With minimalist, bite-sized designs, the Korean lunch box-sized cakes, better known as "bento cakes", have capture the hearts of many. The simply decorated, pastel-colored cakes are said to have originated from South Korea, although the word bento (lunch box) itself comes from Japan.

This fluffy delicacy, packed in bagasse — a byproduct of sugar production — or styrofoam boxes, is getting more popular as birthdays and other special days are now less often celebrated together in person. Now, more are opting to send these mini cakes that can be finished even by the smallest eater. 

"We name our cakes Pico9. Pico is a unit of measurement that is [even smaller than nano] and 9 for the diameter of our bento cakes," said Kinualla "Ulla" Miman, who started the Pico9 brand with her cousin, Feby Kusuma Wardhani. "This is our passion project because Feby is studying pastry."

Based in East Jakarta, Ulla focuses on the digital marketing while Feby dwells in the wet pantry side of the business. It is also a family business for Sindy Afifah, who runs Sindy Cakes in Bandar Lampung, Lampung, with the help of her mother.

"I started selling cakes in 2014, when I was in ninth grade," said the 22-year-old student. "I wanted to make a cake for a friend, but my friends liked the cake that I made, and they finally suggested that I start selling cakes."

Sindy started with birthday and character cakes, but since February she has also sold bento cakes. "I didn't have any special education on baking or decorating cakes, so I'm self-taught. Usually I like to see the tutorials on YouTube or TikTok," she said. "Now it's very easy to find references on Pinterest or Instagram as well."

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