More Than a Lunchbox: How Bento Mom Nikki Garcia Is Reframing the Daily Baon

At SM Home Masterclass this May, the mother of three turns one of the most ordinary morning rituals into a family ceremony — with  help from the right tools.

MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Ask any Filipino mom about the school morning rush and the same word will come up: baon. The thirty minutes between waking up and the school gate close. The food container that never matches its lid. The endless mental calendar of what was packed yesterday, what is left in the fridge, and what the kids will actually eat. 

Nikki Garcia — known to her Instagram community as @mrsnikkigarcia_, and to her followers more affectionately by the hashtag #nikkimbento — has spent years quietly refining a different relationship with the baon. “Baon is the first conversation you have with your child every day, and they’re not even there for it,” she says. “It’s the way you tell them: I thought about you this morning. I packed this for you. Eat well.” 

Nikki Garcia is the mother, missus, and home cook behind @mrsnikkigarcia_ — a community of 18,000-plus parents who follow her work in bento, food art, and the small daily rituals that hold a Filipino family together. A mama to three, Nikki built her following one packed lunch at a time, growing what started as a personal practice into the well-loved bento community known by the hashtag #nikkimbento. 

Her work sits at the intersection of food and care. Beyond the lunchbox, she runs @tuyoandeggs, a love letter to the Filipino breakfast table, and @shopnikki_g, her curated selection of bento tools and food art essentials. Through her workshops, she teaches parents that baon-making is less about Pinterest-perfect aesthetics and more about ritual — the prep, the planning, and the unspoken language of love that begins before the school bell rings. 

On Friday, May 22, Garcia headlines The Baon System, one of two modules at the May edition of  SM Home Masterclass at SM Home, Megamall. Her session will walk guests through the routine  she has built across years of feeding her three children — less an aesthetic exercise, more a  working system any parent can adapt. 

The principles are practical. Set up a dedicated baon station so the same drawer holds the same things every morning. Choose containers that are sized for what your child actually finishes. Plan in batches, not in panic. And separate the prep  from the assembly — most of the work, she argues, can be done the night before. 

Garcia’s session features curated picks from SM Home’s most trusted kitchen and tableware brands. Locknlock stainless steel lunch boxes with  dividers help anchor the assembly. Thermos vacuum-insulated bottles in 530ml and 710ml sizes handle drinks and soup. Locknlock’s glass food  keepers and Biokips compartment containers cover meal prep storage. For the bigger system — the cooking and prep that happens before the  assembly — the session also features Tefal’s Dual Easy Fry, Imarflex’s Aromatech Coffee Maker, Daisy cookware, and a Hyundai Digital Bread  Toaster. 

Start Smart for School kicks off Friday, May 22, 2026 at 2:00 PM at SM Home Megamall, Lower Ground, SM Store, Megamall Building B — opening a  full month of back-to-school programming from SM Home, including online content with featured experts and in-store promotions of up to 50% off  on select essentials at participating branches nationwide. 

Start Smart for School is the third installment of SM Home Masterclass, the brand’s 2026headline campaign positioning SM Home as the ultimate  home curator. Each monthly Masterclass kicks off a theme that runs across the full month — through online content, expert-led conversations, and  in-store promotions on featured items. Previous editions have covered sleep wellness (Best Sleep 101, March) and summer entertaining (The Smart  Summer Home Masterclass, April).  

Guests will also enjoy exclusive deals of up to 50% off on select back-to-school must-haves — available at in all SM Home branches nationwide  throughout the month of May.