A fun part of back-to-school shopping is the search for the perfect lunch container.

Should it be square with a zip, with space for lots of tasty items? A smart little purselike affair? A sack? And what about the pattern? When you’re going to be spending every lunch hour with it, it’s important to get it right.

There are lots of new designs for students old and young, with thoughtful details and add-ons meant to make lunchtime pleasant and palatable.

FORM AND FUNCTION

Karen Cicero, contributing editor at Parents magazine, reminds parents and caregivers to keep kids’ ages and grade levels in mind when shopping for lunchboxes.

“If you have a preschooler or kindergartner, you’ll want a box that’s easy to open and close,” she says.

“For middle schoolers, you want to make sure it’s large enough to hold their lunch, an ice pack, and snacks they’ll need for after-school practices.”

Also consider how easy the box is to clean, and whether it hooks onto your child’s backpack, “which is a good feature so it doesn’t get lost or separated,” Cicero said.

Many lunch-kit collections can be coordinated with backpacks, water bottles and hot or cold insulated containers.

BENTO BOXES

These are big among elementary and middle school kids, says Cicero. Popular for years in Asia, bento boxes are made of plastic or steel fitted with various-size compartments. That separation keeps foods from becoming a pile of crumbs or mush.

And with just one container to wash and reuse, there’s often less waste. No more zippered baggies, plastic wrap or foil to pollute the environment.

Bento containers are built into many of this season’s lunchboxes.

Or Bentgo’s colorful, leak-proof bento containers come in several varieties, including an insulated bowl with a silicone-lined snap lid and its own fork and spoon. (bentgo.com)

DITCH THE DISPOSABLES

Other environmentally friendly options include Russbe’s sturdy, gusseted reusable bags, which come in a bunch of designs and sizes. All have leak-resistant double-lock closures; they’re alternatives to plastic bags. (reuseit.com)

Cicero also likes Packit: The whole bag is lined with a gel material, so you can freeze it the night before and food stays chilled all day. A peppy buffalo check and a tie-dye pattern are in the collection. (packit.com)

“Our school has a zero-waste policy, so we try to pack most food in a thermos or containers. Snap lids are easiest for the kids to open,” says Toronto mom Amy Tse.

TRENDING TOPICS

“What’s new is that you’ll see a lot of girls with traditional boy designs,” says Cicero. “Gender-neutral options include geometric patterns, stars and animals.”

Unicorns are trending strongly with girls, she says. Zazzle.com has a nice variety; a lot feature rainbows, too. Target has the Skip Hop Zoo unicorn-shaped bag, and Gymboree offers a unicorn-printed box that clips to a matching backpack. (target.com; gymboree.com)

Other popular patterns? Cute cats and fun food.

Pottery Barn Kids has a lunch sack shaped like a kitten’s face; it wouldn’t look out of place on a 20-something’s office desk. (pbkids.com)

Photo-printed lunch boxes and bags stand out from the crowd; some are even 3-D. (aliexpress.com)

For younger kids, dinosaur, galaxy, mermaid and camouflage patterns in glow-in-the-dark inks are popular. Cicero also mentions quintessential favorites like superheroes and sports themes. Nike has lunch-size versions of its classic duffel bag. (store.nike.com)

Crocodile Creek has designs with jungle, robot and backyard animal themes. (crocodilecreek.com) And Hanna Andersson offers soft lunchboxes in whimsical designs including a galaxy and spaceship, fluttery butterflies, race cars and smiling suns with rainbows. (hannaandersson.com)

For older boys, consider video-game references like “Minecraft” or “Halo 5” lunchboxes.

Licensed characters are perennial lunchbox favorites. This year a Wonder Woman lunchbox picks up on the movie’s popularity. And the front of a “Star Wars” Chewbacca lunchbox is covered in washable fake fur. (lunchbox.com)

FASHION FORWARD

Allison Spampanato, senior vice president for product development at Pottery Barn Kids and PBTeen, is betting on a few stylish designs: “Our Emily & Meritt gear features neon pink and oversize florals, bringing two trends together,” she says.

Other graphic standouts in that collection: a chic, black-zippered lunch sack with the word “MEOW“ in white type, and a bold, black-and-white-banded sack. There’s also a “shibori,” or Japanese dyeing, motif. Larger-scale gingham and polka dots, and icons like sailboats, bows and hearts are a fresh take on preppy. (pbteen.com)