The 3 Companies Responsible For Making Subway's Bread Dough

When you walk into Subway, the first thing you likely smell is fresh-baked bread. That's because each store bakes its own bread after the dough is made, shaped into loaves, and frozen at off-site locations. The global American fast-food chain is known for its delicious, filling sandwiches that you can easily hack to fit more toppings, but the first step in making the lunchtime favorite is picking which soft bread you want to serve as your vessel. In fact, the restaurant offers a variety of options, including Italian Herb & Cheese, Wheat, and Flatbread, thanks to its partnerships with a few key suppliers.

In a 2015 press release, Subway stated that three suppliers — Lineage Logistics (now known just as Lineage), ARYZTA, and Southwest Baking — were helping the chain "develop its best bread yet." While Subway hasn't talked about the suppliers much in recent years, it's not announced new bread suppliers and was distinctly associated with one of the three companies as recently as 2023. 

Whether you're ordering the All-American Club, the Veggie Delite, or a sandwich with Subway's controversial tuna from the hack-friendly menu, bread is a crucial part of your meal, and because of the three aforementioned suppliers, Subway has been able to perfect its products and deliver delicious results to its locations around the world. But just what do these companies actually do?

Subway's partnered with three bread suppliers — Lineage, ARYZTA, and Southwest Baking — but is each company responsible for a different aspect in the bread-production process or do they all work together? In 2023, The Irish Times interviewed the CEO of ARYZTA, Urs Jordi, and noted that the company still works with Subway, as well as McDonald's, Aldi, and more. The company is known as an "international bakery" that makes "high quality and great tasting bread and rolls," according to its website. Therefore, we can deduce that the company is responsible for making at least some Subway's bread dough. The company was also credited a few years earlier for manufacturing cookies for the chain's European locations.

Meanwhile, Subway mentioned Lineage, which is known primarily for its logistical and warehousing endeavors, in a press release in 2016 when the supplier was given both the Innovation Award and Excellence in Customer Service Award from the restaurant at a yearly convention. Per the release, Lineage helps Subway "create ... new breads," ensure food safety during transportation, and train customer-service workers to assist shipping crews. 

Lastly, Southwest Baking states on LinkedIn that it's responsible for "delivering great quality products to Subway stores in different States," on top of the 2015 press release noting that it's helped with creating new bread recipes. Ultimately, it seems these suppliers have all been integral in recipe development and bread production, and thanks to them, Subway is able to bake fresh bread in each of its stores.