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Kraft Foods pioneered a category when it launched its Dairylea Lunchables brand five years ago. The prepared kids' lunchboxes provide compartments of cheese, crackers and various other additions, and are designed to appeal to working parents.

Large sales have caused a number of rivals to try and emulate this success.

They include Golden Vale, which launched the Attack-A-Snak lunchbox brand last year.

But the press was awash with stories last week following a report painting a damning picture of prepared foods. It claimed salt levels in manufactured foods had doubled over the past 25 years and identified Lunchables as one of the worst culprits.

Indeed, eating just one Dairylea Lunchables would take a six year-old over the recommended daily maximum salt intake. Too much salt can contribute to high blood pressure, the main cause of strokes and heart attacks in later life. The report also criticised food manufacturers for the poor quality of information on packaging.

If these findings are credible, the outlook for children's health appears bleak - Lunchables' sales were up more than £6m last year.

But is it fair to single out Lunchables? Its success owes much to the convenience it offers parents, while the different elements to the snack mean children can put their food together their own way.

"Far from being eaten every day, our research shows Lunchables are eaten on average just six or seven times a year," said a Kraft spokesman. And Kraft says it has already reduced the salt content of Lunchables and is planning a further 25% cut this year.

Will this be enough for Kraft to ride the PR crisis and improve the health credentials of Lunchables? And will it reassure parents who might be alarmed about its content?

We asked former Walkers Crisps marketing director Jonathan Turner, now managing director of brand consultancy Makari, and Sean Pillot de Chenecey, a consultant who involved in the launch of Golden Vale's Attack-A-Snak.

VITAL SIGNS
Sales in pounds for kids lunchboxes brands July-December 2002
                                July         Aug         Sep        Oct
Kraft Dairylea Dunkers         44,134     153,313      89,847    433,859
Golden Vale Cheestrings        11,069       7,398     136,684      3,366
Kraft Dairylea Lunchables      42,016     233,514     574,176          0
Total                          97,219     394,225     800,707    437,225
                                 Nov         Dec       Total
Kraft Dairylea Dunkers        342,420      10,595   1,074,168
Golden Vale Cheestrings       722,969      13,895     895,381
Kraft Dairylea Lunchables      16,656         817     867,179
Total                       1,082,045      25,307   2,836,728

Source: Nielsen Media Research.

DIAGNOSIS - Jonathan Turner

The underlying proposition for Dairylea Lunchables is very strong. It offers parents a convenient and 'healthy' lunch solution and kids a 'fun' snack. In addition the strong pack graphics appeal to kids and the endorsement of Dairylea and Kraft reassures parents.

Pull back the lid and be prepared to be disappointed. A plastic lunch in a plastic box. Processed vacuum-packed meat, a lump of dry bread, unappetising cheese with a picture of a smiling cow. No wonder the cow smiles - it normally eats grass, so this is marginally better. It is certainly not laughing.

When you flip the pack and check out the 14 E numbers (in chicken burger) and salt content, which is the same as sea water, we have to ask how do we balance shelf life and convenience with a nutritious healthy meal?

At £1.29, which is 6p cheaper than a hot school meal, is this really value for money?

Dairylea Lunchables is a great idea; unfortunately, the product fails to deliver. One wonders what the level of repeat purchase is and how much pester power influences the purchase decision.

DIAGNOSIS - Sean Pillot de Chenecey

The 'No Logo/anti-brand' debate has moved on, with the media and government alike now seemingly obsessed with the rising numbers of kids beset by obesity.

In the US, the Obesity Prevention and Treatment Bill has banned certain snacks and fizzy drinks from school cafes as of January 2004. The implication for similar 'contaminated' brands targeting kids in the UK couldn't be clearer - get your house in order.

Taking a very similar line to the fight against tobacco, lawyers are taking fast-food brands to task for their failure to disclose a material fact regarding the effect of product contents.

Recent press articles and TV programmes in the UK have highlighted Lunchables as the 'Lunchbox from Hell', focusing in particular on the high salt content.

This debate has therefore linked Lunchables and the worst excesses of the fast food industry. It exemplifies Alan Greenspan's so-called 'brand contagion' argument at the World Trade Organisation, which stated that brand images are quickly becoming contaminated by issues of public interest.

TREATMENT

TURNER'S TACTICS

- Reduce the salt content and flash the pack 'reduced salt'.

- Make it taste like 'real fresh food'. Reduce preservatives.

- Extend the total meal solution concept - 'lunchable with drink'.

- Consider licensing opportunities to extend appeal with kids

- Use loyalty mechanics to drive everyday usage.

- Exploit the adult market.

PILLOT DE CHENECY'S PLAN

- Sort out the product contents.

- Come clean about the current situation and take radical steps to enhance quality.

- The brand is beginning to feel a bit dated. The exception was a 'Back to School' viral campaign last year, which invited kids to make their own short films. It's time to brief in a new set of agency suppliers.