Sub Club" program was discontinued in the US and Canada by Doctor's Associates.

 

All stores in the United Kingdom and Ireland participate in the Subcard system, offering customers points with each purchase at a Subway store, which are redeemable for subs and snacks. Unlike in the US system, these cards cannot be used to store cash. The program will be rolled out in Germany and other parts of the EU from 2012.

 

Participating Subway restaurants in the U.S. and Canada offer a "Subway Card" to customers, which functions as a stored-value cash card. In some states and provinces, the card also functions as a "Subway Rewards Card", allowing customers to earn points for free food and sandwiches. Unlike in the "Sub Club" program, no other purchase is needed when redeeming points, and registered cards can be replaced if lost or stolen. Subway runs periodic promotions in which it gives away free subs to customers who preload a Subway Card with certain dollar amounts, usually listed at mysubwaycard.com.