"Decades ahead of Kid Cuisine, there was Libbyland. A 1972 commercial narrated by the one and only William Schallert marketed the kid-approved meals as "the first frozen dinners with fun in 'em," long before other brands hopped on the concept. In the early '70s, Swanson was the leading name in TV dinners and had held that place for nearly two decades, but their namesake meals - Salisbury steak and its questionable and long forgotten frozen international TV dinners - weren't packaged with children in mind."
"The line of child-oriented TV dinners was released by the well-known canned goods company, Libby's, in the early 1970s - giving parents a break while considering what kids really wanted to eat. Not only were the meals tasty, but they were engaging. The adventure-themed meals were specifically designed for kids, featuring comfort foods like hamburgers, sloppy joes, and spaghetti with meatballs, but so was every element of the packaging."
Libby's launched Libbyland in the early 1970s as a line of child-oriented frozen TV dinners that combined comfort foods with playful presentation. Adventure-themed meals included hamburgers, sloppy joes, and spaghetti with meatballs and employed interactive packaging that unfolded into placemats with illustrations and puzzles. Each aluminum tray contained a surprise at the bottom of its sections to encourage finishing meals; the Safari meal featured printed animals at the tray bottom. Libbyland aimed to grab children's attention in the freezer aisle and to make mealtime engaging for picky eaters while giving parents convenient prepared options.
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