But no-one can deny that he has made a difference to the health levels of school meals. In England, cooked meals must now include at least two portions of fruit and veg and deep-fried foods are restricted.

This scrutiny has now been placed on kids' lunchboxes. A number of schools around the country have introduced healthy eating guidelines for packed lunches, limiting the number of snacks and types of food that should be included. The Government has left decisions with individual schools, providing leaflets on what makes a nutritious packed lunch, such as wholegrain bread, fruit and yoghurts.

About 4.6 million children eat a packed lunch every day, but the Government says many lunchboxes contain too much salt, sugar and saturated fat.The School Food Trust hopes to steer parents away from chocolate, crisps and fizzy drinks towards healthier alternatives.

This has been a grey area, particularly when it comes to policing. A Kent school banned a pupil from eating his lunch in the dining hall because it contained three snacks instead of one savoury and one sweet snack. The pupil was made to eat in the headmaster's office or in his father's car outside the school.

The School Food Trust's chief executive, Judy Hargadon, said its information would help improve children's health. "A simple leaflet that helps you talk to your children about it, and with the school, is what we're trying to do," she said.

And it seems to be working with brands. Manufacturers have worked hard to improve the health credentials of their products and make them lunchbox friendly.

"All the key players are addressing the health issues around snacks," says Iain Paton, marketing controller at Trigon Snacks. He agrees many manufacturers are altering their processes, such as changing the fats they use, to make their products healthier.

"Manufacturers are repositioning their products as being healthier to highlight the benefits, such as lower fat and less calories," he says.

Unilever has revamped its Peperami range by reducing salt and fat levels and unveiling new packaging with a '100% pork salami' stamp to provide clear information.

A recent survey of 2,000 consumers conducted by Dole Packaged Foods Europe found that parents are trying to give their children a well-balanced lunch, with 71% opting for a packed lunch instead of a school dinner.

And, despite best efforts, 83% admitted their children's lunchboxes were not as healthy as they would like. The survey found that while most children's lunchboxes contained at least one piece of fruit, the most popular snacks were high fat or salty snacks. And two thirds of parents are concerned that less healthy options are more likely to be eaten.

Andy Coult, Dole's European sales director, says: "It clearly shows that while parents are aware of the importance of providing a well-balanced lunchbox, trying to get children to eat the right foods is an ongoing problem." But, he adds, there is greater choice now than five years ago.

While some manufacturers have been trying hard to improve the health credentials - and therefore lunchbox potential - of their products, the traditional means of getting a brand's message to their core consumer - children - has been removed thanks to the Government's crackdown on advertising to kids. It has meant a rethink of the way brands communicate.

An estimated 1.68 billion lunches were eaten at school in 2006 [Mintel]. Just under half of all schoolchildren eat a packed lunch, although 16% of mothers say their children tend to switch between packed lunches and school dinners. Mintel estimates that expenditure on packed lunch items was worth £855m in 2006. This compares with the estimated £1.13bn put on the value of school meals served.

Mintel says those foods with the healthiest positioning have experienced the strongest growth. Cereal bars, dried fruit and yoghurt have been the star performers. Eat Natural has applied its health credentials to kids with its Lunchies range - snacks bars stuffed with fruit but no nuts. Del Monte has unveiled a range of 50g fruit and veg snack bags that are proving popular with retailers and parents.

Those suppliers that have launched healthy snacks are seeing growth. Cranberry specialist Ocean Spray's range of Dried Cranberries, launched last year, enjoyed growth of 1566% to reach a value of £1.1m.

It's not just food products that are getting in on health. Carbonated soft drinks have had a tough time recently, whereas fruit drinks and flavoured milk have benefited. "There is a sea of change in consumer attitudes towards a healthier, more balanced lifestyle," says Alan Prior, sales & marketing director at Campina, which markets the Yazoo flavoured-milk brand.

As part of the brand's commitment to supporting grassroots sports in the UK, Yazoo is teaming up with the Rugby Football Union, to bring Tag Rugby to more than 450,000 school kids each year.

The lunchbox juice and juice drinks sector is growing by +6% in volume and value [Nielsen May 07]. According to Anita Huntley, who's head of marketing at Coca-Cola Enterprises, loyal buyers buy more every time they shop. There has also been strong growth in pure juice, driven by increases in penetration and price.

In January, CCE rebranded its Froot Refresh impulse drink to Minute Maid Juice Drink to build on the growth of its Minute Maid brand and reinforce its 50% juice and 5-a-day credentials. The firm also gave Capri-Sun a healthier formulation.n

CATEGORY INSIGHT: ADULTS

Parents want healthy lunchboxes for their kids, but they want quick, varied solutions for themselves too

Health issues are an important factor in the workplace, although, with ever-shrinking lunch hours and the growth of grazing, some old habits are dying hard. Nevertheless, suppliers are upping the ante when it comes to innovation to target adult lunchbox users.

"Research shows that health is most important in women's lunchboxes [31%, TNS Nov 06], but innovation and convenience are also major factors," says Andy Coult, sales director, Dole Packaged Foods Europe. "Consumers are seeking out new and interesting product offerings and manufacturers are responding."

Last year, Dole launched its ambient range of Fruit Parfait, a sophisticated adult fruit dessert for lunchboxes, which is now a £1.3m product line. "Our success is based on getting the balance right. It's not enough to focus on health and convenience, taste is also key as consumers want a little indulgence."

According to Mintel, it is evident that consumers don't just bring a packed lunch to work as a cost-saving exercise. They have limited time for lunch and having their food to hand offers them a solution. Consumers want products that are easy to hold and access, and that are resealable. Since Lucozade Sport launched its sport-top packaging in 2005, there has been uplifts for single packs across all store formats.

Of course, it may just come down to personal preference and, as the song goes, you can't always get what you want. The ability to be able to buy - and consume - convenient snacks, however, is still a key driver for adult lunchboxes.

While most adults don't use a lunchbox, the classic sandwich/pastry and a drink combination is a massive market. Of the 16.7 billion snacking occasions each year, 90% include a drink.

Healthier drinks such as flavoured milk are growing strongly in this market and TNS data shows that 40% of Yazoo sales are attributed to households without children.

Alan Prior, sales and marketing director at parent company Campina, says: "By continually improving recipes and packaging, we are working hard with our customers to make sure they meet consumer demands and grow their business."

what the brands are saying

The contents of children's lunchboxes remains a hot topic and there are plenty of guidelines and suggestions available to help parents provide a balanced lunch, but it's difficult to pin down how much has changed since the Food Standards Agency carried out their school lunchbox surveys in 2003 and 2004.

The FSA has recognised the challenges parents face when putting together nutritious, practical and affordable packed lunches that their children will eat. That is the key - getting children to eat a wider range of healthier foods by making products that look and taste good as well as being healthy.

Chris McDonough,

UK marketing director, Müller

WHAT THE BRANDS ARE SAYING

In a climate of growing concern over children's health, parents are looking for healthier, natural drinks to give their children. The kids' market has absolutely exploded for us. Last year it was about 8% of our sales and this year it's about 25% of our sales. Legislation changes in schools have enabled us to go into that market. In fact, we've actually subsidised our pricing for schools and we're aiming to get into 1,500 schools by the end of the year. Research with parents also showed that we had to have easy-to-use packaging that works for children, and that fits in a lunchbox. Our 180ml tetra wedge format works really well - it's slightly unusual but the easy-to-hold shape appeals to children and parents alike.

Giles Brook,

commercial director, innocent drinks

CATEGORY INSIGHT: sandwiches

Branded sandwiches and new variants are making their presence felt in a market dominated by own-label

The sandwich is as much a staple of the British diet as afternoon tea. The UK sandwich market is worth £2.9bn and growing at 5.3%. Branded sandwiches such as Ginsters are helping drive value in a market dominated by own-label.

"The Ginsters brand has more than doubled in size over the past six years," says Andy Valentine, head of brand marketing. In May, the brand relaunched with 11 new products, including a premium range of deep-filled sandwiches and lower-calorie alternatives.

The made-at-home sandwich market provides a large opportunity for retailers. TNS estimates that 74% of lunchboxes contain a sandwich, and in the same year the British Sandwich Association said UK consumers eat 11.5 billion sandwiches a year, 2.7 billion of which are made at home [TNS Worldpanel November 2006].

Bread types are changing. The largest growth within the market is in the grains & seeded sector, which is up £28.2% year-on-year, indicating that consumers realise healthier bread products play an important role in a nutritionally-balanced diet. Warburtons' Healthy Harvest, for example, is geared towards lunchbox usage.

While sliced bread accounts for two thirds of the ready made sandwich market, sales of wraps have grown phenomenally. The take-home wrap market grew 13.6% from May 2006 to May 2007 and TNS research shows that the market is being driven by consumers buying more wraps more frequently and new consumers entering the market.

One retail supplier, Nigel Hunter, MD of Buckingham Foods, says: "I often think of the wrap as the savoury equivalent of an ice cream Cornetto - it's an ideal hold-in-the-hand snack."

Meanwhile, Ginsters says the fastest-growing element of its sandwich range is its filled tortilla wraps, with Southern-Style Chicken wrap the most popular and Oriental Chicken selling well. Mission Foods is also cashing on the growth of the wraps market, enjoying a 7% penetration - a rise of 65% year-on-year. However, European marketing director Ian Job says: "We still have a job to do to educate consumers about how to use wraps and make portable, easy-to-eat sandwich wraps."

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