"The Pizza" Lunchly; pepperoni, cheese, "pizza crust" and tomato sauce. Includes a Feastables Milk Crunch bar (pictured below crust) and a bottle of Cherry Freeze Prime.
Each box includes a Prime drink and a Feastables chocolate bar, each preexisting popular products by the producer offered by the creators, along with three varieties including turkey with cheese and crackers, nachos with salsa and cheese, or pizza.
The product has been criticized by online personalities and health campaigners, and there have been reports of mold being found within the product.
History
The product was announced to the public by KSI, Logan Paul, and MrBeast as a collaboration on September 16, 2024,[2][3] following other food and beverage products such as Prime, a range of energy and sports drinks by Olatunji and Paul, and Feastables, a brand of chocolate bars by Donaldson. Both products are sold in combination with Lunchly kits. Lunchly is intended as a "healthier" alternative to Kraft Heinz's Lunchables, and the website features a calorie and sugar comparison to that product on its website.[4][2][5]
At the time of Lunchly's release, Donaldson was in the midst of numerous controversies of his own.[6][7] A number of social media experts speaking to Business Insider stated that Lunchly may benefit from the negative attention Donaldson was exposed to, while also noting that the launch may come across as a distraction.[8] Following Lunchly's negative reception online, Paul claimed that Lunchly's headquarters had received a bomb threat[9] from a caller based in London.[10]
Products
Contents of the Fiesta Nachos, with a Feastables bar in the nacho chips
Lunchly currently has three varieties of lunch kits, all of which are reinterpretations of Lunchables products.
"The Pizza": Based on the "Pizza with Pepperoni" style from Lunchables. It is a build-it-yourself pizza with tomato sauce and cheese, a small Cherry Freeze Prime bottle, and a snack-sized Feastables Milk Crunch Bar.[11]
Fiesta Nachos: Based on the "Lunchables Spicy Nachos" style from Lunchables. It is a dipping meal with Nacho Chips with "queso blanco" dipping cheese and salsa, a small Strawberry Banana Prime bottle, and a snack-sized Feastables Milk Chocolate Bar.[12]
Turkey Stack 'Ems: Based on the "Turkey and American Cheese Cracker Stackers" style from Lunchables. It is a build-it-yourself cracker sandwich with cheese and crackers, turkey, a small Ice Pop Prime bottle, and a snack-sized Feastables Milk Chocolate Bar.[13]
Reception
Marketing
Lunchly was criticized by a number of Internet personalities. YouTuber DanTDM expressed his disapproval of Lunchly, stating on Twitter: "This is selling crap to kids who don't know better than to trust the people who are selling it to them."[14] In response, KSI claimed that Lunchly's negative reception stemmed from a dislike that critics have for Paul, Donaldson, and himself.[15]
Forbes described the three packaged meals as "almost identical to existing offerings by Lunchables".[2] After the product's launch, The Mary Sue stated that Lunchly was likely intended to boost sales for Prime Hydration and Feastables.[16]
Health concerns
Reviewing the product in October, YouTuber Rosanna Pansino reported finding mold growing on the cheese in a packet of "The Pizza" style.[17][18][19] Following this, a number of social media users claimed to have likewise found mold in Lunchly packages.[20] The Food and Drug Administration confirmed that it received over ten complaints about Lunchly, with one consumer reporting an illness linked to the product.[21]
Doctor Mike, a family physician who releases educational health videos on YouTube, acknowledged that the product's sugar and saturated fat were slightly less than Lunchables, but estimated that a child would have to eat 2.7 Lunchly Turkey Stack 'Ems to achieve their recommended lunchtime calorie intake, and in doing so would consume close to their recommended daily intake of sodium.[22][9] UK health campaigners voiced similar criticism of Lunchly.[23]
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