Today’s kids’ lunchboxes, not unlike those of their baby boomer predecessors, are designed to make a personal statement about what’s in for the younger set — from Barbie to Batman.
“Kids are flocking to these characters, and they want to take them back to school with them,” says Bob Friedland, public-relations manager with Toys ‘‘R’’ Us, based in Wayne, N.J.
Some hot images this year are taken straight from the movies or TV shows, including “Pirates of the Caribbean, “Cars,” “Dora the Explorer” and Disney characters, as well as Superman and Spider-man.
While boomers clunked into their school cafeterias with metal boxes featuring everything from the Brady Bunch to the Incredible Hulk, most bags today are made of vinyl or plastic.
For 35 years, steel lunchboxes were a staple. Starting with the Hopalong Cassidy model in 1950, retailing for a modest $2.39, a lunchbox exterior let everyone know what was the coolest new TV show or pop-music group. If another child challenged the choice of a hero, or coveted the lunch contents, the metal box could be wielded as a weapon.
In the early ’70s, a concerned group of parents decided to put a stop to that possibility and demanded lunchbox-safety legislation. It was eventually passed in Florida and adopted by other states.
Vinyl lunchboxes actually debuted in 1959, mostly geared for girls, with themes like Bobby Soxer, Ponytails and Pen Pals, and plastic boxes came on the scene in the early ’70s.
By 1987, the steel-box reign ended, when the lunchbox industry went primarily plastic and metal lunchboxes became hot collectibles. In 2005, a lead-content warning was issued for vinyl boxes, but most companies have been able to eliminate hazards since then.
An advantage of many of today’s kinder, gentler vinyl kits, like those designed by Mattel, is insulation, allowing foods to stay fresh for hours, says Krisse Mansfield of Formula, which promotes Mattel products.
“Insulation is a new thing that parents are really picking up on this year, as it keeps the food fresh for a longer amount of time, and generally the (soft boxes) have similar price points as plastic lunchboxes.”
While lunchboxes traditionally were marketed with matching thermoses, today’s industry has mirrored the health-consciousness trend by pairing the kits with matching water bottles.
Minus the metal, today’s boxes are no less influenced by kid-oriented trends.
“Characters are back in a big way this year, and lunchbox designs range from showing a really fashionably dressed Barbie to a Hot Wheels racing-car appliqué,” Mansfield says.
The Hot Wheels Hard Lunch Kit comes with a matching water bottle with a black top and retails for $5.99. A Barbie Soft Novelty Kit with two hot-pink handles, selling for $7.99, doubles as a lunchbox and purse.
There is even an entire Web site devoted to lunchboxes: lunchboxes.com, which bills itself as “the one-stop lunchbox shop.”
The Web site includes plastic, metal and insulated categories.
Click on “What’s New,” and you’ll find a Superman Soft Lunch Box — with cape — for $14.95, and a Mod Lunchbox retro-style tote for $13.95, among others.
There’s also an A-to-Z list of popular designs, which starts with African Railway and Alice Cooper and ends with Yoda and Zoo.
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