You’d have to be living under an enormous internet rock to be unaware of the launch of Lunchly, the new competitor to Kraft Heinz’s Lunchables, from Mr Beast, Logan, Paul, and KSI.

Besides KSI, an internet nothingness, both Logan Paul, the shameless influencer and NFT scammer, and Mr Beast, the world’s biggest youtuber and problematic philanthropist, are seemingly addicted to controversy, and their Lunchly launch is no different.

Let’s explore the lessons we can learn from the Lunchly marketing material, and the launch that will surely remain an infamous example of how not to release a product :

1. People Like Products That Do Good, Or at the Very Least, Do No Harm

The big fundamental problem people have with Lunchly is that the highly processed and unhealthy lunch kit is intended solely for, and marketed directly to, children.

When it comes to creating products or deploying your services, you could consider how to make your manufacturing or deployment more sustainable, ecological, and how your product or service can deliver more value and benefits to your user.

Then market these changes/benefits to the appropriate audience/client-base.

2. “Authentic” Marketing is Still Important

Lunchly is a new brand, however its founders have used social media to establish strong personal brands.

This meant the audience were aware that the 3 founders have no real interest in children’s’ nutrition and simply favour concepts that make money. This showed in Lunchly’s marketing, and specially the launch video, which was delivered vlog-style, with little care or professionalism by the maniacal man-children, making the whole launch one big insincere, inauthentic, money grab.

Your organisation’s brand means something to those who are aware of it. Your audience and potential customers/clients could be developing a sense of who you are via your personal brand.

Ensure that your products or services, their manufacturing/delivery, and the way in which you market them, align with your organisational and personal brands, to create truly authentic, believable marketing that converts. Disconnection between branding, products/services, and marketing, costs conversions.

Oh, and authentic marketing doesn’t mean low-effort, put some thought into the production.

3. Clarity & Transparency are Key

The Lunchly founders’ extortion and exploitation of ingredient and nutritional metrics that would otherwise prove that their product was absolutely not “healthy” or “better for you”, also sparked anger.

When you arrogantly go after Lunchables for their nutritional content, and claim you’re a healthier alternative, you better have the product to back it up. They don’t. Instead, Lunchly marketing resembled comparing the benefits of different cigarettes.

In fact, the product contains half of what a child needs per meal, according to US Calorific guidelines. A child would need 2.7 portions to have their recommended caloric intake. However, due to the high sodium levels, which they sneakily market (to children) as “electrolytes”, parents buying Lunchly have to choose between their child being hungry after a single portion, or consuming staggering levels of sodium with more than one portion. And to think their tag line is “Leave no crumbs”.

The response to Lunchly’s marketing and initial launch has taught us that even if products aren’t the healthiest, people want brands to be honest and transparent, and provide users with all the information they need to make an educated buying choice.

Dressing less than favourable metrics or features up as something else is deceitful, and doesn’t help to create the authentic, honest marketing customers want today. So, lay it all out there.

I could go on and on. But, I think these are the biggest take homes.

Watch, how not to launch a product, the Lunchly launch video, below.

If you’re looking to launch a new product or service, and want to ensure you market it in the right and most effective way, contact The Marketing Optimist today to discuss how our comprehensive range of creative and strategically considered digital marketing services can help you.