Fold & Go Concept

Consumer Products

Fold & Go

  • Client EMSA
  • Institution University of Twente
  • Role Product Designer

A versatile, collapsible food container designed for modern, sustainable lunchtimes. Developed as part of a multidisciplinary team to combat the waste of single-use food storage materials.

Phase 1: The Challenge

This project was carried out in collaboration with German plastic product manufacturer EMSA. Working within a multidisciplinary team of Mechanical, Industrial, and Design engineers, my role focused heavily on 3D CAD, rapid prototyping, and formal product design.

Through user research and a 31-participant survey, we established three core pillars for a modern lunchbox: It must not compress the food, it must be environmentally sustainable, and it must collapse to save space when empty.

University of Twente EMSA
Lunch in bag scenario

Phase 2: Ideation & The Plate Concept

Eating from a deep, rigid plastic box does not lend itself to the typical shared meal experience at a dinner table. I developed the "Plate Concept"—a lunchbox that unclips and unfolds completely flat. This emulates a traditional dining experience, encouraging users to share mealtime and recreate the comfort of dining from a proper plate at their desk.

Ideation Sketches

Early exploratory sketches investigating unfolding mechanics.

Cardboard Prototyping

Low-fi paper prototyping testing the one-handed folding geometry.

Morphological Diagram

Morphological diagram balancing mechanical feasibility with manufacturing cost.

Phase 3: Final Design

The finalized Fold & Go operates in three distinct states: Box (for secure transport), Plate (unfolded for dining), and Flat (for compact storage or dishwasher loading).

Open Plate State

The "Plate" state: Unfolded for an open dining experience.

Folded Flat State

The "Flat" state: Collapsed for highly compact storage.

Dishwasher Safe

Reverse-folded to expose soiled surfaces for easy dishwasher loading.

Functional design overview video.