Engineering a Premium Pastrami LTO to Resurrect Deli Heritage
Brand Strategy, Menu Architecture, Product Innovation, Research, Culinary Engineering, Operations, Packaging, MarketingTo combat seasonal foot traffic declines and elevate average check sizes, Ajnci partnered with Jersey Mike's to launch a 90-day Pastrami Limited Time Offer (LTO). By sourcing a premium, sous-vide brisket flat and deploying a highly targeted digital and in-store campaign, we successfully positioned the new Classic and Chipotle Pastrami Melts as "stand-above-the-rest" offerings. This integrated launch drove massive digital conversion, thrilled loyalists, and captured significant incremental revenue without complicating back-of-house workflows.
CHALLENGE
While pastrami is a quintessential delicatessen meat that perfectly aligns with Jersey Mike's core DNA, past attempts to introduce it yielded mixed results due to quality misperceptions and operational hurdles. Furthermore, the brand was facing a daunting macroeconomic headwind: a projected 6.5% year-over-year drop in nationwide office foot traffic during the critical November holiday window. The client asked us to develop a premium, high-margin product that would increase guest frequency, entice lapsed consumers, and justify a premium price point of around $11.45, all while remaining dead-simple for nearly 3,000 franchise locations to execute at scale.
RESULTS
The Pastrami LTO served as a masterclass in menu innovation and traffic stabilization, effectively shielding Jersey Mike's from severe macroeconomic foot traffic declines in the QSR space. By pairing an exceptional product with a digital-first value strategy, Ajnci's expertise helped contribute to a year-over-year visit growth of +2.6% in Q3, vastly outperforming the broader fast-casual segment's 2.4% decline. The launch sold out within its first three weeks and was a massive financial success, driving an average of 9.2 daily transactions and 5.5 giant sub sales per store. Ultimately, the project generated over $10 million in total incremental sales and a $13.5 million total sales projection. Furthermore, our app-exclusive promotional strategies forced digital loyalty enrollment, successfully validating the brand's premium price point and sustaining the strong unit economics that recently justified the company's historic $8 billion valuation.
Jersey Mike's Subs is a rapidly growing, premier fast-casual sandwich franchise with over 3,200 locations across North America. Founded in 1956, the brand has cultivated a fiercely loyal customer base and is famous for its authentic, fresh-sliced, and fresh-grilled submarine sandwiches.
APPROACH
CULINARY INNOVATION
Our strategy began with product superiority, helping the brand transition to a fully cooked, sous-vide beef pastrami supplied by Cuisine Solutions. Sourced from a premium brisket flat, the product guaranteed a tender, juicy bite with an intense, smoky flavor profile. We guided the menu architecture to feature two distinct builds: the Classic Pastrami Melt (Swiss, crisp pickles, spicy mustard) and the Chipotle Pastrami Melt (Chipotle Mayo). This dual-product approach catered to traditional deli purists and modern flavor seekers alike. This provided the foundation for our macro-photography visuals, which will beautifully highlight the highly photogenic sub, characterized by the meat's rich, reddish-pink hue and peppercorn-crusted edges.
APPROACH
RESEARCH
Our strategy was deeply rooted in market intelligence and economic foresight. We analyzed macro foot traffic data to time the promotion perfectly against an anticipated 6.5% drop in November office visits, deploying the LTO as a preemptive traffic stabilizer before Thanksgiving travel compression. We also conducted competitive supplier research to secure an optimal FOB pricing of $6.35/lb on a 500,000 lb volume, maintaining a healthy food cost percentage around 29%. Visuals will include demographic charts showing how the product successfully targeted affluent, suburban "PersonaLive" segments capable of absorbing the premium-priced sandwich.
APPROACH
OPERATIONS
Knowing a brilliant product is useless if it slows down the line, we collaborated heavily with the Jersey Mike's operations team to rigorously vet back-of-house procedures for over six months. We instituted a morning pre-portioning protocol where the pastrami was sliced at double the thickness of provolone, wrapped in deli paper, and held for a maximum 24-hour shelf life once sliced. Crucially, the product required zero new grilling tools and utilized only existing SKU ingredients. Our visual documentation will include clean, step-by-step graphical build sheets and slicing guides that demonstrate the frictionless, 8-chop grill adoption process for franchisees.
APPROACH
MARKETING
We launched a two-wave, omnichannel marketing blitz featuring national TV commercials, point-of-purchase displays, and targeted digital advertising. To drive high trial rates while protecting the premium price architecture, we deployed an app-exclusive promotion offering $2 off any regular sub using the promo code "PASTRAMI". This was augmented by an interactive "Trivia Pastrami Style" social media campaign on Instagram, turning engagement into direct loyalty program enrollment. The accompanying visuals will showcase the high-contrast POP materials utilizing themes of heat and smoke, alongside vibrant screenshots of the app takeover and Instagram story trivia interfaces.
APPROACH
COMMUNICATION
To ensure seamless rollout and brand consistency across thousands of stores, we developed comprehensive internal communication materials. This included an 'ExtraMikes' launch portal and "Crew Counter Chat" talking points to help frontline staff confidently upsell the product. Scripts empowered employees to state, "It's a big build—the most meat we've ever put on a grilled sub," directly communicating premium value at the point of purchase. Visuals will feature snapshots of the internal portal dashboard, highlighting the centralized hub for training videos, FAQs, and new SKU reference materials.