Subway has had more than their fair share of scandals and bad news stories, and they've
had their share of successes, too.
What don't you know about the once-favorite sandwich chain that's become a last resort
for many?
A lot.
This is the untold truth of Subway.
Subway has been associated with a lot of bad press, and one of the claims that took social
media by storm was the one that said they were selling "12-inch subs" that weren't actually
12 inches long.
The whole thing started in 2013 when one Australian teen posted a picture of his sub and proof
that it was only 11 inches long.
It went absolutely viral, and Subway went to court over the claims they were cheating
their customers and misrepresenting their product.
According to Forbes, Subway agreed to settle for a little over half a million dollars and
to implement new policies that would regulate their bread-making process a little more.
That's after the case was found to be pretty weak for a bunch of reasons, including the
fact that most footlongs were, indeed, a foot long, they were all made from balls of raw
dough that weighed the same, and their standardized way of putting on the toppings means customers
weren't getting shorted any fillings.
And, since not every Subway customer got a short sub, that meant a class action settlement
didn't make sense.
So, what was going to happen instead was pretty outrageous: the lawyers involved were going
to walk away with a cool $520,000, and the 10 plaintiffs were going to get $5,000 each.
Insane?
A US appeals court thought so, too, and threw out the settlement after calling it, quote,
"utterly worthless".
“But that would be the very definition of a frivolous lawsuit."
Remember the outrage over Subway's bread and the so-called, quote, "yoga mat chemical"?
Of course you do, because social media went mad when it came out that one of the ingredients
in Subway's bread was also found in yoga mats.
The chemical in question is called azodicarbonamide, and according to CNN, it's usually included
in products to help strengthen the dough.
There are two different sides to the story here.
On one hand, it's been used for a long time and it's been deemed safe by the FDA.
In fact, NPR found it was an ingredient in almost 500 different products, including everyone's
childhood favorite, Wonder Bread.
But it was Subway's bread that got the most attention when news about the chemical went
viral, thanks to a post from self-declared expert the Food Babe.
Is there anything actually dangerous about it?
Not in the amounts deemed safe by the FDA, which is a mere 45 parts per million.
Research done by the Center for Science in the Public Interest found that azodicarbonamide
does break down into a few substances that do pose what they deemed "a small risk" to
humans, and it is banned as a food additive in the EU and in Australia.
Not long after the outrage, Subway announced they were going to remove it from their recipe.
Subway built their business on the idea that they were going to allow their customers to,
quote, "eat fresh," but by 2018, customers were pointing out that they were noticing
their subs weren't so fresh after all.
Business Insider says that 2017 was a bad year for the chain, and part of their fall
from grace were ingredients that weren't so much "fresh" as they were "mushy and rotten."
When they spoke to franchise owners and employees, they found most Subway locations only received
deliveries of produce once or twice a week.
Some owners even claimed that they had been willing to shoulder the extra costs of getting
more frequent deliveries in order to improve food quality, but the requests were denied
by corporate.
Think the lettuce on your last Subway sub was a little past prime?
You're not alone: those employees say lettuce was a huge problem, and was often turning
by the time it got to the store.
Subway responded, saying they went above and beyond to make sure they served only the freshest
ingredients… but didn't say how often they were delivered.
It gets worse.
According to some owners, they have no choice in the matter.
Some have attempted to switch to local produce suppliers only to have their franchise license
revoked.
And here's the thing: now that there's even more of a shift toward expecting freshness
with your fast food, it's even more noticeable that Subway fell behind.
Subway has long pushed the idea that they're the healthier choice when it comes to grabbing
a quick meal, but are they?
Sort of.
It really depends on what you order, and there are some truly terrible options there.
Healthline took a close look at their nutritional information, and they found that there are
some good options on the menu.
The six inch black forest ham, roast beef, turkey breast, veggie delite, sweet onion
chicken teriyaki, oven roasted chicken, and rotisserie style chicken subs all meet the
American Heart Association's requirements for being a healthy meal, as long as you opt
for the 9-grain wheat and toppings like green onions and tomatoes.
And, of course, don't load up on sauces.
But they're not all great.
Some, like the cheese-heavy chicken Caesar melt and the chicken and bacon ranch melt,
don't even sound healthy.
But others are deceiving.
Also on the unhealthy list?
The classic tuna.
Though it's easy to think that anything with fish in it is going to be a decent choice,
being slathered in mayo kind of cancels that out.
So how did Subway make subs such a big deal, when so many other people were already making
them?
According to Entrepreneur, there were a few things going for them.
They had something other chains didn't, and that's a story.
They touted their freshness and their healthiness, and they had perfect timing, too.
People were starting to look for healthy options that were still fast, and they jumped on the
trend.
They were also one of the first restaurants to start making food right in front of the
customer — and customers loved it.
They knew exactly what was going on their sub, and they could add as they went along.
That got them engaged and invested in their meal, and that's important.
There was something else at work here, too, and it's probably something you never considered.
Since Subway marketed itself as super healthy, they were able to get partnerships with places
that less healthy fast food chains weren't, like hospitals.
And that was a whole, untapped market.
"You know it is, like, the best medicine."
It's one of those things we all know about, but rarely mention: it's the Subway smell.
Even if you've never thought about it, you know exactly what we're talking about.
And it's weird, isn't it?
At the same time it definitely smells like bread, it doesn't smell like any other kind
of bread in the world, right?
So what's the deal?
Food Republic was determined to find out, and they went right to the source: Mark Christiano,
who has the title of Global Baking Technologist at Subway.
According to him, it's just freshly baking bread.
He didn't give details as to recipe specifics, but he did say that it's basically yeast,
water, sugar, and flour, and that there's nothing added to the bread or the process
to get that smell.
They did uncover a few things that might possibly account for the uniqueness of the smell, including
the fact that the dough has been frozen.
It's also possible that part of what you're smelling is sugar that's caramelizing, but
Christiano says, quote, "There's nothing artificial in there that they're smelling."
Mystery… solved?
If your neighborhood Subway has closed in the last few years, you're definitely not
alone.
According to Bloomberg, the number of U.S. locations dropped by more than 2,300 between
2015 and 2018.
Why their sales and their number of stores has continued to plummet is complicated.
Among the chief factors are scandals like their not-so-long footlong rolls, bad publicity
surrounding their not-so-fresh veggies, failed attempts at kicking off a loyalty plan that
actually inspires loyalty, and an inability to compete with other sub shops that have
opened in the years since they first kicked open their own doors.
And while they've already closed a ton of locations, Bloomberg crunched the numbers
and found that closures are happening faster and faster as time goes on.
They're not slowing down and business isn't turning around, and that suggests the future
of Subway is still very much up in the air.
Love the $5 footlong?
It was a great deal, and you got a decent lunch for a decent price.
But franchisees definitely didn't share your love of it.
The $5 footlong was around for a long time before it was replaced by the $6 footlong
in 2016.
According to Money, it was about as popular as everyone except Subway could have predicted
it would be.
Falling sales meant Subway needed to get customers back in the door, so in 2018, they didn't
quite bring back the $5 footlong, but they did bring back the $4.99 footlong, which isn't
nearly as catchy.
Only five sandwiches were up for the deal, but around 400 franchisees backed a petition
to put an end to the reimagined deal.
Some of them spoke to Business Insider anonymously, because talking to the media is something
franchisees absolutely are not allowed to do.
Some were all right with it because of the limited number of subs and choices included
with the deal.
Some even hoped it would drive business up, while others cited it as just being one more
unfair promotion they were being forced to go along with.
When you go into a restaurant and order a chicken sub, you expect chicken, right?
Sure you do -- everyone does.
That's what made it so outrageous when CBC Marketplace went public with the findings
of their own DNA analysis that suggested Subway was selling a half-chicken, half-soy hybrid.
The DNA testing was done by Trent University and seemed to show that of all the fast food
chains under examination, Subway was the one not selling real chicken.
And that's the part of the story that everyone remembers, isn't it?
Sure it is.
But there's more to it, and Subway went on to completely deny their findings.
They were selling, they said,
"100 percent white meat with seasonings, marinated and delivered to our stores as a finished,
cooked product."
But Marketplace didn't back down, and other food scientists started to weigh in and question
just how accurate the tests were.
Finally, Subway had several independent labs do their own testing.
Both Maxxam Analytics and Elisa Technologies, Inc., reported that Subway's chicken was less
than one percent soy.
And the further results of those tests?
A $210 million defamation lawsuit against the CBC.
You go into a Subway, and you pretty much know what you're going to get.
Go into one of Subway's international locations, though, and you'll find menus that not only
look completely different, but you'll find some pretty awesome offerings.
Head to India, and you'll find some seriously delicious-sounding stuff.
You can opt for an Aloo Patty, a Chicken, Turkey, or Tofu Tandoori, or a Paneer Tikka.
There's also some kebab options, and a super weird sub topped with corn, peas, carrots,
and eggless mayo.
How messy is that to eat?
The UK has a lot of the standard options, but also offers a tasty-sounding breakfast
sub with sausage, egg, and cheese.
What about Australia?
There, you can pick up a Buffalo Chicken sub, a Smashed Falafel sub, or a Moroccan Lamb
sub.
Japan has one with smoked ham and mascarpone, and another that's loaded with shrimp and
avocado.
Off to Montenegro?
Try their beef taco sub, which actually comes loaded with not just taco meat but nacho chips
as well.
Weird?
Yes.
And if you're a fan of quinoa, don't forget to pick up a vegan chickpea and quinoa sub
if you're in Finland.
In short, if you're travelling internationally and want something familiar, but not too familiar,
Subway apparently has an answer for you, no matter where you are.
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
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