Newsroom

WE’RE A NATION OF LUNCH LOVERS!

ALMOST 85% OF IRISH PEOPLE BELIEVE THE LUNCH BREAK IS A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF THEIR DAY, ACCORDING TO A NEW STUDY

•Sandwiches are the most popular work lunch, as 64% opt for them as their ‘go-to’ lunch

•One in four people (25%) admit that their biggest lunch time annoyance is colleagues not cleaning up after themselves

•More than a fifth (23%) discuss work during their lunch break, with only 12.1% admitting to having a gossip with their colleagues

•The new study puts a spotlight on Ireland’s lunchtime habits, as the nation gets ready to get back to offices later this month

•Study commissioned to celebrate 27 years of Subway® in Ireland and its iconic Footlongs

Images available to download here.

Monday 13th September 2021, Dublin: New research released from Subway® Ireland reveals that Irish people believe that the lunch break is a very important part of the working day (84.3%), however, almost a fifth (17.2%) continue to eat lunch at their desk.

The study has revealed that the return to offices on September 20th won’t be without its issues, as one in four people (24.7%) admit that messy colleagues is their top lunch break pet peeve followed by a work call during lunch (20.5%) and the dreaded smelly food prepared by colleagues (12.4%). The research from Subway® Ireland asked 1,000 Irish people about their office lunch habits, to celebrate Subway’s® 27 years in Ireland and its iconic Footlong Sub.

Although lunch breaks are important to the workforce, the new study has found that more than a fifth (22.9%) of Irish people continue to discuss work during their ‘breaks’, nearly a quarter (22%) discuss the latest sports results, while 12.1% admit to gossiping with colleagues.

When it comes to the most popular lunches the sandwich has ranked as the nation’s top lunch choice with two thirds choosing them over salads (13%). When opting for a Subway®, over half of respondents (58.8%) admit they would never share their order with someone else and 40.8% say the famous Footlong is their order of choice. 41.2% choose the Footlong for its value for money and 37% are satisfied that it is the perfect size for their lunch break.

Subway has unveiled Ireland’s favourite Subway® Subs as part of the research, the Chicken Tikka (441,898 sold in 2021) has topped the list as the most ordered Footlong, followed by the Meatball Marinara (368,160) and the Italian B.M.T. ® (363,168) respectively, with one of these Subs being sold every minute since the beginning of the year!

Mays Elansari, Head of Marketing UK & Ireland at Subway® commented “Our new research shows that Ireland is clearly a nation of lunch lovers, from those who are still working from home or who have gone back to work, lunchtime is a vital part of the day!

Our iconic Footlongs are a firm lunchtime favourite over the last 27 years and can satisfy the Irish public’s lunchtime cravings through more choice and value. Alongside our iconic Footlongs, Subway® also offers Wraps and Salads, the go-to meals for lunchtime lovers around the country.”

Guests can order in-store, use the convenient Order collection via the Subway® app or order via delivery services including Just Eat, Uber Eats and Deliveroo. 

To find your nearest open Subway® store, visit www.subway.com/en-ie/.

-ENDS-

Notes to Editors

Survey commissioned by Subway® via survey company 3Gem, of 1,000 Irish adults in August 2021.

For more information about this press release please contact:

Kotryna Cikanaviciute Kotryna.Cikanaviciute@teneo.com +353 83 307 1125

For information on the Subway® brand please visit:

Website: www.subway.com/en-ie/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/SubwayROI/

Twitter: @SubwayROI

About the Subway® brand:

The Subway® brand is the world’s largest submarine sandwich franchise, with more than 42,500 locations in more than 113 countries. Headquartered in Milford, Connecticut, the Subway® brand was co-founded by Fred DeLuca and Dr. Peter Buck in 1965. That partnership marked the beginning of a remarkable journey, which has made it possible for thousands of individuals to build and succeed in their own business. In 2017 the Subway® brand embarked on a sugar reduction programme and together with our beverages partner PepsiCo/Britvic, we have taken out 4 billion calories from our GB customer’s annual consumption, per store, this means almost 2 million calories annually have been removed. This represents an overall 30% calorie consumption reduction from drinks sold in Subway® stores.

In the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, nearly 300 million calories have been removed from our Irish customers’ consumption from Subway® stores (ROI & NI). Per store, this means almost 1 million calories annually have been removed. This represents an overall 15% calorie consumption reduction from drinks sold in Subway® stores (due to different product mix). We are constantly looking at ways that can reformulate our menu to offer customer a choice of foods that are the best they nutritionally can be at an affordable price.