The Lunchly line comes as Lunchables and Capri Sun have seen a decline in sales. Kraft Heinz Co. CEO Carlos Abrams-Rivera told analysts during the company’s second-quarter earnings call that the two brands were a “meaningful headwind for us and in our second quarter.”
“The teams are getting ready, both in terms of renovating, innovating, doubling the marketing spend, improving the media mix, improving the targeting strategies, and increasing the value equation for the consumers as we go forward,” Abrams-Rivera said.
On its website, Lunchly says it has “Flavorful combos” compared to Lunchables’ “Standard picks.” Lunchly also boasts 400 mg of electrolytes from the Prime drink, compared to 55 mg from a traditional Capri Sun found in Lunchables. Lunchly also says its boxed meals have fewer calories and less sugar.
While Kraft Heinz has significant corporate muscle and marketing spending power, Lunchly can capture some of MrBeast’s 315 million YouTube subscribers, Paul’s 27 million Instagram followers and KSI’s 13 million Instagram followers. But the launch comes amid a Prime sales slump and MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, deals with the negative press over allegations that longtime collaborator Ava Tyson shared inappropriate messages with a minor. (Tyson stepped down shortly after the accusations became public. MrBeast recently announced plans to hire a chief human resources officer, require employees to go through sensitivity training and implement an anonymous reporting system, according to a confidential memo obtained by the Associated Press. He also plans to hire a chief financial officer and general counsel.)