Subway: The sandwich chain turns heads with the release of a footlong cookie

In January 2024, Subway added a Footlong Cookie to its menu for only $5. Demand for the cookie exceeded Subway’s ability to fulfill orders, and the cookie had to be temporarily removed from Subway’s app and delivery purchase options. Between January and May, Subway sold 5 million Footlong Cookies.

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After almost four months of hiatus as Subway tweaked their cookie supply chain, the Footlong Cookie reemerged full force in May. Since then, the cookie has been available for sale in-store, through the app, and through the chain’s delivery partners.

“The Footlong Cookie has delighted millions of Americans since their first bites in January, sparking unprecedented demand over the last several months. Subway worked diligently to rush additional Footlong Cookie supply to satisfy cookie cravings at a great value and serve up a footlong dose of happiness this summer.” – Paul Fabre, Subway’s Senior Vice President of Culinary and Innovation

Perhaps in part due to the popular cookie’s early scarcity, the Subway Footlong Cookie took off across social media. In particular, numerous customers posted videos of themselves tasting the giant treat on TikTok. The Subway Cookie had officially gone viral.

TikTok Users Who “Recommend” Subway – 12 Week Moving Average

Figure 1. QuestBrand. 1/1/24-8/25/24. Base: General population of US adults, n=4,555. Base: US adults who have used TikTok within the past 30 days, n=1,930.

Using data from QuestBrand by The Harris Poll, we tracked Subway’s Recommend score among TikTok users, and compared it to the score among the general population of US adults.

Figure 1 shows that active TikTok users (those who have used the platform within the past 30 days) more often recommend the Subway brand than non-TikTok users. This trendline suggests that TikTok users may be more positively predisposed to the sandwich chain due to the content they are seeing about the brand online.

This significant boost in Subway’s recommend scores highlights the power that viral videos can have on a brand, its reputation, and ultimately its sales.