Crofton Expandable Lunch Container

Last Updated on July 9, 2023

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A new school year is upon us, and that means it’s time to start packing school lunches again. My family has a collection of hard plastic sandwich boxes we pack in reusable lunch bags, along with various reusable plastic containers with lids for holding assorted chips, crackers, fruit, etc.

I’ve always liked the look of Bento-style lunch boxes — some moms love to post cute pictures of their kids’ lunches on social media — but I have never found one that worked for my family. Bento boxes can be bulky and don’t always fit well in standard-sized lunch bags, especially if you want to pack an ice pack as well. For this coming school year, I recently purchased a Thermos-branded box to try. It’s still bulky, but I can just fit some thin ice packs in my kids’ lunch bags alongside the box.

Then, the other week I noticed some Aldi fans on social media talking about expandable lunch containers at the discount grocery store. People talked about how these Aldi containers fit much better inside lunch bags, even with ice packs. They hold all the food that a typical Bento-style box holds, but in a more compact package that makes more efficient use of space.

So when I made my next Aldi shopping run, I picked up one of the containers to try.

The Crofton Expandable Lunch Container (Product Code: 55949) cost $7.99 at the time of publication. That’s cheaper than most Bento boxes sold on Amazon.

This lunch container is sold in a mixed case alongside a similar expandable salad container that features a compartment for salad, another compartment for toppings or whatever else you want to put in it, and a small bottle for holding salad dressing. I opted to only get the lunch container for now.

Both the lunch container and salad container are Aldi Finds, which means they’re only in stores for a short time. Each store gets one shipment, and after that sells out, they’re gone unless Aldi decides to bring them back at some later point. Aldi does not offer online ordering for products that are not in stock at your local store.

Here’s more information about both of the containers, according to Aldi:

• Choose a Lunch or Salad Container in Blue or Gray
• Salad container includes 2-oz. condiment bottle
• Freezer tray stays cold up to 4 hours
• Expands 2X its original size
• BPA free
• Container is microwave safe (but the freezer tray is not microwave safe)
• Top rack dishwasher safe
• Not for use with fatty foods (this is probably because some chemicals in plastic are fat soluble and can leach into fatty food)
• Main container capacity is 52 fluid oz. (1.5 L); medium container capacity is 8.8 fluid oz. (260 ML); small containers capacity is 4.16 fluid oz. (123 ML)
• Made in China

I like this container and I think it has potential to be a great addition to the lunch box. It’s compact and versatile, and it comes with a lot of pieces that can be used to customize your lunch box.

When you take the lid off the box, you’ll see a tray holding three separate smaller containers with lids.

What it looks like when you take the lid off.

You can pull out those individual containers for a better view of the tray. The lunch container can be used either with or without the lidded containers.

With the containers removed from the tray.

Under the tray is a large compartment ideal for holding a sandwich or other bigger food items.

Large sandwich compartment in expanded form.

Even better, this compartment is expandable. You’ll want it in the expanded position if you have a sandwich in it.

Expanded position.

After you eat your sandwich, you can flatten the container so it takes up less space in your lunch bag or lunch box.

Flattened position.

Another nice feature of this set is that the tray contains nontoxic freezer gel, and the package claims it stays cold up to four hours. I haven’t had an opportunity to fully put this through the paces yet, and the tray is not that large, so I’m not sure how effective it will be at keeping things cold enough to meet food safety guidelines. I’m very particular about keeping foods at safe temperatures, so I might still slip an ice pack into my child’s lunch bag to make sure everything stays at an appropriately cold temperature until lunch time. However, the fact that the tray can be frozen and serve as an ice pack is helpful. The nice thing about this set is that it’s not bulky, so there actually is room for an extra ice pack in the lunch bag.

Everything that comes with the lunch container set: a lid, a tray, an expandable sandwich compartment, and three small containers with lids.

The one thing I don’t know is how durable this set is and how long it will hold up to the rigors of daily school lunches. I’ll update this post as necessary with any new developments. In the meantime, we’re ready for school.

The Verdict:

The Crofton Expandable Lunch Container offers all the features of a Bento-style lunch box in a more compact style that fits more easily into standard-sized lunch bags or lunch boxes. It holds a good amount of food, and the various small plastic lidded containers that come with this set allow for versatility in what foods you pack and how you pack them. As a bonus, the food tray is filled with freezer gel, so it also serves as an ice pack. If you need a way to pack lunches for work or for the school year, this is an appealing option.