The Laptop Lunches lunch box was designed, patented and brought to market in 2001 by two friends; Amy Hemmert and Tammy Pelstring with the aim of helping families to improve lunchtime nutrition and reduce the waste generated by packed lunches. It was inspired and modelled after the Japanese bento box.

Before launching her company, Amy spent five years teaching English in Japan:

"In  Japan, parents pack their children’s lunches in cute, stylish re-usable containers called Obento boxes. In contrast, here in the States, parents often send their children to school with convenient, often nutritionally inferior, prepacked foods or food packed in disposable packaging like plastic or aluminium foil".

What is a Bento box?

Bento is the Japanese version of a packed lunch taken to work / school as a convenient but nutritious and well-balanced meal. The meal is traditionally divided into two parts: one half of the box will be filled with rice, and the other will be filled with a variety of accompanying food, such as vegetable, fish, egg or meat.
In a Bento box, the food is always very well-presented. Lots of attention is given to details. Japanese people attach great importance to the appearance of their food. Part of the fun of making a lunch box is creating a visually appealing arrangement that will whet the appetite!! When Amy returned to the States and started her own family, she knew that she wanted to pack lunches the way the Japanese do:

"They are experts at making lunches that taste great and appeal to kids. Using this traylike system gives parents more control over what we pack and it is naturally a low-waste system. The problem is the attractive reusable containers just haven’t been readily available in the country".

Until now…