LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. — Imagine sitting down at lunch, excited to finally eat your food after a long day full of classes. Once you open your lunch, your eyes are drawn to the green, fuzzy mold forming on the cheese in your brand-new Lunchly pack. Maybe you should’ve chosen Lunchables instead. Lunchly, a food brand created by the influencers MrBeast, Logan Paul and KSI, claims to be the healthier alternative to Lunchables, but new controversy has slandered the brand. According to the National Library of Medicine, the recommended sodium intake for kids 9-13 is 1200 mg. Lunchly’s “The Pizza” lunch contains 710 mg of sodium for a single meal.
Lunchly vs Lunchables: Nutritional Value
On Sept. 16, 2024, Lunchly made its way to stores across the U.S. On the Lunchly Official Webpage, the brand compares its nutrition facts to Lunchables. Although it seems better, some facts remain unlisted, like sodium which cannot be found on the website. Sodium is a nutritional fact that can be overlooked but, can make a grand impact.
On their website, Lunchly claims that the main difference between the more popular brand, Lunchables, is the decrease in calories. Lunchables showcases their 310 calories, while Lunchly has significantly fewer. Though Lunchly looks better solely based on its nutrition facts, not all of the facts are shown.
“USDA caloric guidelines say that a lunch meal for kids K-8 should contain around 625 calories. Kids need energy to function, and calories give them that energy,” said Doctor Mike, a certified Family Medicine Doctor and influencer, in his recent YouTube video.
The main consumers of Lunchly will fail to gain their needed calorie intake, resulting in a lack of energy. All children, small children especially, need energy to function. A child would have to eat approximately three Lunchlys to achieve a healthy meal.
“This is selling stuff for the sake of making money,” said YouTuber DanTDM on an X post. “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.”
Influencers seem to not care enough about the consumers of their meals, but they simply try to market and make money off of their fans. Multiple reports have come from social media like TikTok showing mold that has been found in the real cheese that Lunchly sells in their meals.
“(Influencers) should have somebody in the back end, like a nutritionist or dietician, somebody familiar in the food industry, that’s (what) a lot of businesses do,” said Chef Kevin, food service manager at Los Alamitos High School.
At the time of writing, Nov. 7, Lunchly has faced rumors of recalls. The real cheese that the creators have pushed out is the main problem with the meal. The cheese is going bad and molding when shipped out, so by the time they’re in store and purchased, it’s already been contaminated. Will Lunchly make a comeback? Are they truly better than Lunchables? It’s an unsolvable mystery for now.
