Philip Morris Companies, the tobacco giant behind Marlboro, owned Lunchables for 23 years and used cigarette research strategies to shape the brand.

• Internal documents show Philip Morris shared scientists, technology, and product development methods across its tobacco, food, and alcohol divisions, with Lunchables serving as a model example of that strategy.
• Lunchables was engineered to appeal to kids’ desire for autonomy and to ease mothers’ guilt, using the same consumer psychology approach Philip Morris developed for cigarettes.
• Researchers say tobacco-style regulations, including warning labels, taxes, and restrictions on child-focused marketing, may be worth applying to ultraprocessed foods like Lunchables.