Spudway: Subway sandwiches pivots to jacket potatoes as 'demand soars'
The sandwich giant Subway is to start selling jacket potatoes for the first time as demand for the traditional British staple soars.
Called 'Spudway', 170 branches of the 2,000-strong chain will today begin a jacket potato trial until mid-April, with fillings such as cheese and beans, tuna mayo, chicken tikka and 'taco beef'.
Guests will also be able to top their jacket potatoes with regular fillings from the Subway menu, including the meatball marinara. Prices will start from £4.79.
Deniz Safa, from Subway, said the brand was reacting to changing consumer demand and said jacket potatoes have been 'surging in popularity' in recent years.
'We're always looking to bring our fans delicious and customisable options that suit every taste and every budget,' she explained.
'[Our jacket potatoes] are made with British potatoes, salted butter and a double portion of cheese, plus any of our many toppings.'
Safa also acknowledged the recent buzz on social media. TikTok sensations such as the Tamworth-based seller Spudman, and the Spud Bros in Lancashire, helped to ignite something of a 'potato renaissance' in 2024.
At the height of their fame, both vendors reported customer queues in their hundreds. Spud Bros launched an express hatch in Soho in the autumn.
Many believe the cost-of-living crisis has had an impact. Consumer reports in 2024 found British diners were swapping shop-bought sandwiches, sushi and salads for money jacket potatoes to save money.
Subway said its jacket potatoes will be available until April 15, with the potential for a nationwide rollout later this year. 'We're eager to see how Spudway is received,' Safa added. 'If our guests love it, this could be just the beginning.'
Multiple locations. subway.com
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Newsweek
29 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Four Airlines Announce Investment in the Future of Travel to India
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Some of the world's leading airlines are investing to build a flight network to better connect India to the rest of the world. IndiGo, Delta Air Lines, Air France-KLM and Virgin Atlantic this week announced a partnership that aims to link the domestic and international travel markets within and outside of India. IndiGo is a low-cost airline based in Gurugram, India. It is the largest carrier in the country with a 64.1 percent market share in 2025, nearly 20 points higher than their nearest competitor, Air India. IndiGo's primary airport is the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi. "IndiGo has embarked on an ambitious journey to become a global airline by 2030. This partnership represents another important milestone to pursue commercial synergies, operational excellence and innovation. This announcement not only expands our relationship with Air France–KLM and Virgin Atlantic but also marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter as we welcome Delta Air Lines as a valued partner," Pieter Elbers, CEO of IndiGo, said in a statement. "This strategic partnership enables a compelling combined customer proposition in the form of comprehensive intercontinental connectivity, seamless experience and great loyalty value. It also lays the groundwork for us to exchange best practices in areas of technology, operational excellence and service delivery," he said. The tail of a Virgin Atlantic plane is posed next to one of a SkyTeam alliance-branded plane. The tail of a Virgin Atlantic plane is posed next to one of a SkyTeam alliance-branded plane. Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines is one of the largest international airlines and part of the SkyTeam, one of the world's three major airline alliances. The Atlanta-based company offers more than 5,400 flights daily on six continents. Air France-KLM serves the international market under the Air France, KLM and Transavia brand names. As of late 2024, Air France-KLM flies 561 planes. The brands are part of the SkyTeam alliance and fly to more than 500 destinations worldwide as part of that network. Virgin Atlantic flies primarily out of London-Heathrow and Manchester, England airports with its 44 planes. It too is part of the SkyTeam alliance. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi told reporters on Monday that India is the world's third-largest domestic aviation market. The country, the world's fifth-largest economy, is one of the fastest-growing aviation markets in the world. Modi noted in his remarks that India's airline industry has already ordered 2,000 new aircraft. IndiGo is expanding its fleet of Boeing 787 aircraft to six later this year and has placed an order for 30 Airbus A350-900 aircraft, with an option for 70 more. According to a freshly released report from the International Air Transport Association, aviation supports India's tourism industry to the tune of $27.1 billion and employs 5 million people. IndiGo has been linked with Air France-KLM and Virgin Atlantic since 2022, allowing passengers of those airlines to access 30 of IndiGo's destinations in India. The Indian airline recently started service to Europe, which facilitated the opportunity for partnership with Virgin Atlantic and Delta. Soon, IndiGo customers will be able to book KLM flights from Amsterdam to 30 points within Europe, Delta and KLM flights from Amsterdam to the U.S. and Canada and Virgin Atlantic flights from Manchester to the U.S. In September, KLM will launch a new route, connecting Amsterdam to Hyderabad, India. Those customers will be able to purchase an IndiGo ticket to reach 24 destinations beyond Hyderabad as part of the partnership. Delta plans to relaunch direct flights to India, with direct flights from Atlanta to Delhi possible once government approval has been reached.
CNBC
36 minutes ago
- CNBC
Palantir CEO Karp says AI is dangerous and 'either we win or China will win'
Palantir CEO Alex Karp said the artificial intelligence arms race between the U.S. and China will culminate in one country coming out on top. "My general bias on AI is it is dangerous," Karp told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" on Thursday. "There are positive and negative consequences, and either we win or China will win." Karp has been a vocal advocate for U.S AI dominance. He told CNBC in January that the country needs to "run harder, run faster" in an "all-country effort" to develop more advanced AI models. In a recent letter to shareholders, he also touted Palantir's commitment to equipping and enhancing U.S. defense interests. The billionaire tech CEO said Thursday that the U.S. currently has a leg up in the AI race and Palantir is leading the way in making companies more secure and efficient with its tools. "There is no economy in the world with this kind of corporate leadership which is willing to pivot, which understands technologies, which is willing to look at new things, but also has deep domain expertise," he said. "Our allies in the West, in Europe, are going to have to learn from us." Shares of the Denver-based data analytics and AI software firm outperformed in 2024 and have continued their ascent in 2025 as investors bet on their software and work with key government contractors and agencies. The stock is up 74% this year, but investors have to shell out on a higher earnings multiple than its tech peers. "You don't like the price, exit," Karp said on Thursday in response. Karp also asserted that the company is "not surveilling Americans" in response to recent New York Times report that Palantir is helping the Trump administration gather data on Americans.
Axios
37 minutes ago
- Axios
Communicator spotlight: Josh Earnest of United Airlines
As United Airlines' executive vice president of communications and advertising, Josh Earnest is responsible for sharing how the airline differs from its competitors. Why it matters: Much of the job is spent protecting the brand amid ongoing crises — from COIVD-19 groundings, to the Boeing quality control issues, to the recent air traffic challenges at Newark Liberty International Airport, one of United's hubs. What he's saying: Travelers have to relinquish control to the airline that's getting them from point A to point B, which "makes the association that fliers have with our brand all the more important," Earnest told Axios. Flyers pay attention to how the airlines communicate during a crisis "because they see their own personal stake in it," he said. "When people are sitting on that plane, they are feeling out of control. When you're sitting on an airplane, sometimes you don't even have access to WiFi — although we're doing a lot to try to fix that — and you're arriving whenever we decide to arrive. Hopefully your bags will make it, but we're the ones looking out for them. And you're certainly counting on United to keep you safe." State of play: United operates nearly 70% of the flights at Newark, which means the airline has a huge stake in the recent flight disruptions caused by air traffic control issues. "A lot of the challenges at Newark are totally outside of the control of United Airlines. We're talking about air traffic controllers, state and local regulators at the New York and New Jersey Port Authority, federal regulators at the FAA and the Department of Transportation, and the air traffic controllers union," he said. Yes, but: While things might be outside of United's control, its brand is impacted, and it is "not an option for us to sit on the sidelines," Earnest said. "That's why we have worked both to engage with government regulators, to try to come up with policy solutions that could solve the problem, but also why we've been really out in front in communicating with the public and with our customers about what is being done to make it more reliable." Most recently, United slashed ticket prices for Newark-based flights and partnered with JetBlue to allow for more flight options out of nearby Kennedy International Airport. Catch up quick: Before joining United, Earnest spent more than two decades in politics, most recently serving as White House press secretary for the Obama administration. Zoom in: Earnest sits on the executive team, reporting to United president Brett Hart. He oversees a team of about 140 people who are responsible for the airline's global communications, advertising and community engagement strategies. The team structure "allows us to integrate the creative, paid efforts with our aggressive, proactive earned efforts," he said. "There's no enterprise that can rely on one channel of communication, and it just means that there's a higher premium placed on a well-integrated communication strategy." "We will often use notes to our employees to drive news coverage. If you think about it, it used to be the other way. We would worry that notes we're sending to our employees could get out. And what do we do to try to prevent that? ... Now we like the benefit of the public seeing that we're transparently communicating with our employees about what's happening."
