BBC Radio 4: Live interview
We joined You & Yours on BBC Radio 4 to discuss why sandwiches are having a moment (again), and what’s behind the rise of the mega deli sarnie.
It was a real thrill chatting with Winifred Robinson live on the radio, and we loved hearing about Derek’s sandwich shop in Liverpool which is one of the many independents who are serving these epic creations.
Listen on BBC Sounds (we’re about 22 minutes in after all the car parking chat!) or see the snippet and summary below:
Why is the deli sandwich having a moment?
Desire for escapism and flavour experience: generally seeing consumers going after bolder flavours and textures. Gen Z especially loves hot and spicy flavours; more adventurous eaters also want nuanced international cuisine. The sandwich might be a British institution, but every culture has a proud tradition of shoving two things between bread. Vietnamese Bánh Mì, Italian American muffuletta - so we’re seeing a real explosion and cross-pollination between lots of different styles of sandwiches
The cost of living crisis and how Covid impacted how frequently and where we eat out. These deli sandwiches are a great segway; a kind of bridge back into eating out. Consumers can treat themselves, without committing to a full meal.
There’s something inherently poetic about a sandwich: it’s the perfect meal. It’s a vehicle for endless flavour variations, neatly packaged between two slices of bread, and you can eat a sandwich for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Consumers can’t resist that kind of convenience.
These types of sandwiches aren't as cheap as a simple meal deal, but they aren't as expensive as eating in a restaurant. At Dereks the prices ranged from £9 to £12. Is the price point important?
The price point of these higher end sandwiches is really important as it feels like an indulgence, but it’s still within an affordable bracket. The great thing about a sandwich is that it can cost £1.20 at Greggs or £12 at a place like Dereks.
The cost of living crisis isn’t over yet, and we’re generally seeing chefs and even high end restaurants turning to lunch time meal deals or comfort food to get people to part with their cash. These kinds of artisan sandwiches should be more expensive than supermarket varieties, because they’re using local ingredients, homemade sauces, handmade bread etc
Derek's has a kind of cult following in Liverpool. The t-shirts were designed by a local artist. Uniqlo sold them in their Liverpool store for three months. Does that idea of creating something special mean that the big chains can't move in on this business?
Big chains will always move in on the business. But it’s a symbiotic relationship. We’ve run Harris and Hayes food consultancy for 10 years, and we’ve seen trends flip flop back and forth between independents and big chains.
M&S and Boots popularised sandwiches to-go and the meal deal in the 80s, but then independent bakeries like E5 and Pophams brought back sourdough in early 2000’s, then the supermarkets and Pret came back with their Christmas sandwich craze, and now we’re in the hyped up, overfilled sandwich phase that’s driven by social media and these independent sandwich makers again. Then of course there’s the M&S strawberry sandwich…
But independents get cult status supermarkets can only dream of. My local deli in Margate is called Picnic; their chicken caesar sandwich is so popular, someone got a tattoo of it on their arm.
In summary, the sandwich is going anywhere. Food trends generally work in cycles, which keeps them coming back and always being reinvented.
