With offices opening up, and our life gaining a semblance of normalcy again, our daily routines are back to being as hectic as ever! With everything that life manages to throw at us in the duration of a day, preparing and packing our lunchbox for work, is often one of the last things we pay attention to every morning – although it should be the one we focus the most on! Packing a healthy and balanced meal for work is extremely integral, and with ready-to-eat, instant, and processed meals slowly taking over the world, cooking a wholesome and fresh lunch for ourselves is becoming a rarity. Hence, we’ve curated a collection of kitchen appliances to help simplify + speed up your morning prepping + packing routine! These innovative kitchen appliances will assist you in not only cooking a delicious and fresh meal, but also to carry it to work in a hassle-free and efficient manner. From a sleek self-heating bento box to electric chopsticks that can enhance the taste of low-sodium food – these nifty designs are all you need to put together the ultimate lunchbox!
1. SOC Lunch Box
As relaxing and recalibrating as sitting down to eat a proper meal can be, work always seems to come first. SOC is a lunch box created by designers at Midea who hope to bring back the ceremony of enjoying a meal, even during the busier workdays.
Why is it noteworthy?
SOC Lunch Box is a three-tier lunch container packaged inside a magnetic carrying case that doubles as a tablecloth. The three levels of SOC provide space for the user’s different food items to be separated and neatly arranged, with enough room inside for utensils and a metal cover that keeps the food steamed throughout the day. With three enclosed compartments, each meal taken from SOC will taste as fresh as when it was made. Once each meal is properly placed inside SOC, the closed lunch box gets folded into its case which securely locks with a magnetic buckle.
What we like
- A magnetic carrying case unfolds to create a tablecloth or placemat for mealtime
- SOC Lunch Box comes in three layers, with enough room for a full meal, steam cover, and utensils
What we dislike
- No complaints!
2. Electric Chopsticks
Chopstick innovations and redesigns have been presented, but nothing like this project introduced together by Kirin Holdings and the Miyashita Laboratory (Meiji University Dr. Homei Miyashita Laboratory of the Department of Frontier Media Science, School of Interdisciplinary Mathematical Sciences). The chopstick device comes with an electrical stimulation waveform that together work to adjust the taste of low-sodium food.
Why is it noteworthy?
The chopsticks can make low-sodium food taste salty. So you can enjoy the food more but sans the high sodium content. This idea can benefit those who need to go on a low-sodium diet. Right now, chopsticks can be used, but other utensils can also take advantage of the system. Salty taste enhancement is possible with electrical stimulation on a utensil. With the goal of improving the electric taste sensation, more people can enjoy what they eat even with reduced salt.
What we like
- The device uses a weak electrical current in transmitting sodium ions from the food to the mouth
- Creates a sense of saltiness
What we dislike
- It’s still in the prototype stage!
3. The 4T7 Smart Chopping Board
The key to making a product smart is to figure out how technology can enhance its core abilities. To that very end, a smart refrigerator that connects to your social media may be a terrible idea… but something like the 4T7 Smart Chopping Board actually makes a world of sense. With functions and features that make meal prep much easier and more streamlined, the 4T7 Smart Chopping Board helps with every stage of meal prep, and then some more. The built-in calorie counter makes it extremely efficient to pack healthy lunches, and encourages you to eat better even when you’re busy at work!
Why is it noteworthy?
4T7 breaks meal prep into its different components, adding good design and tech wherever necessary. The board comes with 4 distinct parts, a main bamboo chopping board, a secondary silver-ion anti-bacterial board for veggies to prevent cross-contamination, a third heat-conducting defrosting tray that helps rapidly thaw frozen foods, and lastly, the 4T7’s base, which has its own built-in weighing scale. The only part of the 4T7 experience to exist outside the actual board is its smartphone app, which counts calories as you weigh your ingredients. Once your prep-work is done, the digital display on the 4T7 can also function as a kitchen timer, while the board itself becomes a magnetic knife-holder.
What we like
- All of 4T7’s components are designed to be wonderfully functional as independent items
- The board works equally well for fruits/veggies as well as for meats
What we dislike
- No complaints!
4. MEALZTIME
If Steve Jobs were less of a tech enthusiast and more of a culinary specialist, maybe we’d be staring at a state-of-the-art culinary heating device instead of the M2 MacBook Air. Although that reality didn’t quite pan out, we still have the MEALZTIME, an incredibly slim, self-heating bento box that’s leak-proof, easy to clean, and works on a single-button interface.
Why is it noteworthy?
MEALZTIME hopes to make the office microwave obsolete. Given the sheer number of people who use the microwave on a daily basis (and that occasional dimwit who heats up their tuna casserole in it, ruining it for everyone), MEALZTIME was designed as a personalized alternative that heats your food up to the right temperature for you, without you having to wait in line. All you do is press the power button on your bento box and MEALZTIME gets to work, automatically shutting down after your food’s been heated. It does so without needing to be plugged in too, so you could potentially grab a hot meal on the subway, in your car, in the outdoors, or even at work during a power cut.
What we like
- Great replacement for the microwave
- MEALZTIME lets you heat up to 4 meals on a single charge, so you really have to juice it up just about once or twice a week
What we dislike
- No complaints!
5. The ECLIPSE
Meet the ECLIPSE, a portable tea brewing station that isn’t as limiting or as archaic as the teabag. It combines a travel thermos and a french-press-style brewing system in one easy-to-use, easy-to-carry design, and lets you brew two cups (or one large mug) of the tea of your choice.
Why is it noteworthy?
In all fairness, I’m not surprised that a device like the ECLIPSE hasn’t become ubiquitous all this while. Tea is the second-most consumed beverage in the world, and as far as tea cultures go, its brewing methods are still deeply rooted in tradition. What ECLIPSE does is simply modernize it, by providing the same steps you’d expect in regular tea brewing. The multi-part travel press comes with a measuring cup, a brewing teapot, a plunger (that acts as a strainer), and a drinking vessel.
What we like
- Portable and easy-to-carry design
- The inner layer of the ECLIPSE is lined with a ceramic coating to honor the traditional practice of brewing in ceramic teapots
What we dislike
- No complaints!
6. The Fresh Fridge
Ditching trendy diets for mindful eating, the Fresh Fridge designed by Tati Feruccio is paired with an array of technical features that encourage a health-conscious lifestyle. The Fresh Fridge is a sort of smart refrigerator that analyzes each user’s distinct eating and health habits to portion out nutritious meals throughout the day. The main technical detail that stands out is the Fresh Fridge’s digital interface that’s located just above the small refrigerator. It’s a fun + efficient way to make healthy meals for work!
Why is it noteworthy?
Broadcasting mindful facts and cooking recipes from its screen, the digital interface is like your own personal cooking show for various meals throughout the day. Just below the interface, allocated space for meal preparation feels intuitive and makes following along with recipes while chopping up produce items easier than ever before.
What we like
- Encourages mindful eating over trendy short-term diets
- An integrated digital interface
What we dislike
- We don’t know how well would the fridge’s analyzed portions work for everyone
7. Pinchy
With the classy appeal of a switchblade (although much safer) Pinchy is a cutlery set where the protective case turns into the cutlery’s ergonomic grip. Just pinch and flip and the case opens, with a metal spoon, fork, or knife popping out.
Why is it noteworthy?
Shaped to be compact and easy to grip, the case is hollow and holds the metallic half of the spoon/fork/knife inside. Pinch it open and flip the metal end out, and the case goes from being an outer cover to an ergonomic grip that’s easy to hold and maneuver. When you’re done, just flip the cutlery back in and they go right back in their protective little shell.
What we like
- Intuitive + well designed
- Made from a combination of 304 stainless steel and antibacterial plastic
What we dislike
- No complaints!
8. The All-in-One Coffee Grinder
The All-in-One Coffee Grinder is a handheld, portable coffee grinder with integrated brew methods for coffee on the go.
Why is it noteworthy?
Coffee makers tend to be multifunctional by design, merging brew and drip mechanisms into one machine, but integrated grinders are always missing. Noticing a gap in the market, Locus Hsu conceptualized their All-in-One Coffee Grinder, a portable, electric coffee grinder that also incorporates brew methods.
What we like
- Hsu’s All-in-One Coffee Grinder is about the same size as a conventional, reusable water bottle
- The bottommost compartment is the All-in-One Coffee Grinder’s capacity cup that works like a reusable travel mug
What we dislike
- No complaints!
9. FoldEat
FoldEat’s solution is elegant, organized, and potentially game-changing. The kit comprises a roll-top bag with modular vessels and cutlery kits inside. Zip open the bag and it unfolds into a table mat with your food at its center and the cutlery right beside it.
Why is it noteworthy?
The way the FoldEat transforms from a food kit to a dining set is perhaps its biggest advantage over conventional lunchboxes. All homogenously packed in a single bag that’s easy to carry around, the FoldEat is perfect for office lunches, travel lunches on a plane or train, or even an outdoor picnic. Its all-inclusive set includes main containers, side containers, and cutlery, all elegantly laid out on a mat, almost like you’d expect at a restaurant. The outer cover (which doubles up as a mat) comes with a zip and clasp to secure your boxes in place. Its roll-top design allows you to add more boxes to the kit, letting you pack meals for an entire day, or even for an extra person.
What we like
- Embedded within the mat is also a flexible magnetic layer that keeps all your boxes and cutlery in place
- FoldEat designed its containers to be modular, allowing them to pair up and stack on top of each other, while also keeping them microwave and dishwasher-safe
What we dislike
- No complaints!
10. Oblic Dropper
Oblic Dropper is an immersion coffee brewer that’s designed with an angled silhouette and silicone covering for accurate pouring and coffee on the go.
Why is it noteworthy?
If we can agree on one thing, it’s that there can never be enough coffee designs. From portable grinders to instant brewers, and from robotic coffee makers to smart espresso machines, designers are endlessly inspired by the thrill of a morning brew. Reinterpreting the classic coffee dripper through a portable, compact lens, industrial designer JenFu Yang conceptualized the Oblic Dropper, a handheld pour-over device ideal for bringing coffee with you on the go.
What we like
- Equipped with an integrated stopper, transferring Oblic Dropper from one cup to the next can be a clean, seamless transition without any spillage
What we dislike
- No complaints!
