Four of Five Operators Menu Sandwiches

More than any other Menu Part, sandwiches have profitably accommodated every food group including proteins, breads, cheese, condiments, sauces, veggies, seasonings and carbs. Every food manufacturer, with perhaps the exception of Caviar and Brazil Nuts, includes sandwich menu suggestions in merchandising materials. Chefs, no matter how high the toque, are always fine tuning a new sandwich roll out.

Restaurant menus testify to the importance of the sandwich, as evidenced by a category incidence level of 77%. Most encouraging, however, is the fact that each year for the last decade and a half, incidence has grown one or two points. Go back to 2000 and incidence is up three points; go back ten years and it is up 14 points. Both Hot and Cold Sandwiches share equally in the historical record of sandwich growth. This dynamic growth is a revealed by the MenuMine database of chain, independent and non commercial menus, which has monitored the American Menu since 1996.

Hot and Cold Sandwiches

Hot Sandwiches (74% listing) edge out Cold (40%) for a place on the American Menu (see above table). It seems that if a foodservice operator is going to offer sandwiches, there is a 95% chance it will be Hot (74 as % of 77) and a 52% chance it will be Cold (52%).

MenuMine is representative of the entire foodservice marketplace with its coverage of three broad market sectors including Chains, Independents and Non Commercial. Regardless of market sector, Hot Sandwiches are the preferred temperature medium for Sandwiches. A very large record of more than 13,000 sandwiches (not counting breakfast) clearly favors Hot by a ratio of three to one. Restaurant chains mirror independents for this menu listing preference, going almost 4 to 1 in favor of Hot. In the more diverse captive setting of Non Commercial, this ratio retreats to 2.6 to 1.

Category Incidence for Hot and Cold within Market Sector

Close examination of 209 QSR menus from around the country shows that three of four or 75% list either hot or cold sandwiches on the menu. Almost seven of ten QSR Chains (69%) list Hot Sandwiches and four of ten (38%) list Cold Sandwiches. Without a doubt, QSR Chains sell the greatest number of sandwiches, probably in the range of 50% to 60%, but this measurement is beyond the capacity of MenuMine to project. At the upper end of the menu price scale, Cutting Edge Independents (fine dining) and Casual Independents have a 50% chance of listing sandwiches on the menu.

Market Sectors Menuing Sandwiches (hot and cold combined)

While menuing sandwiches on a white table cloth may be offered more as a diner convenience, category incidence for sandwiches over the last five years is up 20% in cutting edge independents and up 13% in casual independents (see table below). Casual chains, another upscale segment, also are solidly behind the sandwich as evidenced by a very high incidence level of 86%, up 8% over the last five years. In all market segments combined, category incidence for sandwiches is up 3%.

Sandwich Items Per Operator Menuing

A second very positive barometer of sandwich enthusiasm stems from incremental gains in the actual number of sandwich items on the menu. Currently, all restaurants with a sandwich on the menu offer an average of 13.2 different selections. Fast Casual and its cousin QSR Chains offer an average of 21 sandwiches on the menu.

Menu Prices of Hot and Cold Sandwiches

In chain restaurants (casual, midscale and qsr combined) consumers may expect to spend $6.86 on average for a Hot Sandwich and close to $6.69 for a Cold Sandwich. MenuMine tracks prices on a yearly basis and has been doing so for 14 years. Hot Sandwich prices in chains are up 12% since 2005 and 35%, if one wishes to go back to 2000. Cold Sandwich prices in Chains are 13% since 2005 and 26% since 2000.

Protein Share of Sandwich Menu Listings

The three main protein types stacked on sandwiches are Beef, Chicken and Pork, as represented by either ham, bacon, deli meats or sausage). Beef is listed as a menu component in 26.3% of sandwiches which have a protein and close behind is Chicken at 25.8% and Pork meat selections at 23.5%. It is doubtful if volume shares resemble menu share data, however, they probably do not vary by more than five share points and it is speculated they are vastly different for Cold vs. Hot Sandwiches.

Leading Protein Types on Hot and Cold Sandwiches

Beef and Chicken rule in Hot Sandwiches and Pork and Turkey shut down other proteins in Cold Sandwiches.

Leading Menu Item for Items for Hot Cold Sandwiches

The Grilled Cheese Sandwich is the leading Hot Sandwich and accounts for a 3.6% menu share of all Hot Sandwiches listed on the American Menu. Category incidence for the Grilled Cheese Sandwich is 20%, which means that one in five foodservice operations menu Grilled Cheese. Other leading Hot Sandwiches are the Beef Taco, Grilled Chicken, Roast Beef and Grilled Ham & Cheese. Note: MenuMine considers the taco to be a hot sandwich and the burrito a prepared entree, however, there is some industry disagreement over this. The single most popularly menued Cold Sandwich is the Tuna Salad Sandwich, which accounts for an 8.8% share of all cold sandwiches on the menu. Tuna Salad Sandwiches have a category incidence of 14%, which means that about one in seven foodservice operators list the item on the menu. The BLT, the Chicken Salad Sandwich, the Ham & Cheese Sandwich and an assortment of Deli Meat Sandwiches round out the top five. The most adaptable and versatile protein in Cold Sandwiches appears to be Turkey whether by itself or paired with Ham or Beef.

Cuisine of Sandwiches

The cuisine of Hot Sandwiches is generally American Traditional (22.3%), Mexican/Tex Mex (15.4%), Italian (13.2%) or American Deli (8.6%). It appears there are more opportunities in Hot Sandwiches for cuisine (of item) diversity. Cold Sandwiches , on the other hand, seem to be dominated by two cuisines, American Traditional and American Deli, which together account for a 63% share of menu. However, a shift has occurred in the posture of wrap sandwiches, which when introduced 15 years ago were clearly ethnic, but are now mainstream or California / Pacific or Healthy / Light.

Sandwich Ingredients: Greens and Tomatoes

Frequently, the variety of Lettuce or Green is not declared on the menu, but when it is, Romaine, Spinach, Cabbage, Salad Greens, Mixed Greens, Field Greens and Arugula predominate. Sun Dried and Roma Tomatoes offer a small degree of flavor variety in sandwiches, however, most sandwiches simply declare in their item description that Tomato is an ingredient or option.

Breads and Cheese on Sandwiches

Breads and rolls are the platform for sandwiches. As such, their role is not to provide flavor because sandwich ingredients like meats, cheese and sauce do not need any help. Rye and Sourdough are the only two flavors that have made a mark on sandwich bread flavor. Bread's role is to provide texture, whether chewy like a bagel or French bread, crunchy like a crisp shell or crust, flaky like a biscuit or pita or compliant like a simple submarine roll or bun. If one is talking Pizza, Mozzarella occupies the top rung of popularity with an 80% menu share. For Salads Parmesan beats everyone with a 30% menu share. For Cheeseburgers, it's American which alights on 33% of all patties. For Sandwiches, Swiss is the most frequently used cheese, with a 16% share of menu. But right behind Swiss are five other cheeses, all equally popular, and these include American, Cheddar, Provolone, Mozzarella and Jack.

Condiments, Sauces and Seasonings

Mayonnaise is way out ahead of any other sandwich condiment. If a sandwich uses a condiment, 61% of the time it is Mayonnaise. Usually mayonnaise is simply listed on the menu without any flavor variety detail. MenuMine tracks unique flavors of Mayonnaise used on sandwiches including Chipotle, Aioli, Pesto, Horseradish, Cajun, Wasabi and about 50 more. There is a wide assortment of seasonings used on sandwiches either in the infused flavoring of the meat or the enhanced flavor of a sauce, condiment or other ingredient. Leading seasonings in sandwiches are the general "Spices or Spicy" followed by Garlic, Basil, Mexican Spices and Rosemary. Ten years ago, Cilantro was ranked as the sixteenth most frequently menued seasoning on sandwiches and now it is ranked seventh.