Quiznos v. Subway Quiznos vs.

Quiznos v. Subway

Quiznos vs. Subway: The battle of the major American sandwich chains

The fast-food chain Subway sells submarine sandwiches that are famous for contributing to the weight loss of Jared, the Subway company spokesperson for 'healthy living.' Many Subway sandwiches are promoted as being low in calories and/or fat rather than tasty. The Subway Veggie Delite, Oven-Roasted Chicken, and Black Forest Ham 'basics' sandwiches are examples of these types of healthy, low-fat selections. The sandwiches are relatively small and simple in their construction. All Subway sandwiches can be requested on submarine-style breads or even more 'pared down' flatbreads. Whole wheat options are available to further reduce the guilt the eater might feel about purchasing fast food sandwiches. Subway's menu features a 'build it yourself' approach, where customers can chose their sandwich's format (flatbread, six-inch sub, foot-long sub, or breadless salad), the filling, cheese, condiments, and ad-ins. Subway also offers a small selection of more decadent specialty subs, such as a 'Subway Melt,' and a 'BMT' (a kind of Italian BLT). Many of these specialty subs can be toasted.

This new Subway 'toasting' option, a Quiznos loyalist might respond, is merely copy-catting off what Quiznos first used to brand itself as distinctive in the commercial sandwich market. Unlike Subway, Quiznos has not emphasized the healthiness of its offerings; rather it stresses the flavor of its subs in its promotional campaigns. True, Quiznos offers veggie subs, and also has nutritional information on its website, as does Subway. However, overall the decadence of the Quiznos subs, like the Prime Rib Dip is stressed, as well as the exotic flavors of the Quiznos Chicken Carbonara and Mesquite-grilled chicken. Some of Quiznos' options are less than 500 calories, and are advertised as such, but this is relatively caloric compared to Subway's 300 calorie (or less) selections -- and, as a point of comparison, a McDonald's Big Mac averages around 500 calories. Subway does have some caloric offerings, like the 'Philly Cheesesteak melt' but it places less of a premium on having mouth-watering specialty sandwiches than Quiznos. Subway lets the customer to build his or her own sandwich and to customize it, making it as healthy or unhealthy as he or she likes. In contrast, Quiznos' subs, both toasted and untoasted, are offered more in the lines of a traditional restaurant, with catchy names and combinations.

According to the popular food review site Chowhound, "For the prices that both of these chains charge (astronomical in my opinion), I'll go with Quiznos every time. it's the feeling that I'm getting more value for my buck. The [Quiznos] sandwich isn't necessarily better than Subway's [sic], but at least I feel I'm getting meat" ("Quiznos v. Subway," Chowhound, 2007). The Chowhound poster (known as 'Queenie') noted that at Subway, she often felt like she was chewing on nothing but vegetables and bread. Given the high price, she considered Subway to be stingy on protein. Most of the respondents supported Queenie's assertion, and those who defended Subway did so mainly because of the benefits it provided regarding their low-calorie diets rather than taste. Subway "is probably less of a sandwich than you get at Quiznos'[sic], but I find their prices more reasonable and it is easy for me to satisfy my hunger at Subway while still watching my calories" wrote one poster in the 2007 Chowhound "Subway v. Quiznos" thread. But the majority of the Chowhound posters focused upon the quality of Quiznos ingredients, and said that Quiznos had better (as well as more plentiful) cheese, bread, and meat. The 'funny smell' of Subways breads, and supermarket-quality Subway cheese were cited as other reasons they disliked the chain.