Jack in the Box

European union: Pannidos® sandwiches offer Italian flavor of ciabatta with a presentation that conjures up French look

The Pannidos come in three flavor combinations: Zesty Turkey, Ham and Turkey, and Deli Trio. To keep the foot-long sandwiches easy to eat, there is no lettuce or tomato, and the sliced meats are rolled so that they fit on the bread, which is custom produced by two bakeries that specialize in artisanal products.

By Louise Kramer

Item: Pannidos® Sandwiches

Rollout: February 2004

Company: Jack in the Box Inc.

Headquarters: San Diego

Number of Units: 2,000

Region: West and South

Height, weight and make up of the dish: Three varieties of sandwiches on slim, foot-long, toasted ciabatta baguettes:

Zesty Turkey Pannido ; oven-roasted turkey, provolone cheese with sun-dried tomato spread; 280 grams
Ham and Turkey Pannido; Black Forest ham, oven-roasted turkey, Swiss cheese with a buttermilk ranch sauce; 256 grams
Deli Trio Pannido ; aged salami, Black Forest ham, oven-roasted turkey and dill-pickle slices with creamy Italian-Dijon sauce; 271 grams

Developer: Jim Broussalian, director of menu innovation

The scene is a cafe in Paris at lunch. Chic patrons sip coffee, watch people and eat ham, cheese; sandwiches made on slim baguettes with crusts that make a satisfying crackle with each bite. A piece of white paper artfully wrapped around the middle of the sandwich prevents the insides from falling out.

It's hard to imagine such classic French fare turning up at a quick-service chain, but last year it did; in a highly Americanized version. Jack in the Box, the fifth-largest burger chain in the United States, was eager to break out of the fast-food mold and launched Pannidos: a three-item line of narrow, foot-long deli sandwiches inspired by baguettes.

The sandwiches are filled with premium meats, cheese and full-flavored sauces. Adding an Italian twist, Pannidos are made on toasted ciabatta, the artisanal Italian bread shaped into a baguette form. They are wrapped in custom-designed, narrow white bags; inspired by the paper wraps used in France; which make it easy to eat them on the run.

The suggested price is $4.39.

"We were responding to consumer desire for fresh, high-quality food, bold flavors and new textures," says Jim Broussalian, director of menu innovation for San Diego-based Jack in the Box.

Customers responded with gusto. Pannidos, launched in February 2004, helped fuel the company's largest boost in same-store sales in 18 quarters. Sales jumped 8.2 percent for the quarter ended April 11, 2004, versus a 4.2-percent drop for the same period a year earlier. The company gave the sandwiches some credit for a 3.9-percent increase in the next quarter as well.

The ciabatta bread itself garnered such good feedback that Jack in the Box added a second premium sandwich line in February 2004, placing grilled chicken breasts on ciabatta rolls.

Arlene Speigel, a New York-based foodservice consultant, says products like those are a good move for the burger chain because consumers have grown accustomed to specialty breads at such fast-casual chains as Panera Bread;. "This is what people want, and it can drive traffic to your stores and enhance your brand image," she says.

The Pannido project started when Jack in the Box, amid intense competition in the quick-service burger business, decided it needed to broaden its appeal. Broussalian, who joined the company two years ago from Taco Bell, viewed deli sandwiches as a good place to start. "We wanted to give more reasons for coming to Jack in the Box," he says.

The company hired a consulting firm, the Center for Culinary Development in San Francisco, to assist with the project. The idea for the baguette emerged at an all-day brainstorming session that included Broussalian and several chefs. "It changed the paradigm from eating a sandwich horizontally to vertically," says Kimberly Egen, co-founder of the development center.

From there, the company started the mainstreaming process that would prepare for the eventual rollout to the 2,000-unit chain, which has units mostly in the West and the South.

"We wanted to keep it simple and easy to eat," Broussalian says. Thus, there is no lettuce or tomato, and the sliced meats are rolled so they fit on the bread. The ciabatta was chosen for its crisp exterior and chewy interior nooks and crannies, which can capture sauce. "You get a nice flavor hit," Broussalian says. The bread is custom produced by two bakeries that specialize in artisanal products; one in Northern California and one on Long Island, N.Y.; and is shipped frozen to restaurants.

A consumer test of various sandwich combinations yielded three menu choices. Zesty Turkey features oven-roasted turkey, provolone cheese and a sun-dried tomato spread. Ham and Turkey features Black Forest ham, Swiss cheese and buttermilk-ranch sauce. Deli Trio features aged salami, ham, turkey and dill-pickle slices with a creamy Italian-Dijon sauce. Pesto was one sauce that didn't make it beyond testing, Broussalian says. "It was a little too much for them; too much basil and too much garlic," he notes.

The Pannidos required no new equipment; the restaurants already had toasters; and are "fairly easy" to execute, Broussalian says.

The launch was supported by an extensive ad campaign that featured four 30-second TV spots, print ads and radio show tie-ins. The target audience was adults aged 18 to 34, says Michelle Vespa, director of menu marketing for Jack in the Box.

The ads, using the humorous approach for which the chain is known, starred "Jack," the company's fictional chief executive, whose head looks like a huge Ping-Pong ball. One spot showed him serving Pannidos at a relative's wedding. "It was to show them as gourmet items you would serve at a wedding," Vespa says.