Once upon a simpler time, everyone's favorite accessory consisted of the brightly colored tote that carried their prized school lunches every day. You know the one: plastic, square, and holding the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, carrot sticks, pudding packs, and juice boxes you cherished (or hated) as a kid. These days, lunches, and on-the-go meals in general, look a bit different and can sometimes be difficult to cart around as you go about your day. Luckily, there’s a new grown-up lunch box that will put some child-like excitement back in your meal prep routine.
Yes, new lifestyle brand INKA just launched The Lunch Kit as a means to make lunchtime and snacking easier, less wasteful, and chicer than ever. According to the brand’s site, there’s been much focus on the elimination of singular items like plastic straws of late, “but seemingly no concern for the rest of the waste that made up the 10 million tons trash each year.” Instead of the typical brown bags and plastic or (gasp!) Styrofoam carriers that now define to-go meals, INKA created a full meal kit contained in a sleek handbag and consisting of completely reusable leak-proof containers, silverware, a sauce pot, and napkins.
The food-friendly bag is the two-year brainchild of founder, Leah Naomi, who, “found packing and eating a homemade lunch— rather than her normal takeout— made a huge impact on how she felt. However, after pulling her laptop out of her bag, drenched in sticky balsamic dressing for the 10th time, she refused to accept that bringing lunch from home had to be an awful experience and set out to build INKA.”
At first glance, the bag itself resembles the staple goes-with-everything crossbody bag that would typically hold your keys, wallet, phone, etc. But with a flip of the clasp, the carrier folds open to reveal neatly packed containers and eating essentials. And while there’s not much space to hold much else, the bag seems easy enough to carry around in conjunction with your favorite work tote or clutch (and bag layering is a thing now, right?).
Now, to be clear, the chic lunch bag concept isn’t exactly a new idea. Brands like Kate Spade, Modern Picnic, and Corkcicle have all jumped on the upscale lunch box train, designing sophisticated, elevated carriers for toting your favorite munchies. However, INKA’s latest launch includes both the sleek design of a trendy handbag with the practicality of air-tight storage containers.
With INKA's Lunch Kits costing a cool $245, it's safe to say the price point is not comparable to a brown paper bag or standard reusable tote, but the cutting-edge InvisiSeal food containers, vegan leather bag (that's waterproof!), silk-cotton blend napkins, and stainless steel silverware make for quite the luxe lunchtime experience — that's also sustainable. Shop the new kit below as well as some other chic grown-up lunch boxes that'll make meal prep a more stylish experience.
