Subway is a fast-food restaurant in which sandwiches are freshly made, with the exact composition decided by the customer. The sandwiches are made from soft bread rolls, usually either six inches or twelve inches long: in the United States such sandwiches are called ‘submarines’, hence the brand name of the company. 

Subway began in 1965 when Fred DeLuca borrowed $1,000 from his friend Peter Buck in order to open ‘Pete's Super Submarines’ in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Fred's intention was to make some money to fund his way through medical school: Pete had a PhD in physics, so they formed a company, Doctor's Associates Inc., to oversee the expansion of the franchise. In 1968, the brand name was changed to Subway, and by this time the franchise was beginning to take off in a big way. People liked the ability to choose the sandwich fillings, and also the bread used. 

In the restaurants themselves, the fillings are kept in cold trays and the staff member adds whichever ones the customer would like. Customers pay per filling, and of course the temptation is to add more and more fillings: very few people would have only one filling. Salad, hot peppers, various meats and cheeses, in fact all the ingredients one might find in a sandwich are available. Sandwiches can be heated.........

Case study questions 

1. What effect would the change of brand name (from Pete's Super Submarines to Subway) have had? 

2. What are the risks in offering tailored products such as kosher food or all-vegetarian food? 

3. What problems would you envisage in introducing pizzas into the range? 

4. How might Subway conduct its new product development programmes? 

5. What is the role of the product life cycle in Subway's planning?