Whether it’s topped with beans, cheese or good old tuna mayo, the classic jacket potato is a staple of British café culture. And as of this week, it’ll be a staple on the extended menu of US sandwich chain Subway too.
The food to go chain is extending its ‘Spudway’ trial – which offers hot spuds topped with a choice of any signature Subway toppings – until September 2025.
Subway says the 170-store trial, which initially launched in February this year, has “outperformed expectations” as popularity for the humble jacket potato has soared over the past few months. The offering, it says, has already increased both same-store sales and guest traffic in those key locations.
It’s clear that Spudway has proven popular so far, but why the sudden boom in demand for jacket potatoes?
The ‘spudtok’ era
Avid TikTok users – and anyone else who the algorithm decided should increase their potato-based viewing – will have found it hard to escape the recent ‘spudtok’ craze, which has developed courtesy of two entirely separate creators, SpudBros and Spudman.
Both happen to run jacket potato food trucks and started using social media to showcase their array of toppings, from the classic cheese and beans to chilli con carne and chicken curry. Before long, people were queueing up – quite literally, and for hours – to get their hands on the famous spuds. SpudBros has even collaborated with the likes of YouTube sensation MrBeast and pop band The Jonas Brothers to share videos of the global influencers and celebrities enjoying their pimped-up spuds.
By tapping into the virality of TikTok food trends such as Dubai chocolate and matcha everything, these creators have amassed a whopping 4.2 million TikTok followers each, with almost 300 million combined likes across their videos.
With numbers like that, it’s not hard to see why Subway has jumped on the trend. Using the ingredients it already serves in sandwiches and wraps as topping options, simply adding a potato to the mix is a smart and cost-savvy move.
Subway has also gained social media attention following the Spudway trial launch, with some TikTok reviews of the chain’s jacket potatoes receiving over 180k likes. But a quick glance inside any café or food van shows that potatoes are not unusual, so it makes sense that Subway’s choice of toppings is as broad and exciting as its sandwich offering.
Subway goes British
While the idea of a jacket potato as a main meal is not unusual to Brits, Americans – who would typically order it as a side dish – have voiced their confusion by the idea.
TikTok users across the globe have since been trying to create the perfect fluffy jacket potato the “British way”, by adding beans and cheese. A debate sparked by a viral SpudBros post also saw many in the US trying the controversial topping combination of cheese, beans and tuna mayo – although how British that really is remains up for debate.
However, the increased awareness of the pure, butter-drenched joy that is a British jacket potato, has opened the door for the US sandwich chain to really jump on board and tap into the trend in the UK.
The move comes just as Aldi UK takes on US-founded McDonald’s in a battle of the hash browns, by giving away the free snacks outside the fast food chain’s restaurants after their breakfast menu stops being served.
With US and British potato preferences seemingly merging, perhaps there is potential for Spudway to make ground across the pond too?
Are spuds Subway’s solution to UPF?
Baked potatoes are a richer source of vitamins, minerals and fibre and are typically a healthier choice than bread. Although the move to potatoes is a complete pivot away from Subway’s core offer, it could offer a solution as the chain looks to limit ultra-processed foods, particularly considering past controversies.
In 2020, Ireland’s Supreme Court ruled that the rolls used in Subway’s hot sandwiches contained too much sugar to be considered bread. Under Ireland’s VAT Act of 1972, ingredients in bread including fat and sugar should not exceed 2% of the weight of flour in the dough.
At the time, a Subway spokesperson argued: “Subway’s bread is, of course, bread. We have been baking fresh bread in our stores for more than three decades and our guests return each day for sandwiches made on bread that smells as good as it tastes.”
Having created a global chain of franchises built on bread, it is unlikely that Subway will ever switch up its entire menu, but adding jacket potatoes as an option does provide a UPF-free alternative.
For now, while Subway is extending the trial, it is still very much a work in progress. Independent cafés and food trucks have long served jacket potatoes, but trends come and go. It’s a long time since Spud u Like outlets dotted the UK’s high streets, after all.
Making Spudway a permanent fixture on the UK menu could have some serious potential for the brand. But the time is now, or it risks another food-to-go giant stealing a march.
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