Case for Better Food:

Transcription

1 T he Case for Better Food: A Study of Subway s Yoga Mat Bread Consumers want to really eat fresh. Contents Consumers are savvier than ever about what they eat. They want to know where their food comes from, and what s in it. In 2014, Subway s yoga mat bread became a hot topic, and proves that consumers are no longer content to be in the dark about what they re eating. Background 2 Crisis 3 Subway Responds 5 Strategy 6 Results 7 Future 8 Sources 9 1

2 B ackground For years, Subway was the top choice for consumers when it came to healthy choices in casual dining. Eat fresh is the ubiquitous slogan of the company, but since 2014, consumer s trust in the company has been sullied, owing in part to the way it has handled the removal of questionable ingredients from its products, starting with the yoga mat chemical, as it became known. The food revolution is here, and there s no going back. Consumers are turning away from ingredients they can t pronounce, and turning to companies that are transparent about their ingredients lists. Subway had the opportunity to adapt to the needs of consumers, but failed to do so. 2

3 C risis The controversy began when a blogger, Vani Harri of FoodBabe.com, discovered that Subway had a chemical in its bread called azodicarbonamide (ADA). This chemical, which was used by Subway as a bleaching agent and dough conditioner, was also used to make yoga mats. Although the chemical was approved for use in food in the US by the FDA, Subway did not use the chemical in its European stores, where the chemical was not approved for use in food. Dear Head of Global Marketing Jeff Larson, and Director of Operations Joe Chaves, Subway azodicarbonamide is a chemical used in the production of foamed plastics. It s used to make sneaker soles and yoga mats. It s also used in almost all of your Subway sandwiches, is banned across the globe, and The World Health Organization has linked it to respiratory issues, allergies and asthma. Some studies show that when heated, azodicarbonamide turns into a carcinogen. We ask you to remove azodicarbonamide from all Subway sandwiches, and make your bread just like you do in other countries. We deserve the same safer food our friends get overseas. We want to really eat fresh, not yoga mat. FoodBabe.com petition Many fast food companies also use the food additive, but Subway took the brunt of the criticism because of their reputation as a healthy choice. Consumers felt mislead by Subway s claims that their food was fresh. The FoodBabe campaign urged consumers to flood Subway s social media and customer service line with their concerns. FoodBabe also started a petition urging Subway to remove the chemical. 3

4 Ultimately, the FoodBabe petition had 87,000 signatures by the time Subway released a statement that it would be removing the chemical from its bread. But the damage was already done. Not only was Subway s reputation sullied, it also brought consumer s attention to a bevy of other questionable ingredients in Subway s food. These chemicals would prove a lot harder to remove. In fact, Subway is still working on it four years later, and counting. (left to right) Vani Harri of Foodbabe.com and Foodbabe.com infographic 4

5 Subway Responds Subway realized it couldn t justify the decision to keep the chemical in the bread. They would have to remove it. In fact, the company claimed it was already in the process of removing the chemical, and had begun testing the ADAfree bread in some stores. Whether or not this was true, the spotlight was on Subway now. They could no longer quietly remove the chemical from its bread and hope nobody would notice. Subway addressed the controversy by releasing a public statement. Subway pointed out that other companies also used the chemical in a misguided attempt to shift the blame. But they missed the point Subway s brand was focused on fresh, healthy food. Eat fresh is their slogan, after all! But now, their consistent branding had backfired. Consumers felt lied to. It s hard to eat fresh if you feel like you re eating a yoga mat. Subway also committed to improving in the future, by removing other chemicals over time. They are still working towards this goal today. At Subway we work to continuously improve our products, and our bread has been improved greatly in recent years. And with each improvement to our bread formula we ve conducted consumer research to be sure that the bread meets the taste preferences of our customers, and we ve also conducted operations testing to assure that the bread bakes correctly with the equipment available in each region. Azodicarbonamide is a safe ingredient used in baked good that helps condition dough to make it more stable so the desired texture and volume can be achieved. It is an extremely common and acceptable ingredient that is found in the breads of most chains such as Starbuck s, Wendy s, McDonald s, Arby s, Burger King, and Dunkin Donuts. It s also found in supermarket products produced by Pepperidge Farms, Sara Lee, Sun Maid, Healthy Life and others. Azodicarbonamide is fully approved for use in bread by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). These organizations are responsible for advancing the public health by helping the public get the accurate, science-based information they need, to use medicines and foods to maintain and improve their health. Our use of this ingredient has always been in full compliance with all food safety additive regulations. However, in 2013 we started removing azodicarbonamide, and the complete conversion will be completed in the coming weeks. So despite what you may have heard or read elsewhere, this conversion project has been in the works for some time. We are very proud of our leadership role in this latest bread improvement, and we believe that other chains, restaurants and bread manufacturers may follow our lead. Subway s statement 5

6 S trategy Subway now lists nutritional information on its website, including a commitment to improving its product. This includes removing chemicals from its ingredients list. Since then, however, other companies have made the healthy casual dining market more competitive. These companies have been successful by being open with consumers about where their food comes from. Notable examples include Chipotle, which brands itself as Food with integrity, and Panera Bread, which claims its food is clean and raised responsibly. A&W has rebranded itself to send a message to its customers that ethically-sourced food is one of its values. And it s paid off! A&W shows that it is possible to commit to better quality food and consumers will respond. 6

7 R esults Subway s commitment to better ingredients has helped restore its reputation with its customer base, but the controversy continues to follow the brand around. Problematic search terms continue to circulate. The search term, Subway yoga mat, reached its peak in 2014, but it, and other problematic terms like Subway not fresh (a take on the brand s slogan), continue to pop up from time to time. Subway s reputation has taken a hit. Customers who truly want to eat fresh have started to look elsewhere. 7

8 F uture Subway s reputation suffered from this controversy. Offering a vague commitment to improving its food is not enough. Consumers want to see real action, and Subway has not delivered. Meanwhile, since 2014, there has been an increase in competition in healthy casual dining Brands like Chipotle, Panera Bread, and even A&W have branded themselves as healthy options, not by offering salads, but by stating a clear commitment to ethically-sourced, chemical-free food. Competing in this market is no longer just about how your food tastes. It s about what s in it. Consumers have spoken loud and clear they want to eat fresh. But they might not be doing it at Subway for much longer. Produced for the Environmental Working Group 8

9 S ources Subway Press Release FoodBabe FoodBabe update World Health Organization Environmental Working Group Environmental Working Group Report Business Insider NBC News CBC News Honey Colony 9