Which Wich Superior Sandwiches, the award-winning sandwich concept, aims to better cater to the taste buds of a new generation of fans with the launch of innovative upgrades to its menu designed just for kids. The menu was developed by a legion of devoted Which Wich moms, with their own kids’ taste preferences in mind. The menu improvements began nationally on June 27.

The new menu was developed after Courtney Sinelli, wife of Which Wich Founder Jeff Sinelli, got fed up with the lack of variety available for the couple’s two young girls. Creating a new kids menu with exciting options that would appeal to her own children became her personal passion.

“When Jeff dreamed up the idea for Which Wich, he wanted to give people a wide variety of options to help make the creation of their wich a personal experience,” Courtney says. “But kids didn’t have that same option. We knew we could do better. So we recruited a group of dedicated moms from across the Which Wich system to help create a unique menu of kids’ wiches that we’re proud to serve to our own families.”

In order to ensure the new kids menu would have the highest quality ingredients, taste, and appeal, Courtney recruited an army of Which Wich moms and kids to help create it. From California to the Carolinas, the group began creating unique flavor profiles. The new menu features expanded dietary options, including healthy sides. That flexibility was critical to franchisees like Maggie Holland, who made sure the nutritional needs of her three young daughters would be well represented. Franchisee Sarah Todd made sure the “fun factor” was in the program to appeal to her three young sons.

After six months of testing, the group had created a kids menu that not only hit on all cylinders with both parents and kids, but was also a natural fit for the fun dining experience Which Wich is known for. Kids will get to mark up the same traditional brown ordering bag, but will choose from a list of wiches created specifically for them including: Peanut Butter & Jelly, Super Awesome Grilled Cheese, featuring multiple varieties of melting gooey cheese on toasted buttery bread, Cheese Pizzawich, Kidswich, and Rollups, a meat and cheese wich without bread, designed for smaller children or those with gluten sensitivity.

Each kids meal is also focused on fun by making the experience about more than just great tasting food. Each wich is served in a three-compartment Bento Box with lid, branded sticker sheet, and a token for a heaping handful of M&Ms from Which Wich’s trademark yellow candy dispenser. Traditional side items can also be swapped out for even healthier selections, a priority for Courtney Sinelli with her own children.

“I had pushed for a fresh veggie or fresh fruit side option for years instead of offering just chips or pretzels,” she says. “Now, we’re offering both through fresh, healthy selections that kids love to eat, and that parents feel great about. That’s truly the most important improvement in this new kids menu for me.”

“Which Wich has been family-friendly from the beginning, but this gives kids even more reasons to be excited about coming to our restaurants,” says Jeff Sinelli, Which Wich CEO, founder and chief vibe officer. “And, most importantly, the new menu has been developed and tested by our toughest critics: kids!”

The new kids menu also continues Which Wich’s tradition of giving back to the communities it serves. For each Kids PB&J purchased, Which Wich will donate a PB&J wich to someone in need through Project PB&J.

“We started Project PB&J with the belief that a simple peanut butter and jelly sandwich can change the world,” Sinelli says. “Since then, we’ve seen PB&J’s bring comfort and comfort food to those who need it. We want our new kids menu to help the next generation of Which Wich fans support those who need a helping hand in their own community.”

The new kids menu is part of Which Wich’s aggressive new expansion plan, on track to grow its number of opened stores by nearly 35 percent in new and existing markets this year, and has 250 additional stores currently in site selection, lease negotiation, or construction phases.

Which Wich currently has locations in 39 states and the United Arab Emirates, Mexico, Panama, Guatemala, and Qatar. New territories remain available across the United States with a heavy focus on the addition of new locations in Chicago, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, New Orleans, Washington D.C., and Baltimore. The brand is also focused on international expansion as it enters the second half of 2016 poised to post its strongest year of growth yet, with new openings scheduled in Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia.