CES 2022
I really, really want this self-heating lunchbox
Steambox, unveiled at CES 2022, is compact enough to toss in your work bag and can steam-heat your meals on the go.
A good, compact lunchbox can really transform your meal routine.
A few years back, I became obsessed with the leakproof, bento-style Yumbox, which gave me incentive to actually prepare and pack a lunch most workdays by way of cuteness. I’ve been using it ever since. It’s an almost perfect to-go container, only missing out on a 10/10 personal score because you can’t stick it in the microwave. That complaint seems pretty plebian now, though, since I’ve discovered this:
Yes, with all the drama of an electric car unveiling, that is a self-heating lunchbox.
Mmm Steamy — Steambox, a forthcoming product out of CES 2022, can warm up your food in minutes via steam, as in, you don’t need to fuss with Tupperware for reheating in the office or worry about warming up your chili in the morning to slop into thermos when you’re already running late. The lunchbox does the whole job for you in situ. Microwave? I don’t know her.
Steambox can be controlled by a button on the front of the container or through a smartphone app (obviously), which will also offer perks like recipe saving and calorie tracking. It’s about 9 inches by 5 inches, in other words just big enough to fit a decent meal without taking up all the room in your bag. The details beyond that are pretty sparse, though the company notes in a press release that the lunchbox can steam-heat your food within 15 minutes and can heat three meals before it needs to be recharged.
Its launch follows a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2020 that was funded almost immediately, so it’s safe to say people other than myself are hyped for this one, too. I’ve still got a lot of questions — like how much it costs, what temperature it reaches inside (and on the outer surface), if it’s got a leakproof seal, and if it comes in any other colors — but so far haven’t heard back from the company. We’ll update this piece if and when we get more information.
Pre-orders open January 5, so we’ll have at least one of those answers soon, one way or another. The company says it expects Steambox to begin shipping in the spring, with the first orders arriving to customers in April.
