Segment

Meal kits are great for busy people. They're quick, cheaper than eating out, and you only get what the recipe needs, so less food goes to waste. The problem is the packaging. A lot of what comes wrapped in plastic would never be wrapped at the grocery store.

I'm overly sensitive about packaging waste, so I didn't want to design just for myself. I talked to friends who had used meal kits. Every one of them thought there was too much packaging, and that the whole thing felt like rations, but disorganized. One said the ideal would be a box that felt like shopping at a grocery store or a farm stand.

So Segment had to be renewable and fresh, and nice enough that you'd want to keep the trays instead of recycling them. You fold the cover down and nine compartments open up, each with its own tray. In the middle is the ice core: dry ice in perforated cardboard instead of bulky ice packs, so cold air reaches every compartment. Meat and dairy go closest to it. The handle runs through the center.

The outside is H2OBOX, a PET-lined cardboard that's waterproof, food safe and recyclable at the curb. The trays are a compostable, tree-free plant fiber blend with Eastar lids, in colors that read as fresh. The recipe cards are printed on Lessebo, a Cradle to Cradle Gold paper. With no tape, the whole thing unrolls into one long strip, so it comes apart more easily than a regular box.