Roark-owned Subway is working to return the brand to its heyday. The chain’s latest turnaround strategy includes shrinking its footprint and repositioning its value proposition on price-conscious, better-for-you eats.
This angle bodes well for Subway, which has struggled to perform in today’s market. In the past two years, the company’s royalty revenue from franchisees has fallen 10%, according to Restaurant Business. Because all of Subway’s units are franchised, this translates into a direct drop in sales performance.
Consequently, Roark, which spent $9.6 billion on the acquisition in 2024, reduced its footprint and modified its market positioning. The company closed 729 domestic locations in 2025 and 631 the year before, ending 2025 with under 19,000 units. Although drastic, this trend started a decade earlier, having steadily shrunk its footprint following its 2015 peak. Abroad, it also closed more locations than it opened in 2025.
In an emailed statement to QSR, Subway said its strategy aims for long-term growth.
“In the U.S., Subway is focused on ensuring restaurants are in the right locations with the real estate, visibility, and operations that set franchisees up to succeed long-term,” Subway said.
“That work is paying off. Operational improvements are showing up across the system, with restaurant evaluation scores and Google review scores both climbing to their highest levels in two years.”
Within the store, the brand is also adjusting its portfolio to entice shoppers with an economically sustainable set of offerings.
“Subway is building on its momentum with new retail and beverage partnerships, menu innovation, and ongoing investment in the guest experience,” Subway stated.
Recently, the chain introduced its first-ever value meal deal, debuting with 15 offerings priced below $5. To appeal to GLP-1 drug users and personal health and wellness enthusiasts, the new lineup leans heavily on smaller portions and protein-forward options, with most items delivering more than 20 g of protein.
The $5 Curse
Subway can’t ignore the $5 curse, first invoked by its successful $5 footlong promotion in the late aughts. It then retired the deal following a period of reduced profitability before reviving it in 2017. This led to dissent among franchisees who could barely eke out a profit.
A report from The Hustle found that the profit on a roast beef footlong was $0.64 in 2008, but -$0.87 in 2017, leading the chain to once again discontinue it only to resurrect it once again in 2020 and meet a similar demise. Since then, there have been similar deals to engage with the need state that brought it to its 2015 success.
Now, the deal has returned, but its positioned differently. For one, the menu features a choice of 6-inch sandwich, or, for only $3.99, a Protein Pocket.
With its sights set on profitability, and the better-for-you shopper, this may be the deal the absolves them from the curse.
The chain’s partnership with PepsiCo’s recently acquired prebiotic soda brand poppi highlights this effort. The low-sugar, functional beverage at Subway locations nationwide, gaining traction as a functional beverage and “permissible indulgence.”
The brand is a bellwether for the “modern soda” industry, indicating, too, today’s shoppers’ appetite for offerings positioned with function in mind.
The new value proposition also pins against other traditional QSRs with classic indulgent positioning that compels consumers view them as less healthy, all while achieving relative price parity – a Big Mac averages between $4.5 and $7.
“Your wallet and stomach deserve freshly-baked bread, real protein and the perfect combination of sauces and hand-chopped veggies,” North American chief marketing officer Dave Skena said in a statement.
If executed with the right strategy, Subway’s health-focus will likely land with today’s cash-strapped health-focused shopper. A recent Circana report found that, because of GLP-1 drugs, the MAHA movement, and recent food system scrutiny, Americans are for the first time eating less.
Combine this shift with the generally positive view of a deli sandwich on hitting fiber and protein goals, and Subway, and its owner, may have found the recipe to return to growth.
This optimistic view, however, hinges on whether it can shirk off its negative perceptions – including lawsuits that allege “misleading” customers about portion size and falsely stating meat content, in addition to the incarceration of previous spokesperson Jared Fogle.
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