Lunchly vs Lunchables | Graphic by Rose Taylor | The Wright State Guardian
In September, three popular influencers came together to create Lunchly, a snack product. This raises the questions of how involved influencers should be in certain industries, the power they hold over children due to their popularity and if they are using this power unjustly.
Where did it come from?
Lunchly is a snack product that is marketed towards children. Online influencers KSI, Logan Paul, and MrBeast created it and it includes products they developed and support, such as the Feastables candy bar and Prime energy drink.
On the official Lunchly website, Lunchly relates itself to Lunchables, another popular children’s snack. It compares the products in the “Us vs Them” section; in particular, Lunchly boasts about its lower calories, lower sugar content and higher electrolyte content.
“[Lunchly] is changing the grab-and-go game with an innovative approach that prioritizes quality ingredients and delicious flavors,” the website states.
However, it is important to recognize the importance of nutrition in children’s meals– the primary age demographic for this product. While neither Lunchables nor Lunchly properly hit the nutrition requirements for a child’s meal, Lunchly boasts about statistics that will only negatively affect a child.
For example, a child between the age of 11 to 12 needs 1800-2200 calories a day, according to the National Library of Medicine. To hit the minimum requirement, a child would need to eat seven “Turkey Stack Em’s” meals, or five “The Pizza” or “Fiesta Nachos” meals.
Lunchables– and Lunchly’s by association– are often seen as meant to be an entire meal. With these calorie statistics, however, Lunchly’s fail to provide adequate calories and nutrients.
Since its release in September of 2024, there has been plenty of controversy regarding the product and how influencers are creating consumable products for their fanbase. There have been various reports of low-quality ingredients and poorly sealed containers, leading to an increased risk of mold.
Initial reactions and backlash
One popular food content creator on Youtube named Rosanna Pansino released a video a little over a month after Lunchly’s release, in which she reviewed and compared the product to Lunchables.
Videos by Pasino and others reveal a primary issue with Lunchly: moldy products. In particular, the Lunchly product “The Pizza” has been revealed to have mold in its cheese products.
In the description of Pasino’s video reviewing Lunchly, she stated that, “This video is not faked. We bought this Lunchly from the store months before its expiration date and put it into our own fridge within 20 minutes.”
She also has released a full, unedited video of her opening the Lunchly product which had the mold. This has helped reduce accusations that she faked the video– with the amount of videos posted online also showing mold in their Lunchly product, it is hard to imagine that Pasino would have lied.
While nothing has been publicly confirmed or denied at this point, many point to the packaging itself as to why mold is appearing in “The Pizza” boxes. Many note that the glue around the cheese is improperly handled and does not seal the container properly.
Lunchly has also received various backlash online due to the product concept itself, with many people claiming that it is just a “rip-off” of Lunchables.
Popular Youtuber DanTDM made a statement about the product and how the creators behind it are taking advantage of their fan bases in a tweet.
“This is selling stuff for the sake of making money, simple. How does this benefit their fans? This is selling crap to kids who don't know better than to trust the people who are selling it to them,” the tweet reads.
Many have been in agreement with his words since the launch of Lunchly, especially due to the young fan base that watches KSI, Logan Paul and MrBeast.
Marketing food products to children
Younger audiences are much more likely to fall victim to marketing strategies if influencers they watch are the ones marketing the product. Having a celebrity endorsement is a common strategy in marketing and propaganda, and selling Lunchly’s is no exception.
John Dinsmore, a professor of marketing at Wright State University, has witnessed this marketing from both a professional and parental standpoint.
“One of my favorite billboards when I was a kid growing up in Virginia was [for a roadside attraction billboard], and one of the billboards they had was ‘keep screaming kids, they’ll stop.’ I think that’s a lot of what you see with marketing with kids, is if we get the kids to want this… then they’re just gonna be on their parents' case to get it until the parents give in,” Dinsmore said.
Marketing to children heavily relies on the fact that they rarely think critically about what products they are consuming or wanting to get.
As a result, influencers have the ability to convince them to buy just about anything they offer– and with how persuasive and demanding children can be, it often ends with the parents giving in and buying the influencer’s product.
Dinsmore also discussed the mold controversy that has the Lunchly brand in a choke hold at the moment.
“When something like [the mold controversy] happens, I think you need to present a pretty thorough case of either how that’s a freak thing that happened, or what you’re doing to prevent it moving forward. But to dismiss it or deny it usually leads to more problems,” Dinsmore said.
While Paul has released videos bashing creators who have called out the situation, the official Lunchly brand has not made a public statement regarding the mold in its products.
Current updates
Following Pansino’s video regarding Lunchly’s mold controversy, she has released more videos calling out the creators behind it and their activity on social media. She has made multiple videos with many accusations towards MrBeast in particular, though Logan Paul and KSI also experience backlash for many of their products.
As for Lunchly itself, many claim that it is being taken off the shelves. According to the CDC, there has been no official recall of Lunchly products.
At the moment, Lunchly continues to be made and sold. With the controversies and issues surrounding it, however, the real question is how long the Lunchly brand will last.
