Why is everyone on TikTok suddenly obsessed with eating out of tiffins?

Whether it's Dubai chocolate or Labubus, social media is always on the hunt for the next big craze - however, its current obsession actually dates all the way back to the 18th century.

Welcome to TiffinTok.

If you've been scrolling on TikTok as of late, you may have come across Lily Baria; a Brit who ditched UK life in favour of moving to Goa, India, and has since been sharing an inside peek at her South Asian lifestyle.

Most notably, her daily tiffin unboxings are no stranger to viral attention, as she shares what she gets to eat for lunch each day as part of a meal delivery service.

Tiffin culture is very popular in that part of the world, and each lunchtime, Baria receives a layered, steel tin, containing a number of surprise dishes.

They're not a new thing, however, with tiffin culture dating back to the 18th century, when the British established colonial rule of India, and the colonial sahibs had to find a solution to eating in the humid weather between breakfast and dinner.

Since then, they've become a staple for residents across India craving affordable, healthy food - and the opportunity to try something different each time they stop for lunch.

Also known as dabbas, the tins usually contain a mixture of vegetables, breads, curries, and rice in each layer; and now Baria's followers look forward to seeing what goodness is in her tiffin each day.

The food delivery service costs her the equivalent of $70 USD each month, or around $2.30 per meal, and it's thought that the people behind the tins can be cooking for around 50 people at a time.

While the self-dubbed 'Tiffin Lady' has amassed over 310,000 followers from her tiffin videos, it's clear that now foodies from all over the globe are drawing inspiration from her lifestyle, with people openly sharing they'd been trying to hunt down tiffin services in their own local areas to replicate the experience.

However, in destinations like London, the service is naturally more expensive (not least now demand has surged), and typical subscriptions we found start at around £30 per day.

What's more, tiffin lunchboxes are now popping up all over popular homeware stores including TK Maxx, and are on-track to become as popular as bento boxes once were.

"I was cutting open my tortilla bag last night and I felt like I was cutting open my tiffin bag", one person jokes of tiffin culture's sweeping popularity.

"Some people use Coop on a Stoop to determine how their day will be, I use how the daily tiffin is as my horoscope", another added.

"You inspired me to try cooking Indian food last night!", a third noted of Baria's impact.

So long as there's incredible food on our FYPs, you'll find us firmly locked in.

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