5 ON YOUR SIDE: ‘Lunchly’ lunches

5 ON YOUR SIDE: ‘Lunchly’ lunches5 ON YOUR SIDE: ‘Lunchly’ lunches

Move over Lunchables — A competitor called Lunchly advertises a healthier spin on your kid’s favorite lunch kit with bold claims, influencer hype, and flashy packaging. But how healthy are Lunchly lunches? A new Consumer Reports investigation tested the claims and found more than just lunch in the box.

“We tested these kits just like we did Lunchables,” said James Rogers, Consumer Reports Director of Food Safety. “We found no reason to call them healthier and found similar concerning levels of lead to those we found in other lunch kits.”

Consumer Reports food safety experts put the Lunchly kits through the same battery of tests they used on Lunchables last year, checking for nutrition and safety. Its test results are a snapshot in time and may not be representative of the lead levels in every kit.

Lunchly markets its meals as lower in sugar and calories. But the full picture tells a different story.

“Yes, the sugar is lower; it’s replaced with two sugar substitutes,” Consumer Reports Nutritionist Amy Keating explained. “And overall, it’s still a highly processed meal.”

Each Lunchly meal includes a savory food, a Prime Hydration drink, and a small candy bar. And that chocolate may be delivering more than just a sweet treat. Consumer Reports has found in its past tests that chocolate can be a high source of lead. 

James Rogers says that skipping the chocolate bar in the Lunchly kit would drop lead levels in the kit by about 30%. But as a parent, he knows, kids are likely going to eat the chocolate!

In a statement to Consumer Reports, Lunchly said, “We take the safety and nutritional value of our products very seriously. We abide by all legal requirements that apply to our products, while also providing high-quality food and ingredients to our consumers.”

Nutrition experts say there’s nothing wrong with eating a Lunchly kit now and then. But they caution against eating them every day, citing concerns over high sodium, processed meats, and phthalates that may leach from plastic packaging.

One thing Lunchly doesn’t highlight on its website? Sodium. One kit can deliver nearly half of a young child’s daily limit. Experts say that’s one more reason to read those labels closely — no matter how cool the packaging looks.

So what’s a busy parent to do? Consumer Reports suggests you build your own lunch kits — using real food in fun, compartmentalized boxes. Kids love choices. You can pack fruit, veggies, cheese, and dips. It still feels like a lunch kit — but with a nutrition boost and fewer additives. Lunchly might be flashy. But when it comes to nutrition, experts say, the best lunch, and often the cheapest lunch, is still the one made at home.

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