You've just put leftovers after eating into a food container, but can't find a lid that fits. Or maybe you've put a food container in the fridge with food in it, but you can't see what's inside the food container and completely forget about the food. These were things we heard time and time again when interviewing families about their experiences. “We wanted to develop products to make this easier,” says David Granath, a product developer who has worked with the project. “They should be simple and flexible. And easy to combine and use in ways that suit every household.”

“It can involve things like using the same food container for several steps and just changing the lid. There shouldn't be any unnecessary extra work along the way,” says David. Transparent containers increase the chances that the food is consumed. And it must be easy to adapt the containers to serve different needs. “People asked for a coherent system for food storage. Not complicated special gadgets, yet rather simple and straightforward products that can be used often.”

The IKEA 365+ food containers and lids can be combined and also come in different materials and sizes. They are super simple – and that's the point. “We've put a lot of work into them, for example by seeing to it that all the different parts fit together. But the product itself is simple in a smart way.” We can't solve the entire food waste problem – but we can make it possible for everyone to be part of the solution.