Tiffin Box is a lunchbox. Possibly the best expression of a lunchbox I know. It’s made from stainless steel and is made of eighteen components (which seems like it could be less). It has roughly the circumference of a CD and stands about eight inches tall. It has some of the best proportions I’ve seen in a product and as a result it is a delightful thing to both use and look at. So why am I talking about a lunchbox? Why does such a mundane thing occupy my thoughts? And why do I believe it should occupy yours?

Well I’ll start by mentioning the fact that the lunchbox is a design problem that has troubled designers for a very long time. I could say that it has troubled designers for millennia. The act of preserving and carrying food has been something that humans have all ways had an interest in for very good reason. The long journey that a piece of perishable food has from being grown to being eaten is constantly being lengthened and the last part of some foods journey is often to the office or school canteen. And what a sad ending for some of this food, cling filmed within an inch of its life and tin foil wrapped and given an unloving shove into the bottom of a school bag or briefcase.

Often crammed into a nasty semi transparent plastic box, food doesn’t stand a chance. I think that lunchboxes deserve as much attention in the designing of them as crockery in high class restaurants. Why does our lunch at work never get the respect it deserves?

I’ve been talking recently about function and the differences in what the word means when we consider products. The lunchbox can be a delightful mix of the functional and the emotional. Consider your early years and having bright colourful containers to take your lunch to school in. I had a Transformers lunchbox with matching Thermos flask for my drink/soup. I actually loved that lunchbox and couldn’t wait to eat the food my mum had made me. It was part of me and I miss it. I think we have lost that kind joy for food in the workplace and are underestimating its importance. After that I think I was deemed too old for novelty lunch-ware and I was given a plastic Tupperware type of affair. I remember now that throughout my secondary education (ages 12-19) I bet I only ate one of my packed lunches a week. The other four per week went to my friends. (Sorry Mum!)

Looking back I think I was so uninspired by how my lunch was presented to me that I couldn’t bring myself to eat it. Nothing wrong with the food, absolutely fine, healthy and nutritious but the box made my food sweat and go soft. There is something slightly disturbing about eating sandwiches that are just above room temperature. It’s interesting to consider the impact that such a pedestrian product can have on your mood and your health.

Now getting back to the Tiffin. I ate out of this device for my first five or six months in India when we used to have lunch delivered by the school. It was great. Not only did I enjoy the act of eating from Tiffin’s but there was also the added surprise of not knowing what I was getting. It was the occasion of the thing that really made me fall for the Tiffin and its inherent practicality. The idea that you can have home cooked food for lunch which can include sweet and savoury food, that don’t get mixed into each other is a real draw. It took me back to my youth and I love the Tiffin for that.

But it should also be praised as a solid solution for peoples lunching needs. It’s one of those products that you can’t really see any improvement being made on it. It’s a pretty perfect version of what a lunchbox should be. The Tiffin is, in my opinion, the ultimate lunchbox in concept and in execution. It’s interesting to think that we are willing to spend inordinate amounts of money on fancy picnic equipment, barbeque grills and plates and crockery for the home; so why don’t we give the same attention to our lunches and the boxes they come in?

I’m off to enjoy my lunch!

Next time, match boxes.

About the author: Alan Manley is a product designer and design researcher based in the UK. You can contact him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   

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