Beef Checkoff Partners with Quiznos Sub

DENVER (September 9, 2004) What this world needs is more beef sandwiches. In a partnership with the Beef Checkoff Program, Quiznos Sub is doing just that by introducing a new Steakhouse Beef Dip Sub. The promotion began Sept. 6 and runs through Oct. 17 at participating Quiznos Sub stores in the United States.

The partnership was initiated on behalf of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and state beef councils by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA). The NCBA serves as one of the Beef Board’s contractors for checkoff-funded programs.

During the promotion, the beef sub will be promoted nationally via radio and TV spots, as well as newspaper coupons in freestanding inserts. The Beef Check logo will appear on all merchandising materials, the newspaper freestanding inserts and in the TV spots.

The Quiznos Steakhouse Beef Dip Sub features tender roast beef smothered in rich French onion sauce, and melted Swiss cheese, served in a toasted Quiznos roll, with a side of beefy, pan roasted au jus. For a limited time, the 6-inch sub sells for $2.99, and the 10-inch sub for $5.49. The Steakhouse Beef Dip is also available on Low Carb Toasty™ Flatbread.

Roast beef for this sub is taken from the round, a cut of beef previously not utilized for new product development, which checkoff dollars promote to increase the total value of beef products. It is expected that 880,000 pounds of round will be sold during the promotion, with 2 million pounds sold by year-end.

Quiznos showcases a variety of beef on its menu, including two new Craveable salads featuring beef products, one with roast beef and the other with Black Angus Steak.

“We are excited about our partnership with Quiznos Sub because sandwich shops are one of the fastest growing segments of foodservice, and the beef industry is taking advantage of this growth to sell more beef,” says Sid Sumner, a Bartow, Fla., beef producer who chairs the beef industry’s Joint Foodservice Committee. “Quiznos Sub is the fastest growing sandwich chain in the U.S., and is experiencing phenomenal growth – which makes it a perfect place to promote beef.”

“We are extremely happy to be partnering with the Cattlemen’s Beef Board to promote our new Steakhouse Beef Dip sub,” said Trey Hall, chief marketing officer at Quiznos Sub. “We want to help support the great beef produced across the U.S. by America’s cattle farmers and ranchers. We are expecting a very successful promotion for the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and Quiznos. We’re looking forward to strong sales of this bold, beefy sub.”

Quiznos Corporation franchises and operates quick service Italian-style sub sandwich shops. There are nearly 3,500 Quizno's restaurants worldwide in 15 countries. A new Quiznos opens, on average, every 8 hours somewhere in the world.

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The Beef Checkoff Program was established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill. The checkoff assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, in addition to a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. States retain up to 50 cents on the dollar and forward the other 50 cents per head to the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board, which administers the national checkoff program, subject to USDA approval. The checkoff assessment became mandatory when the program was approved by 79 percent of producers in a 1988 national referendum vote. Checkoff revenues may be used for promotion, education and research programs to improve the marketing climate for beef.

Producer-directed and consumer-focused, the NCBA is the trade association of America’s cattle farmers and ranchers, and the marketing organization for the largest segment of the nation’s food and fiber industry.