Sandwich app brings Wonder back to lunch

By Andrea Benda

With obesity rates at all-time high and a lingering recession, there’s a consumer need to watch waistlines and wallets.

Wonder Bread is here to help with its interactive application, the Sandwich Wonder-izer. The application allows consumers to get creative with their brown-bag lunches while watching calories.

Consumers can craft their own perfect virtual sandwich—starting with one of 12 different Wonder breads—and see the nutritional value of their creation. If you’re shocked that your double-decker salami and pepperoni with extra mayonnaise and provolone packs a frightening 1,000+ calories, you can swap ingredients for any number of healthier choices. There’s everything from fat-free ranch and salsa to artichokes and cantaloupe.

The Wonder-izer has wide appeal: Both the frugal office worker who’s tired of the same turkey sandwich and the health-conscious mom will be impressed. Kids can have fun building their fantasy lunch—maybe peanut butter and banana, with marshmallow cream, candy corn and potato chips (Yes, all options).

With many choices and intriguing graphics, the application is entertaining. But more importantly, it provides a valuable service to consumers.

Counting calories is trickier than it sounds. Try keeping track of sodium, cholesterol, calcium and vitamins, too. In just a couple clicks, this tool can show consumers the nutritional give-and-take that occurs with adding or subtracting ingredients.

Wonder has strategically branded the application by keeping their name in the forefront without distracting from the tool’s use. A prominently displayed "share sandwich" feature also encourages users to show off their culinary creativity by comparing their lunches on Facebook and Twitter.

By using this fun teaching tool, the Wonder Bread brand is likely top-of-mind when a consumer visits the grocery store to buy ingredients for their perfect sandwich.

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Andrea Benda is a blogger at Vitamin IMC and a student in the Masters in Integrated Marketing Communications Program at Northwestern University’s Medill School. She has never had a slice of Wonder Bread in her life. Andrea can be reached at andreabendea2011@u.northwestern.edu