"Lobster Illustration Melted on Contact With Food"... Subway's 'Lobster Merchandise' Faces Quality Controversy

Illustration Melts Upon Contact with Food
Winter-Only 'Lobster Sandwich Collection'

Subway is facing a quality controversy over its 'Lobster Plate,' which is offered as a first-come, first-served merchandise item in the winter limited edition 'Lobster Sandwich Collection.' The issue arose after users who received the plate shared photos of it becoming deformed after using it to serve food.

A Subway winter limited edition 'Lobster Sandwich Collection' merchandise plate that has been erased. Screenshot from X (formerly Twitter).

In the shared photos, the left claw of the lobster illustration at the bottom of the plate is erased in some cases, while in others, most of the lobster image is worn off. Not only does the illustration come off easily during washing, but several users also reported that it was instantly erased when it came into contact with acidic foods such as hot sauce.

A Subway winter limited edition 'Lobster Sandwich Collection' merchandise plate that has been erased. Screenshot from X (formerly Twitter)

Given that multiple testimonies on various social networking services (SNS) are consistent, it seems clear that there is a problem. The fact that the illustration appears to melt rather than simply peel off raises concerns that the paint used for the plate’s design may have mixed into the food.

The original appearance of the 'Lobster Sandwich Collection' merchandise plate released by Subway as a winter limited edition. Screenshot from X (formerly Twitter)

A photo of the plate posted by one user surpassed 1.5 million views within a day and was shared across various online communities, intensifying criticism of Subway. Users reacted by saying, "This deserves a recall," "It wasn't the food that melted, it was the printing," and "I wanted to have it because it was cute, but now I won't."