Modern Picnic is a women-founded and led company that designs fashionable, functional, and sustainable lunch bags for professional women. The brand was launched in 2018 by Ali Kaminetsky with the mission to provide an alternative to the traditional lunchbox.
Kaminetsky came up with the idea for Modern Picnic in 2016 when she moved to New York City after graduating from college to begin a job in retail. She quickly realized there were no stylish options for women to carry their lunch to work. Traditional lunchboxes were targeted towards children and men, but nothing fit the needs of fashion-conscious working women who wanted to save money and eat healthy by bringing their own lunch.
Seeing a gap in the market, 25-year-old Kaminetsky set out to design the perfect lunchbag for women. Calling it “Modern Picnic,” she created chic, luxury vegan leather bags with insulated interiors to keep food and drinks cold. The bags look like designer handbags on the outside but have compartments inside for carrying meals, snacks, and utensils.
Kaminetsky has no formal background in design, so creating the first Modern Picnic prototypes was a learning experience for her. She started by gathering all her containers and bags to assess sizes and features. She made her first prototype out of a paper bag, before eventually hiring a professional to create the technical specifications required for manufacturing.
Modern Picnic’s lunch bags each serve a different purpose:
- The Luncher – The original and bestselling style, fitting a meal and drink in an insulated, wipeable interior that looks like a fashionable purse on the outside.
- The Large Luncher – A bigger version for fitting multiple meals and drinks while still looking stylish.
- The Tote – A chic leather tote bag with a removable insulated pouch for carrying lunch while keeping it separate from other daily essentials.
- The Backpack – A leather backpack with padded laptop sleeve and insulated lunch compartment.
- The Snacker – A portable leather pouch for carrying smaller lunches or snacks discreetly.
In April 2021, Modern Picnic closed a $900,000 round of pre-seed funding led by Michael Cline, the founder of Fandango. Modern Picnic’s products appeal to health-conscious professionals who want to save money by packing lunch but don’t want to sacrifice style. The brand empowers women to feel confident and put-together at work even when carrying their own meals. Kaminetsky’s design has filled a clear gap in the market, catering specifically to women’s aesthetic and functional needs.
