What do Lunchables have to do with cigarettes?
The same kinds of research used to make cigarettes more appealing — studying flavor intensity, repeat use, and customer loyalty — was applied to a convenient meal for kids: Low-Fat Lunchables.
Lunchables are marketed as a convenient meal for kids, but a new case study based on internal company documents shows a more troubling history. This product was launched and developed for 23 years by the tobacco giant, Philip Morris, using cigarette additives, processing technologies, and tobacco product design expertise.
In the 1980s, Philip Morris purchased General Foods and Kraft with the goal of sharing chemical flavor additives, processing and packaging technologies, and product design expertise across its cigarette, beverage, and food businesses to drive growth and revenue.
Lunchables was key example of this approach. The company conducted extensive consumer research to understand the unconscious desires of children and their mothers as consumers. For children, Lunchables functioned like a toy, appealing to the child’s desire for independence, play, and control over their lunch. For parents, convenience, familiar ingredients, and gift-like packaging helped make a prepackaged meal feel more acceptable and special.
The study also found that Philip Morris used its “better-for-you” strategy developed for Marlboro cigarettes to create Low-Fat Lunchables. Using the same processing technology that allowed Philip Morris to make a low-nicotine cigarette, the company developed Low-Fat Lunchables to address consumer health concerns while protecting the brand by keeping consumers loyal.
The takeaway: Lunchables are not just a convenient kids’ meal. They were originally engineered using cigarette design expertise, chemical additives, and processing technologies to appeal to children’s unconscious desires and to reassure parents. The study suggests that stronger guardrails may be needed; consumer protection laws and public health regulations used to protect children from tobacco should also be applied to ultra-processed foods.
