Bento Boxes Wholesaler

Akazuki supplies bento boxes and compartmentalized meal containers to restaurants, retailers and importers. In Japan these are called bento bako, boxes designed for lunch on the go, whether that’s at a desk, a school, or a park bench.

For restaurants, we also carry shokado trays: lidded, compartmentalized boxes built for plating a full meal with the kind of presentation a dine-in tray can’t match. All our plastic items are BPA free, and the range covers multiple sizes and patterns while staying true to traditional Japanese design.

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A short history of the bento box

Bento culture goes back to the Kamakura period (1185 to 1333), when workers carried hoshi-ii, dried cooked rice, in small bags to eat on the job. The box format itself didn’t appear until the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1568 to 1600).

From there, the practice spread and became more refined. During the Edo period (1603 to 1867), travelers carried bento, and entire cookbooks were published on how to prepare and store food for the box. By the Taisho period (1912 to 1926), an elaborate bento had become something of a status symbol among wealthy families. It wasn’t until the 1980s that the everyday bento box became common again, across all parts of Japanese society.

A few regional styles worth knowing

A chuka bento (Chinese-style) is typically lighter, more of a snack format. A makunouchi bento is the more traditional version: rice, pickles, and usually fish or a rolled egg, arranged in clearly divided compartments.

There are dozens of regional and seasonal variations beyond these two, which is part of why bento boxes remain such a flexible product to stock.