Subway launches 17 new sandwiches to address order fatigue

The new menu offers pre-made choices whilst keeping Subway’s customisation option intact.

Subway, known for its build-your-own sandwiches business model, has launched the new Signature Menu in Australia, aiming to streamline ordering and reduce decision fatigue for customers by offering chef-curated, pre-designed sandwiches with fixed ingredients.

The Signature Menu, also known as the Subway Series, was first unveiled in the United States in July 2022, featuring 12 chef-crafted sandwiches.

Subsequently, in May 2023, the United Kingdom and Ireland adopted the Subway Series, offering 15 new signature subs, SubMelts, wraps, and salads.

In Australia, the Signature Menu will have 17 pre-crafted sandwiches, with Subway retaining options to customise or change ingredients as desired.

Managing Director Shane Bracken shares insights into the company's growth, evolving consumer preferences, and what's next for the brand in Australia and New Zealand.

How was the business over the last year?

Shane: I’m delighted to report that 2024 was a hugely successful year for Subway. Across Australia and New Zealand, we achieved exceptional growth, opening a combined 30 new restaurants across those markets. That’s more Subway restaurant openings in 2024 than in the last 10 years - and something we’re extremely proud of.  

On top of this, we are seeing fantastic engagement from our franchisees, which is pivotal to our continued success as a brand. Their continued support has allowed our brand transformation to really gather momentum, and this will continue throughout 2025 as we embed all the plans we’ve had in place over the last few years.

What trends in consumer spending do you think could have the biggest impact on the QSR industry in Australia this year?

Despite cost-of-living pressures, people are still spending. What is changing is the way people look at how they spend their money. It’s not just about the cost of an item; it’s more about the total value equation of where the money is going.

Consumers also want convenience at the centre of any spending journey, particularly given the busy nature of modern life. The QSR industry needs to keep up with this and have value and ease on offer in abundance.

How does the Signature Menu align with Subway's long-term growth strategy in Australia and New Zealand?

Our newly launched Signature Menu aligns with changing consumer preferences because it’s designed not only with crave in mind but to really deliver on the need for ease and simplicity of the ordering experience. Giving our customers exactly what they want builds trust and loyalty, which is the foundation for any strong long-term business growth strategy. At the same time, it’s all about getting back to basics and focusing on what we’re good at – great-tasting and better-for-you meal options!

What’s also important to emphasise here is the ‘why’ behind our Signature Menu. By introducing this fundamental change to our menu architecture – and evolving from customers having to choose every single ingredient to custom-builds we’ve created - we are redefining convenience by making Subway more relevant in the busy lives of today’s consumers. We’ve launched with all our existing flavours but are showcasing ingredient combinations that we believe present the best eating experience without the hassle of having to select every ingredient. That’s why we’re positioning it as “tasty made easy”!

What were the initial challenges during the conception of the Signature Menu? How did you address them?

As many QSR businesses know, you can instigate changes to address the needs of consumers, but the execution in a restaurant is often the challenge. With nearly 1500 restaurants across Australia and New Zealand and hundreds of franchisees, our focus is on executing operationally on the Signature Menu to enhance customer experience.

There is a lot of effort that goes into training and communicating the desired in-restaurant experience to our network to ensure the Signature Menu comes alive exactly as we envisaged it.

As you can imagine, it’s no small feat to introduce the biggest shake-up to our menu architecture in the brand’s history, but the key to executing this successfully is the strong relationships we have with our network. Through this, we are confident we are doing everything possible to deliver our customers delicious food that is easy and simple to get – making the whole Subway experience worth it.  

How did you ensure that the pre-designed sandwiches resonated with your consumers?

This year marks the 60th Birthday of Subway as a global brand – and we’ve gained a lot of knowledge over that time about what our guests love – so we were very careful about our approach to keep our loyal customers happy. Additionally, we conducted a great deal of consumer research, product testing and used data and insights to focus on the right solutions to specific opportunities and ways we could attract new customers to Subway.

While the Signature Menu showcases what we believe to be the best flavour profiles on offer, personalization remains at the core of the Subway DNA, and customers can change items as they wish. We certainly aren’t losing our customization heritage! In this way, we are ensuring our customers have choices above all else – they can choose convenience with a Signature product or choose customisation to build their meal just how they like.

How does the Signature Menu in Australia differ from those launched in, say, the UK?

The Subway Signature Menu ensures our recommendations present the tastiest and most convenient options for our customers, built on the ingredients people know and love from Subway, which is mirrored across all global markets. In Australia, we’re focusing heavily on delivering builds that resonate with our market-specific consumer needs while making sure we don’t lose our customisation heritage for those Subway loyalists who still want to add their own touch to their favourite sub.

What are Subway’s key priorities for the business in the next 12 to 18 months?

Subway is in an exciting period of growth, and this will be our key priority over the next 12 months. Consumers will see this come to life through additional restaurants and regional expansions in particular. More broadly, as a brand, we will be continuing to focus on the profitability and engagement of our franchisees.

Subway is extremely proud to have a strong relationship with our franchisees, and we will continue to work together with our network to drive growth in the market through the launch of initiatives such as the Signature Menu. We will also have a continued focus on our digital journey and will be working closely with 3PD partners to bring the best experience to our customers.