NEW YORK Whether they are called clubs, gyros, melts, po'boys, muffalettas, wraps, or subs, Americans' love of sandwiches created a market worth more than $121 billion in 2005, according to Sandwiches in the U.S.: Foodservice and Retail Market and Trends, a research report from Packaged Facts.
Packaged Facts projects that the market will continue to grow exponentially, riding partly on the major success of sandwich chains, which have successfully added such concepts as fresh hearth-baked artisan breads grilled into paninis, often filled with creations [image-nocss] inspired by well-known chefs.
As varied as the sandwiches themselves are, the outlets where they are purchased are even more diverse, said the report. In warehouse clubs, convenience stores, restaurants and institutions, sandwiches continue to be a dominant force, making up 25% of the total U.S. foodservice sales.
Sandwich chains, while trumped in overall sandwich sales by burger joints (which accounted for 45% of the sandwich market), realized the greatest revenue growth from 2003 to 2005, while at the same time adding units faster than any other sandwich segment.
With the introduction of paninis and international flavor profiles, the opportunity to raise sandwiches to a new art form has taken place as even local delis and convenience stores have begun to upscale and add health- infused ingredients to their sandwich arsenals, said Don Montuori, the publisher of Packaged Facts. Sales in retail outlets now surpass sandwich chains, and restaurants sales, which dominate the market with more than half of sandwich revenues, show now signs of slowing up.
To maintain their dominance, sandwiches will continue to evolve, added a report by the Chicago Tribune. For example, sandwiches aren't just being eaten at lunch. They are now the most-eaten item at breakfast and could quickly emerge as the most-sought item for dinner.
It's a trend that sandwich chains ranging from Panera Bread to Potbelly Sandwich Works are hoping to exploit with their hot sandwiches. We're introducing entree salads that we think will help balance our sandwiches at dinner, Bryant Keil, Potbelly's chairman and CEO told the newspaper, noting that the Chicago-based chain has fared well in the past during the dinner hour.
Any way that someone can do something new with sandwiches is a good idea, Harry Balzer, executive vice president of the market information firm NPD Group, told the paper.
Sandwiches have been a mainstay of the American dinner for 20 years, but in the past decade there has been a shift toward hot sandwiches aimed at filling the desire for a hot meal; 20 years ago, 5.3% of all dinners included a cold sandwich, while 7.9% included a hot sandwich, according to the NPD data. This year, cold sandwiches account for only 4.4% of the dinner-hour meal, while hot sandwiches now total 8.9% of the meals.
Balzer said one of the biggest shifts in meal patterns has come at the expense of beef; 20 years ago, beef was included in 17.3% of all meals served at dinner. That has now dropped to 9.7% of all meals served at dinner and the falloff shows no signs of stopping, he said. Beef has been replaced by chicken, which climbed to being included in 12.6% of all meals from 8.9%, and also by the one thing that parents have found they have no trouble getting their kids to eatpizza.
It doesn't make any difference whether it is frozen pizza baked at home or a pizza ordered in, according to Balzer. The popularity of pizza has doubled during the past 20 years to now being included in 6% of dinnertime meals, up from 3%.
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