YouTuber and board-certified family medicine physician Doctor Mike weighed in on the controversy surrounding Lunchly, saying much of the criticism against MrBeast, Logan Paul and KSI is “unfair.”
In September 2024, YouTube stars KSI, Logan Paul and MrBeast teamed up to create a competitor to Lunchables called Lunchly. The lunch packs, marketed toward kids, claim to be a ‘healthier’ alternative to their rival brand and feature both a Feastables bar and a bottle of Prime Hydration.
However, reception to the influencers’ product was decidedly negative. The trio were lambasted on all sides by critical viewers and even fellow creators, such as DanDTM, who slammed the YouTubers for “selling crap to kids who don’t know better than to trust the people who are selling it to them.”
Now, Doctor Mike has weighed in on the subject — and although he has issues with how Lunchly is marketed, he feels much of the criticism surrounding the YouTubers isn’t deserved.
“It’s clear Lunchly, just like Lunchables, misses the mark too many times to be considered meaningfully healthier,” Dr Mike concluded. “At least, in my opinion. That being said, I do think many criticisms pointed at Logan, KSI and Jimmy are unfair.”
“Attacking them for trying to create a successful influencer product isn’t inherently problematic,” he continued. “I just think if a company was truly interested in creating a healthier lunch kit for kids, the USDA standards should be the minimum starting requirement, otherwise, we’re simply propagating the problem even further.”
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Doctor Mike explained that one Lunchly pack doesn’t contain enough calories to feed the average kid, saying that a child would need to eat 2.7 portions to reach the USDA recommended calories for a kiddo’s lunch meal.
Lunchly’s Turkey Stack ‘Ems contains only 230 calories per pack. If a kid were to eat nearly three packs, they’d finally consume the amount of recommended calories… but end up over-indexing on Sodium at 1300mg.
Logan Paul, KSI & MrBeast have all hit back at the criticism against their latest business endeavor, with Paul most recently explaining why Lunchly doesn’t include items like apples, celery sticks or carrots.
“I want, and always have wanted, a fun lunch,” he said. “I grew up on Lunchables, I’ll admit that. We all have. I wouldn’t sell something that I don’t eat myself, and I wouldn’t find myself eating a carrot, celery, and apple slice lunch.”