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The Goodbyn lunch box: It’s clever, but is it good?
By Jeremiah | September 29, 2009 | 11 comments / Comment now
We love the company and the concept behind the Goodbyn lunch box, a molded plastic lunch container that comes with 275 stickers kids can use to personalize and decorate it. The lunch box solves some persistent problems in kids' lunch transport, but in doing so, it creates some new ones.
Here's a quick video demo to start us off. The kit comes with a drink container we forgot to include in the shoot, which fits in the middle compartment. But the perspective makes up for that minor oversight, doesn't it?
The key design innovation of the Goodbyn is its multiple storage areas unified under a single molded lid. These storage compartments are all truly leakproof, as the lid indentations snap fully into each of them, which means you can plop some hummous in one section and some cheddar bunnies in another and your child can wait until lunchtime to bury them alive. Other lunch systems we love rely on multiple storage containers, which are a little less hassle to clean (Goodbyn's compartments are fairly deep) but the challenge of keeping track of a bunch of lids and containers to assemble a lunch kit can be onerous or, depending on the day, downright insurmountable. Goodbyn eliminates that problem in favor of simplicity, and for many that will be reason enough to love it.
The drawback to this design is that although the lid is fairly easy to remove - just firmly peel back an ear and the sections start popping open - it may be difficult for children to close, or to remember to close firmly, as each compartment must be deliberately sealed with firm pressure and the give of the plastic makes it sometimes uncertain whether you've adequately sealed up the compartments. This means that although the container may be leak-proof when it leaves your home, it may not be after lunch. This means that, at best, juices from that fruit salad may drip into the cake your kiddo was saving for an after-school snack, and at worst, young or less committed children may fail to carefully seal the outer rim itself, which could lead to a more spectacular product failure.
The other limitation of the Goodbyn compared with some other lunch systems is that it offers no way to keep lunches cool. Some lunch bags and boxes offer room for easy insertion of an ice pack to keep perishable foodstuffs cool until it's time to eat them; others offer insulated carriers. Goodbyn's compartment system doesn't make the former easy. Some have suggested (I can't remember if it was the company or a Goodbyn user) that a cold drink in the middle section could help keep adjacent compartments cool, but the design really doesn't work that way - every compartment has separate molded walls and plenty of space between them, which makes the Goodbyn quite efficient at isolating each section's temperature from that of other areas of the container, while exposing it to outside temperatures with a lot of surface area. Depending on the kind of lunches you like to pack for your child or that your child likes to eat, this may or may not be a big deal.
The stickers, combined with the vaguely animal-like shape of the Goodbyn, are one of its best features and biggest draws for kids. The stickers are kooky, random and varied enough for any kid to find things that speak to them, and comes with a full set of letters for writing names or phrases to go along with the pictures. This is one of the key features that makes the Goodbyn as kid-friendly a product as it is, despite some of the limitations described above.
All in all, this is a company it's hard not to love - not only are they members of 1% For the Planet, but they manufacture in the U.S. through a company that has a strong record of environmental stewardship, have designed a product made entirely out of #5 polypropylene and thus recyclable in many communities, and use environmentally conscious packaging, including vegetable-based inks and recycled materials. The company had a problem with one of the components of their design - a "treasure compartment" that was supposed to go over the top oval area you can see in the photos at the top of this post - and were very frank about their decision to eliminate it. Our only challenge to the company would be to update product photos on Amazon.com and on their own website to ensure consumers know exactly what they're ordering, and to link the note about this change not only to the product description on their website but to their order page, where photographs of Goodbyns featuring the compartment lid are still prominently displayed.
The Goodbyn retails for $30 and is available in red, green, pink, and blue. You can purchase it on Amazon.com or directly from the Goodbyn website.
In accordance with our Keep No Stuff reviewing policy, the sample Goodbyn we received for review will be de-stickered and donated to another family who can use it.
Here's a quick video demo to start us off. The kit comes with a drink container we forgot to include in the shoot, which fits in the middle compartment. But the perspective makes up for that minor oversight, doesn't it?
The key design innovation of the Goodbyn is its multiple storage areas unified under a single molded lid. These storage compartments are all truly leakproof, as the lid indentations snap fully into each of them, which means you can plop some hummous in one section and some cheddar bunnies in another and your child can wait until lunchtime to bury them alive. Other lunch systems we love rely on multiple storage containers, which are a little less hassle to clean (Goodbyn's compartments are fairly deep) but the challenge of keeping track of a bunch of lids and containers to assemble a lunch kit can be onerous or, depending on the day, downright insurmountable. Goodbyn eliminates that problem in favor of simplicity, and for many that will be reason enough to love it.
The drawback to this design is that although the lid is fairly easy to remove - just firmly peel back an ear and the sections start popping open - it may be difficult for children to close, or to remember to close firmly, as each compartment must be deliberately sealed with firm pressure and the give of the plastic makes it sometimes uncertain whether you've adequately sealed up the compartments. This means that although the container may be leak-proof when it leaves your home, it may not be after lunch. This means that, at best, juices from that fruit salad may drip into the cake your kiddo was saving for an after-school snack, and at worst, young or less committed children may fail to carefully seal the outer rim itself, which could lead to a more spectacular product failure.
The other limitation of the Goodbyn compared with some other lunch systems is that it offers no way to keep lunches cool. Some lunch bags and boxes offer room for easy insertion of an ice pack to keep perishable foodstuffs cool until it's time to eat them; others offer insulated carriers. Goodbyn's compartment system doesn't make the former easy. Some have suggested (I can't remember if it was the company or a Goodbyn user) that a cold drink in the middle section could help keep adjacent compartments cool, but the design really doesn't work that way - every compartment has separate molded walls and plenty of space between them, which makes the Goodbyn quite efficient at isolating each section's temperature from that of other areas of the container, while exposing it to outside temperatures with a lot of surface area. Depending on the kind of lunches you like to pack for your child or that your child likes to eat, this may or may not be a big deal.
The stickers, combined with the vaguely animal-like shape of the Goodbyn, are one of its best features and biggest draws for kids. The stickers are kooky, random and varied enough for any kid to find things that speak to them, and comes with a full set of letters for writing names or phrases to go along with the pictures. This is one of the key features that makes the Goodbyn as kid-friendly a product as it is, despite some of the limitations described above.
All in all, this is a company it's hard not to love - not only are they members of 1% For the Planet, but they manufacture in the U.S. through a company that has a strong record of environmental stewardship, have designed a product made entirely out of #5 polypropylene and thus recyclable in many communities, and use environmentally conscious packaging, including vegetable-based inks and recycled materials. The company had a problem with one of the components of their design - a "treasure compartment" that was supposed to go over the top oval area you can see in the photos at the top of this post - and were very frank about their decision to eliminate it. Our only challenge to the company would be to update product photos on Amazon.com and on their own website to ensure consumers know exactly what they're ordering, and to link the note about this change not only to the product description on their website but to their order page, where photographs of Goodbyns featuring the compartment lid are still prominently displayed.
The Goodbyn retails for $30 and is available in red, green, pink, and blue. You can purchase it on Amazon.com or directly from the Goodbyn website.
In accordance with our Keep No Stuff reviewing policy, the sample Goodbyn we received for review will be de-stickered and donated to another family who can use it.
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It’s really cute, but I have the same concerns you listed in your review. Mainly the lid getting put back on all the way after lunch. Also it seems like it’s really big.
My kindergartner has a <a >Planet Box</a> and I think it’s great. It’s not ideal for really wet foods, but most of the time that’s not an issue for us and since I’m a lunchbox junkie we have other containers that are better suited for wet things. I like that it’s stainless steel and that the lid is attached.
We’re interested in PlanetBox too - we’ve reached out to them but haven’t yet heard back. Any other limitations to that design for others who might be interested?
My son received two of these for his birthday in August. I love them! He is four and his preschool teacher helps him peel the lid off and put it back on. We pack them everyday before we leave the house, even if it’s not a preschool day! They hold plenty for a full days worth of snacks and lunch. They are large, but more long and skinny large, as opposed to bulky (IMO). They fit in his preschool sized backpack with the zipper closed, no problem.
I make his sandwiches on frozen slices of bread if it’s something that needs to be kept cool. Or make his lunch the night before and keep it in the fridge until we leave for the day.
Keep up the great reviews Zrecs!
Oh, that Planet Box is pricey but VERY cool. Wish I’d heard about it before I ordered my new Laptop Lunch.
I have a Goodbyn, too, for my son (well, for both of us, heehee), and same:
-the lid is hard to snap on perfectly in one shot; you must apply acupressure on spots to reclose securely (meaning no leaks inside).
-some stickers do not stay on and are already peeling up
I don’t feel it’s all that big. It is a bit longer (wider) than a regular lunchbox. I carry it to preschool like a purse in one hand.
Easy to clean, handwashing does the trick.
Doesn’t have any cold/hot storage options, but we don’t need those anyway; for us it’s perfect for snacks and sandwiches.
We’ve been using our Planetbox for about 6 weeks now and honestly I haven’t found a downside (aside from the initial sticker shock). We have the whole kit, with the little metal containers and the carrying case. Our Foogo thermos fits in the mesh pocket on the outside of the carrying case. And with the whole thing full, including the thermos it fits with plenty room to spare inside my 5 year old’s backpack.
We put an icepack inside the carrying case (there is a little mesh pouch inside that’s perfect for that. I also stick a cloth napkin and silverware in there when he needs it.
So far we haven’t had any problems with it. It’s easy for him to open and I like that when he opens it he can see everything all at the same time because that way he is more likely to eat some of everything. It’s not ideal for wet foods. The little jars they sell work well enough, but I prefer either our laptop lunchbox or our lunchsense lunchbox (I mentioned I was a lunchbox addict right?) for really wet foods. Cantaloupe was fine without the jars, watermelon was not.
It’s definitely my favorite box right now. It holds a good amount of food, but I don’t feel overwhelmed filling it up and I like the size of the little treat space in the middle of the box.
A little off-topic, but my daughter received an insulated lunch box/bag made by Crocodile Creek. It claims to be phthalate free, but feels like vinyl. Any idea if these are safe? Thank you!
I have to agree with Kara we love our PlanetBox! I think it is the best lunch system out there and I looked at a ton. I liked but did not love our Laptop Lunch box. I love the concept of a bento style box, especially for my youngest. She eats a better variety of food when she can see everything at the same time. But it was difficult for my daughter to open and I felt that it did not really store enough food for my older child who has a bigger appetite. I also didn’t love keeping track of the containers. I already have BPA free containers so this was just another set. If you lose one of the containers nothing else really works. And if I’m going to have another set of containers because of a lunch system I want them to have lids and preferably be airtight so I don’t have to transfer leftover food or snacks to store.
This is truly the perfect system for us - easy to open and the bento style. We actually don’t use the containers that come with the PlanetBox that much (we use the big one for an extra afterschool snack sometimes and my kids only like dipping occasionally). The actual box holds more than enough food and it’s one piece – nothing to lose and easy to clean. My daughter has no problem opening and closing it. The only downside in my opinion is that you can’t use it for hot foods but prior to getting the Planet Box we already had another safe lunch bag and a thermos food jar that I will continue to use when my daughter wants soups and such.
I was very excited about the Goodbyn lunchbox because I love the whole concept. My son and I had a great time decorating it with all the stickers the night before school. Unfortunately (as other reviewers mentioned) it is very tricky to close. It actually has directions on how to close it and you have to snap it shut in multiple locations. It is easy to think it is shut only to realize it isn’t shut all the way. We practiced opening and closing it. He mastered opening it, but there is no way a small child can close it himself. Ultimately the Goodbyn lunchbox was actually rejected by my sons teacher after the first day of school and I was told to find another one! Such a shame they couldn’t design it with an easy way to close. I like it so I will keep it for family outings, but not good for young school children.
Ordered two Goodbyns for my kids’ lunches hoping it would solve all the garbage issues and stinky lunchboxes that have to tossed after a few months. They are overpriced nightmares. I cannot even get the lid to stay on those things, never mind my kids—consequently, the fruit falls out into the backpacks, where it sits and molds. A complete waste of $60.
On October 29, 2010, I ordered two goodbyn products from their home website. Today is December 5, 2010 and I have yet to receive the items that I have paid for. I have sent numerous emails to the company including emails to the co-owner Erin. I have yet to get my money returned or receive the product I had ordered. I am very disappointed in the lack of customer service and feel taken advantage of. I am now pursing the problem with my credit card company. Just FYI!