The sliced bread sensation that everyone knows and loves!

The good old sarnie… whether you’re munching away on a classic British chip butty, a proudly American PBJ, or one of the millions of other globally-recognised variations, there’s little that beats this simple yet satisfying creation. According to the official website of British Sandwich Week, in Britain, we spend over £3.8 billion annually on sandwiches, meaning around 8.2 billion sandwiches are consumed every year.

So, when, why, where and how do we actually celebrate this most humble dish?

There are actually 2 celebrations that take place every year, a global event on November 3^rd, and the aforementioned British Sandwich Week which takes place typically the second to last week in May.

The former is a US-led event, however, it is also celebrated here in the UK, after launching in 2017. It seems that Americans have become enamoured with the sandwich’s anecdotal story of origin, with it hailing from the town of Sandwich in Kent. Legend goes that the 4^th Earl of Sandwich, John Montagu often demanded meat to be delivered to him whilst playing cards, but that in order to prevent the grease from transferring to the cards, he preferred it to be served between two slices of bread, and from there, the sandwich concept caught on.

A competitive event

British Sandwich Week celebrates the best that our country has to offer, and includes the ‘Sammie’ awards, with gongs including Best New Sandwich and Sandwich Retailer of the Year. Recent celebrations included the winners of Sandwich Designer of the Year being featured on mainstream BBC programme ‘The One Show’, where they showcased their creations live.

There are no rules…

Despite the fact that the word sandwich certainly stems from the UK, if we’re defining it as two slices of bread encased around a filling, there are dishes from all over the world that would qualify. British favourites include the Ploughman’s, and even fish finger sandwiches, which can now be seen jazzed up on gastropub menus. US classics include BLTs and PBJs (they do love an acronym), not to mention regional specials such as the Philly Cheesesteak, New Orleans’ Muffaletta and Po’ Boy, and Texas’ Sloppy Joe.

For the toasted variety of sarnie, head over to France for Croque Monsieur, or Portugal for the mega-sandwich that is the Francesinha. Find fresh citrusy flavours and crunchy veg in the Vietnamese Banh Mi, or soft and fluffy flatbread ‘sandwiches’ with the Middle Eastern Shawarma. The beauty of the sandwich is that they can be as glamorous or low-budget as desired, and there really are very few rules.

Who did it well?

There’s no end to the creativity seen to promote these two sandwich celebrations in recent years, with edible sculptures, charity projects and nail art to name a few.

In the UK, Subway stated that for every sub sold, they would donate 5p to national food banks, along with personal rewards for customers who downloaded and registered with the Subcard app, who would receive a free 6-inch sub.

But as ever, there were a number of organisations and businesses who enjoyed jumping on board despite having no obvious links to the sandwich industry. Take radio station Classic FM, for example, who celebrated by creating a grand piano out of sandwiches, which even featured a cheese and chive keyboard.

Favourite cereal brand Lucky Charms formed a pop tart-style sandwich, filled with candyfloss and lucky charms in order to promote their own product inventively on this marketing day.

Whilst in the beauty industry, OPI nails promoted a dark brown shade of theirs by sharing an image of sandwich-themed nail art, and there was even a place for movie buffs in National Sandwich Day, with online US magazine Slate producing a piece on the top ten sandwiches in movie history to engage readers.

Over to you…

From the PR stunts above, it’s clear that you don’t have to be a sandwich super business to make the most of these two annual events. There are plenty of ways to get stuck in, including, but not limited to:

• Food charities and food banks – Working with and supporting such organisations appeals to consumers’ altruistic nature, encouraging them to support your business in turn.

• Original art and visuals – Think like OPI nails – can you create imagery using your products or featuring your products that you can link back to the day’s theme?

• Hashtags – Always one of the most important ways to connect with enthusiasts and loyal Sandwich Day/Week followers, hashtags allow your social content to be seen by people around the world, regardless of whether they ‘ve engaged with your content before.

• Recipes – Take it back to basics with some simple (or not so simple) sandwich-based recipes. Either keep it serious, or play around with some novelty, tongue-in-cheek ideas that are sure to get people talking.

• Sculptures and physical creations – Take notes from Classic FM, and use your creative brains to pull together impressive sandwich-themed models linked to your area of expertise.

• Promotions and specials – From special menu items to lunchbox discounts, these kinds of limited-time-only offers are a sure-fire way to tempt new and existing customers.

An all-inclusive celebration

Of course, there are endless possibilities when it comes to National Sandwich Day and British Sandwich Week promotions, but the pointers above should get you started. Unlike many niche appreciation and celebration days, the sandwich is something that we all know and love, and so you’ll certainly meet with a broad and eager audience.

Written by Mary Dulwich