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A British miniatures artist has created the ‘world’s smallest Sub’ to celebrate the launch of Subway’s® latest addition to its menu – Japanese-inspired Teriyaki Steak. 

The tiny Sub, measuring in at under an inch, is more than 12 times smaller than the life-size version, and a perfect clay replica of the new Footlong Teriyaki Steak Sub - even down to the miniscule philly-style steak pieces, red onions, peppers and the fan-favourite Subway bread.

Artist, Nadia Michaux, who creates miniature pieces inspired by the Japanese tradition of Kawaii (the culture of cuteness) – was challenged by Subway to create the super-tiny sandwich to celebrate the launch of its new Japanese-inspired menu addition. 

The miniature Sub, which was also created with a tiny drinks cup and straw, paper bag and napkins to complete the micro-meal, took 2 days to create using a range of specialist artistic techniques to bring-to-life the textures and colours on a miniature scale.

Teriyaki Steak is new to the menu at Subway and packed with vibrant Japanese-inspired flavours - and like all of Subway’s options, is fully customisable with cheese and veggies and available as a 6-inch or Footlong Sub, wrap or salad. 

Alongside new Teriyaki Steak, Subway have also just launched a delicious vegan option, the Plant-based Teriyaki Steak, created in partnership with The Vegetarian Butcher, which is also fully customisable and can be ordered with Vegan CheeZe. 

The most challenging element of creating the tiny Sub was matching the natural colours of the sandwich, with Nadia painstakingly mixing the clay colours and firing them, then adjusting the mix until she achieved a perfect match.

To capture the vibrancy of the sliced peppers, Nadia used a technique called ‘Skinner Blend’, where two different shades of clay are sandwiched together to create a gradient, then shaped around wooden dowels before being sliced off with a fine razor blade. 

Nadia also created her own bespoke clay mix ‘recipe’ and coated this onto the cheese slices to create the ‘oozy’ melted effect.

At the end of the process, she added touches of varnish to the final product, to make the result look fresh and true-to-life. 

The lid of the drinks cup was made via 3D printing a cast for the cup lid. Once printed, the cast is placed on a vacuum-forming machine bed, and a special material is heated up until malleable then dropped directly onto the cast with vacuum suction, to shape material onto the cast. The lid was then painted using acrylics in the same shade as the iconic yellow Subway lids. 

Nadia is a full-time miniature artist, with her quirky career seeing her appear on TV shows such as Channel 4’s ‘The Great Big Tiny Design Challenge’ and re-creating thousands of miniature items out of clay and other materials. 

Nadia Michaux, leading UK miniatures artist, said: “I think this was my biggest challenge yet! When Subway® asked if I’d be interested in working with them to create the World’s Smallest Sub, I didn’t initially realise just how challenging that would be - but it allowed me to fuse my love of Japanese culture and my passion for Kawaii miniatures together, which was brilliant. I create miniatures every day, but I had to push my skills to the next level to bring this to life. The result is so realistic and when side by side with a real Footlong Sub, it looks identical but on a tiny scale – I’m really pleased with the result!” 

Angelina Gosal, Head of Marketing UK & Ireland at Subway, said: “What a way to honour our new Teriyaki Steak Sub - Nadia has expertly brought our Japanese-inspired Sub to life, but in amazing miniature form!  As well as the Teriyaki Steak, we also have a brand new vegan option, the Plant-based Teriyaki Steak – recently launched in partnership with The Vegetarian Butcher, for our guests to enjoy as well.”

TERIYAKI STEAK AND PLANT-BASED TERIYAKI STEAK ARE AVAILABLE NOW AT SUBWAY. ORDER ONLINE & IN STORE NOW

To find your nearest open Subway restaurant, visit www.subway.com/en-GB  

Facebook: www.facebook.com/SUBWAYUK 

Twitter: @SUBWAYUK     

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-ENDS-     

NOTES TO EDITORS     

For more information about this press release please contact:      

subway@taylorherring.com / 0208 206 5151          

For information on the Subway® brand please visit: www.subway.co.uk     

About Subway® Restaurants    
As one of the world's largest quick service restaurant brands, Subway serves freshly made-to-order sandwiches, wraps, salads and bowls to millions of guests, across more than 100 countries in nearly 37,000 restaurants every day. Subway restaurants are owned and operated by Subway franchisees – a network that includes thousands of dedicated entrepreneurs and small business owners – who are committed to delivering the best guest experience possible in their local communities.      

Subway® is a Registered Trademark of Subway IP LLC. © 2023 Subway IP LLC       

About The Vegetarian Butcher 

With a broad range of nostalgic favourites for meat lovers who don’t want to miss out, The Vegetarian Butcher’s aim is to become the biggest, most impactful butcher in the world. With plant-based proteins which compete with animal meat in respect of taste, texture and nutritional value, products of The Vegetarian Butcher are available at over 30,000 points of sale in more than 55 countries. The brand was founded in 2010, growing 70% in 2020 alone and has been heralded by industry figures, including a jury of butchers, culinary journalists and Michelin-star chefs. In March 2022, The Vegetarian Butcher was ranked #1 in the Dutch Sustainable Brand Index™, Europe's largest brand study on sustainability. 

More information on The Vegetarian Butcher can be found on www.TheVegetarianButcher.co.uk