Subway: Courting the Low-Fat Diner
Subway's "7 Under 6" program—seven sandwiches under six grams of fat each—has transformed the chain's public identity since the promotion was introduced a decade ago. Customers may not know the program by its official name, but many now look to Subway for fast low-fat meals. The chain's most popular sandwich, turkey breast, is on the "7 Under 6" menu.
"Healthy food has done very well for us," says Subway executive chef Chris Martone. "They're the hardest products to develop, but I always have health on my mind."
Martone relies on suppliers to help him create the low-fat sauces and vinaigrettes that give these super-lean sandwiches taste appeal. "I don't have much room to work with," he says, "maybe half a gram of fat." One success story: A sweet onion-chicken teriyaki sub that's double-sauced (a teriyaki glaze on the chicken and a sweet onion sauce) and still slides in under the six-fat-gram limit.
With more than 22,000 stores in 79 countries, Subway can lean on suppliers to get it right. Aside from the technical hurdles, the challenge in creating healthful options is not to be out ahead of customers, making changes they're not ready for. Tasting trials with whole-grain bread have not been encouraging, so the chain has focused instead on making more modest nutritional improvements to its wheat bread.
For the Subway customer, value means a lot of food for the money, and that's an issue Martone struggles with. Franchisees are encouraged to allow customers to add extra vegetables to their sub—lettuce, tomatoes, onions, peppers, cucumbers—at no extra charge, but Martone says he's aware that not all stores comply. "High portion size kills your nutritionals," says the chef. "It's something we keep trying to work through and understand."
Among other healthful initiatives, Subway replaced the cookie in its children's meal with a fruit rollup. And the company's Web site (www.subway.com) details its efforts to encourage and promote weight loss, especially among children.