Introduction

Subway is an international brand which is recognised by it’s healthy and tasty sandwiches around the globe. Started 50 years before, by a young entrepreneur Fred Deluca and his professor Dr Peter Buck a nuclear physicist. The brand was started as a restaurant to serve fresh, delicious and affordable food for everyone. The multi-nation brand was started with just 1000$ investment by Dr Peter. The first name was a submarine sandwich shop which later developed in the name of the subway, first opened in Connecticut USA with a common aim of providing better food for lives of thousands and revolutionize the fast-food industry with a healthy touch(“History”, 2020).

Economic Environment

In the current market, Subway is a worldwide leading brand, in terms of healthy fast food. The brand is famous for its healthy salad and breakfast menus consisting of items like eggs and vegetables. Subway has more than 40,000 restaurants worldwide that create a huge revenue and economic contribution to different countries. In the current situation of COVID-19 pandemic, the worldwide economic growth has been stopped, and only online facilities are working for now, because of that company faces a huge loss in revenue generation worldwide. Their product is a food item which is the most consumable product in the market, and they also provide a good facility in terms of availability, affordability and hospitality services. Their target market is generally everyone who can afford a medium-range food product, with variety in their food according to age factors of their customers(“QSR chains assure customers their products safe, amid COVID-19 scare”, 2020).

Subway as a brand has some core values and principles to follow because these values are the key to achieve the vision of any startup and accomplish all the goals with high customer satisfaction and services. They have a vision statement which is “Eat Fresh” and they always follow their vision statement and provided healthy and fresh food to their customers. Providing nutrition through their food with a good taste is their mission, they follow it worldwide with the help of local taste. With time they developed and evolved their food products, introducing fruits and vegetables in each product gave a benchmark to them, that was not easy for competitors.

Vision, Mission statement & Goals

Their vision of “eat fresh” is still clear and fresh, and it is followed with the help of introducing new items in their food list that is also a healthy component. Subway is the industry champion by produce for better health foundation, USA for two consecutive years. Subway focuses on their customer satisfaction most, their mission is also to follow their values and ethics. For providing affordable, healthy and fresh food. Their statements are very clearly related to their business because it’s all about food, health and nutrition. And “Eat Fresh” is directly linked to food and health. Subway is also certified by the American Heart Association for providing healthy and fresh food that is good for the heart of their customers. It is also the most loved fast-food chain in the US by YouGov’s Brand Index Buzz Rankings. And after all these credits it is the responsibility of the brand to maintain it provide the best service(Sorbello, 2020).

Unique Feature

The Subway as a brand has so many unique features, like the use of more vegetables and fruits in their food, natural and organic drinks. They prepare sugar-free products also for their diabetic patient customers. Coming to their major ingredient, bread was made of whole wheat and multi-grains, with less fat consumption and more roughage. They also have a variety of bread according to customers’ demands like Hearty Italian, 9-Grain Honey Oat, Jalapeño Cheese, Monterey Cheddar, Parmesan Oregano, Roasted Garlic, Rosemary & Sea Salt, Rye Bread, Gluten-Free Bread. In veggies, they use Cucumbers, Green Peppers, Lettuce, Red Onions, Spinach, Tomatoes, Banana Peppers, Jalapeños, Black Olives, Pickles etc. In sauces, they use Chipotle Southwest, Light or Regular Mayonnaise, Ranch, Oil, Subway Vinaigrette, Mustard, Vinegar, Sweet Onion, Barbecue, Buffalo, Creamy Italian, Golden Italian, Honey Mustard, Savory Caesar, Sriracha, Tzatziki Cucumber.

Apart from all the products they have a unique range for kids also, with the mini version of their sandwiches, salads and juices and milk. Gluten-free products for the needy ones. All these products variations and health components make them stand out and provide a separate identity to them in the market. Their side products like vegetables and fruits salad make them also stand out because there is no other brand serving salads. And the last but not least their customer-friendly service and home delivery services. Also, the working staff’s cooperation with the customers and following all the values of the company highlights the elements(“Why Choose Subway”, 2020).

Positioning Map

The above positioning map is judging and identifying the leading restaurants worldwide in terms of their components, like health factor, junk food factor, and choice factor. All the above-stated brands have similar kind of products in the market. And their availability and franchise also play the role in this above diagram. If we first look into the health factor, the subway is leading here because it has healthy components in their food items. Next Wendy’s came in the list of the healthy fast-food brand. The second factor is a wide choice, the factor which explains the public choice of products. It also represents the brand identification in the market and the revenue generated by them.

The third factor is the junk food factor, it demonstrates that how unhealthy is the food of any fast-food brand is, KFC leads in this race because it is a majorly non-veg. food provider, which is the unhealthiest in the market. Second Pizza Hut and Burger King lead in the race, these two brands also produces a large amount of junk food in the market, but still, their demand is high in the market, the cost is also a factor in deciding that. Both these products are little cheap also, but still, they are not the most liked brand in the market. Subway and McDonalds lead in this race because of their brand value and customer satisfaction services. Whereas In and out is another brand that is still new and making its impact on the market, not so healthy and unhealthy, it will take time to grow(D’Aveni, 2007).