MODULAR Food Container system
INDUSTRIAL DESIGN • TOOLING • FACTORY DEVELOPMENT
Modular by design - one clear base, swappable dividers interchangeable across the family.
01
CAD to 3D-printed prototypes - carried concept through fit, wall thicknesses, and divider design before cutting molds.
02
Test-validated design - 3D-printed samples tested for lid fitment, leaking, and latch geometry.
03
Extensive factory collaboration - tooling comments and translated design revisions into tech packs.
05
06
Shipped product line - MOD Lunch & MOD Snack launched under tight timelines to Target, Walmart, and Wholefoods.
Tooling and production samples - carried concepts from renders to T1-T3 injection-mold samples.
04
DISCIPLINES
Industrial design / CAD & rendering / 3D-printed prototyping / Overseas factory management
MOD LUNCH & MOD SNACK
01 FEATURED DESIGN CASE STUDY
A modular bento built around a single clear base. Swap the dividers, choose a lid, and one container reconfigures from a three-compartment lunch to a snack-and-dip pairing. No loose parts, no separate boxes. Getting there took three tooling rounds, a stack of 3D-printed and machined samples, and months of back-and-forth with the factory floor.
COMPANY:
CATEGORY:
PackIt
Modular Food Storage
ROLE:
Project Lead
CONCEPT & MOCK-UPs
PHASE 01
PROJECT INTRODUCTION
The original concept for the MOD food container system came from Herbst Produkt Design Agency: a transparent base sized to nest standard dividers, with a color-matched lid. Their only deliverable was a series of 3D-printed samples, no tooling cut yet. My role was to take that concept to manufacturing quality.
FORM STUDIES - Herbst submitted several MOD container form options. I reviewed each and picked the features that were feasible for manufacturing.
TECH PACKs
PHASE 02
TECHNICAL DRAWINGS / FACTORY COMMENTS
3D - printed prototypes
PHASE 03
PRINTED + MACHINED SAMPLES / TOOLING COMMENTS
Before committing to any steel molds, geometry was proven on 3D-printed and machined samples. Wall thickness, divider-post height and the lid's sealing lip were printed, measured and marked up by hand. I sent tech packs back to the factory as tooling comments.
Callouts and blue witness marks flagging flaws in the sample tooling.
MOLD SAMPLE BODY, PRINTED LID - Critical dimensions checked and annotated for factory comments.
TESTING & EVALUATION
PHASE 04
SEAL & LEAK VALIDATION
LEAK TEST - Failures during the T1-T2 phases exposed flaws with the gasket that drove revisions, documented and sent to the factory.
VENT TEST - During testing features were removed due to safety concerns such as the steam vent failing to release pressure.
FINAL DESIGN
PHASE 05
IN-PRODUCTION & ON SHELVES
The whole system had to work. From the first printed post to the last click of the latch.
Every compartment, divider and seal was iterated on real parts and real factory feedback. The result is a modular family that reconfigures without loose pieces and ships in two colorways.
TOOLING ROUNDS - T1 to T3 injection-mold samples
3
LAUNCH COLORWAYS - Mint + Steel Gray, Lunch + Snack
2
CONCEPT TO SHELF - 2018 CAD to 2022 retail
18-22
