Online influencers MrBeast, Logan Paul and Olajide “KSI” Olatunji on Monday announced they’ve launched a new grab-and-go food line called “Lunchly” selling pre-packaged meals similar to those offered by the decades-old Lunchables brand owned by Kraft Heinz.
MrBeast attends Nickelodeon's 2023 Kids' Choice Awards.
The trio, who have each have successfully branched into the food and beverage spaces before, announced the brand Monday with photos of the influencers surrounded by Lunchly boxes and a promise to “never have a boring lunch again.”
MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, launched the MrBeast Burgers restaurant chain in 2020 and Feastables snack bars in 2022, and Paul and KSI partnered to create the uber-successful energy/sports drink Prime Hydration in 2022.
Lunchly’s announcement represents the latest in a wave of tangible product launches by online personalities, which have come with varying degrees of success—Prime, Summer Fridays and Dae Hair were founded by online figures and have released popular products, while others like Jaclyn Cosmetics (founded by Jaclyn Hill) and the beauty lines of TikTokers Addison Rae and Hyram Yarbro have fallen flat.
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The boxed lunches will come in three varieties—“The Pizza,” Turkey Stack ‘Ems and Fiesta Nachos—and include Feastables and Prime. Paul called the meals a "healthier alternative" to a grab-and-go market "dominated by Lunchables" in a statement and MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, said the goal is to "disrupt the lunch market for kids with healthier, better-tasting options." The brand’s website says the products are already available at major retailers.
All three of the packaged meals announced so far are almost identical to existing offerings by Lunchables, which also sells multiple pizza options, a turkey and cheddar box and a cheese and salsa nacho option. The Lunchly website provinces side-by-side comparisons of protein, calorie, sugar and other content of its boxes versus their Lunchables counterparts and promises there is “no better value on the market.”
Donaldson, Olatunji and Paul were No. 1, 2 and 3, respectively, on Forbes' list of the top-earning creators last year. Donaldson, estimated to have made $82 million in 2023, started his career as a prankster YouTuber who has since expanded his brand to include business ventures like the MrBeast Burgers restaurant chain. He had an estimated net worth of $500 million in November 2022. Olatunji is an online gamer with a successful production company, Misfits Boxing. He is estimated to have made $24 million last year and is the face of Prime Hydration alongside Paul, who started his online career on the now-defunct platform Vine before pivoting to a boxing career. He is estimated to have made $34 million in 2023. Prime has partnerships with Arsenal, FC Barcelona, Bayern Munich, the Los Angeles Dodgers, Toronto Raptors, Los Angeles Lakers, UFC and WWE, among other partners.
Donaldson has kept a low profile online since controversy emerged surrounding his former co-host, Ava Kris Tyson. Tyson, who was accused by multiple YouTubers this summer of sending inappropriate messages to minors and grooming young fans online. She denied all accusations but said she would “permanently step away” from her online career. Donaldson released a statement saying he was "disgusted and opposed" to her alleged behavior and has hired private investigators to look into the allegations. Donaldson shared a Lunchly launch post to Instagram and has been active on that platform since the scandal broke, but has not posted to Twitter since his statement about Tyson on July 24.