What We Can Learn From A Blimpie

We’ll end the week with a Foodie Friday thought from the good folks at Blimpie.  Actually, the sandwich that prompted the thought is from them:  the thought itself comes from me.  The sandwich in question is the Blimpie Special Vegetarian 12 inch sub, which began as an off the menu item but is now part of their culinary repertoire.  I’ll say upfront that I have no particular beef (no pun intended) with Blimpie.  I used to eat their sandwiches all the time and one of the great joys of my youth was grabbing the biggest Blimpie combo I could buy and going to watch a basketball game.

Image by mokolabs via Flickr

I bring them up because that which I’m about to tell you is an example business thinking that’s off the mark in my opinion.  Let’s see what you think.

This is from Blimpie’s web site:

Because we take pride in promoting a healthy lifestyle, we use fresh quality ingredients in all of our deli subs, wraps, soups and salads.

Very commendable.  In fact, one might assume that the vegetarian options would be among the more healthy items on their menu.  They’re basically salad on a roll, right?  Well, the Special Vegetarian is quite special.  It has, according to Blimpie’s own figures, 1,180 calories, 59 grams of fat (18 of which are saturated) and 3,540 grams of sodium – almost a full day’s caloric and fat intake, and multiple days’ worth of sodium and carbs.  In fact, none of Blimpie’s foot long meat-free subs carry fewer than 900 calories.

My point here isn’t that folks shouldn’t eat this stuff – in moderation it’s fine for many people.  The point is that selling a meatless sub that has absurdly bad nutritional figures while saying you’re “promoting a healthy lifestyle” is a disconnect.  Blimpie isn’t alone in this – many quick-service and family dining places do the same thing – wrap food that’s absolutely horrible for you nutritionally in a veneer of health.

Businesses can’t put themselves in a position where they’re marketing one thing (health) and delivering another (crap).  Better to promote this for what it is:  “Why should meat-eaters have all the fun?  Try our special veggie sub with all of the flavor and nutritional challenges and none of the guilt of our meat-laden products!”  By the way, I am a devout carnivore so meat isn’t the issue.

There’s a West Coast chain called Claim Jumper that sells a burger that’s made with smoked bacon, handbattered onion rings, avocado, double-thick cheddar, and mayo: five sources of fat.  It’s called “The Widow Maker.”  Now THAT is better labeling and that is what we can learn from a Blimpie.

Thoughts?