Seattle-based company leads the pack in premium lunchboxes

Raising children comes with a lot of surprises, but there was a certain amount of stress I wasn’t prepared for when my daughter started preschool: Fear in the lunch box. The childhood of yore required a simple, often cheap plastic cardboard box with the Spice Girls or Barbie or TMNT stuck on it. Mom would throw a PB&J in a plastic bag, some carrots in her own disposable container, a Capri Sun and voila! Lunch à la 1997.

Unfortunately, dunkaroos and lunchables just won’t be enough these days. Step into the bento-style lunch box, a cleverly designed container made up of small compartments to pack a variety of youth-sized snacks. The decision doesn’t end with where to put the sliced ​​cucumber, organic applesauce, and whole grain goldfish. The market is competitive and filled with a number of companies offering fun colors and nifty options to grab your attention while you, the thoughtful, progressive minded parent, search the internet for the ideal lunch system.

Not all bento boxes are created equal, however, which is why I kept coming back to PlanetBox, a Seattle-based company that leads the way in premium lunch boxes. The stainless steel lunch boxes are known for their environmental friendliness, thoughtful design and non-toxicity (safe from lead, phthalates, PVC, BPA and other harmful chemicals). But other than all the good stuff, the endgame is this millennial’s focus.

“At the core of PlanetBox, we envision a world where single-use plastic is a thing of the past,” said Sabrina Luh Kaburaki, SVP Marketing and Business Strategy at PlanetBox. “Our lunch boxes are simple in design, making it easy to fill real food while using fewer plastic bags and disposable containers. In this way, our children learn to care for themselves and their planet right from the start. “

PlanetBox, headquartered in Belltown and with a small team of nearly 50 employees, was originally founded by Caroline and Robert Miros, two California parents who were fed up with the amount of single-use plastic that seemed inevitable when packing their children’s lunches. The company moved to Seattle in 2018 after being acquired by Lifetime Brands, and Kaburaki, who has been with the company for three years, believes it’s no coincidence that the Emerald City is PlanetBox’s new home.

“After we moved to Seattle four years ago, it was amazing how much commitment the city has to sustainability,” said Kaburaki. “People just live here. The city and its communities are committed to climate change, the protection of cycling / hiking trails and recycling / composting, not to mention! “

PlanetBox sells most of their products online, but can also be found in specialty stores around the world. There are three original designs: Rover, Shuttle and Launch. The details of each style have remained the same since the company first launched ten years ago, and the various accessories – “dippers” for storing sauces, dips and whatever you can think of, as well as colorful “pods” for further personalization and subdividing your child’s meal – have only improved the PlanetBox experience and set it apart from the competition.

Now that it’s my turn to get a packed lunch four days a week (four more than ever), I’ve realized that making lunch is a learned art. Countless blogs and social media accounts are devoted to this lunch origami, and PlanetBox has its own page for packaging ideas. Even for those of us who don’t want to make a Van Gogh with Turkey and Hummus, preparing staple foods can be daunting on such a schedule. Help is out there, but the most important thing is to keep it fresh and simple.

“It’s easy to get stuck packing on a lunch break,” said Kaburaki. “Packing up a few favorites and throwing in a curve ball or two at the same time is a great way to encourage kids to try new foods without putting them under pressure. And don’t forget a little treat, be it a favorite dried fruit or a few chocolate chips. It’s about balance and fun! “

While other bento lunch boxes have swam through our house, PlanetBox is a whole different species. The weight of the stainless steel makes the device feel solid, like nothing could accidentally cut or crack this pup. It still opens easily to the little hands that will be handling it every day, and the interchangeable magnets allow your child to express their style. From hearts and unicorns to dinosaurs and space, there really is something for everyone, with the added bonus of the flexibility of passing the lunch box from one sibling to the next.

But most importantly, the stainless steel is non-toxic and guarantees that harsh chemicals are kept away from the little ones’ food. As a mother and transplant resident of Seattle for the past four years, I find the incredible certainty that my children are protected for at least this small part of their lives and that we are doing our part to help the planet.