Tupperware is an American company that manufactures and internationally distributes preparation, storage, and serving containers for the kitchen and home. It was founded in 1942 by Earl Tupper, who developed his first bell-shaped container and introduced the products to the public in 1946.
Tupperware is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tupperware Brands. As of 2007, it was sold by approximately 1.9 million direct salespeople on contract.[2] In 2013, the top marketplace for Tupperware was Indonesia, topping Germany. Indonesia's sales in 2013 were more than $200 million.[3] On September 19, 2024, Tupperware filed for bankruptcy.[4]
Company history
Tupperware containers from 2011Colorful Tupperware containers
Early years
Earl Tupper (1907–1983) asked for pure polyethylene pellets from DuPont to build Tupperware products in 1938.[5] He developed the first product in 1946 in Leominster, Massachusetts.[6] The polyethylene plastic containers could be used in households to contain food and keep them airtight, and featured a "burping seal" that was patented in 1949.[7]
The product became notable with a sale-through-presentation idea, held in a party setting.[8] Tupperware developed a direct marketing strategy known as the party plan to sell products. The party plan called Tupperware party enabled women of the 1950s to earn an income while keeping their focus in the domestic domain.[9]Brownie Wise (1913–1992), a former sales representative of Stanley Home Products, started organizing more of these parties and was soon made vice president of marketing in 1951.[10][11] Later, she created Tupperware Parties Inc.[12]Women at the parties were exhorted to sell more via the slogan "No Sex, No Sup, Just Tup-Tup-Tup!".[13]
During the early 1950s Tupperware products gained popularity and sales increased. The company continued the Tupperware parties and rewarded top-selling women.[14][15][16]
1960–2000
Tupperware expanded to Europe in 1960 when Mila Pond hosted Tupperware parties in Weybridge, England, and other locations around the world.[17] A comparison technique called "carrot calling" was used by the representatives wherein they would travel door-to-door in a neighborhood and ask housewives to compare carrots placed in a Tupperware container with anything that they would have ordinarily left them in. These would lead to scheduling of a Tupperware party.[17]
In 1977, Rexall, the owner of the Tupperware brand, sold its namesake drugstores and renamed itself Dart Industries. Dart merged with Kraft Foods to form Dart & Kraft. The company demerged, with the former Dart assets renamed to Premark International. Tupperware Brands was spun off from Premark in 1996.[18]
Tupperware also produced limited products outside its core preparation and storage lines. The Shape O is a toddler toy/puzzle, first produced in 1969. Ten different geometric shapes are inserted into corresponding holes in the ball to complete the game.
2001–present
Tupperware logo from 1994 to 2024.
In 2003 Tupperware closed down operations in the UK and Ireland, citing customer dissatisfaction with their direct sales model.[19] The company relaunched in the UK in mid-2011,[20] and recruited UK staff, but in December the relaunch was canceled.
As of 2007 Tupperware was sold by means of approximately 1.9 million direct salespeople on contract.[21]
In May 2018, the Israeli daily TheMarker reported that Tupperware will withdraw from Israel leaving 2,000 agents without a job.[22] Tupperware Israel relaunched in December 2020 as an online shop.[23] In March 2021 Tupperware closed down operations in the Netherlands.[24] In August 2022, Tupperware announced it would be leaving the New Zealand market in late 2022.[25]
On November 2, 2022, after publishing quarterly results, the company said its inability to maintain compliance with its credit agreement raises substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. The stock value dropped more than 40%.[citation needed] In April 2023 the company warned that there is "substantial doubt about the company's ability to continue as a going concern". The stock price dropped almost 50% on the same day.[26] On April 11, 2023, Tupperware's stock value plummeted to $1.30. Although there was a slight recovery the following day, its sliding sales and increasing debt prompted warnings of permanent company closure unless it receives substantial investment.[27]
As of April 2023 Tupperware has 82 countries listed as places they trade.[28] In May 2023, a financially-ailing Tupperware signed on Moelis & Co. to explore various available strategic options, as it also detected inconsistencies in its prior periods' financial reportings.[29]
On June 1, 2023, Tupperware stopped supplying an independent sales force in the UK and Ireland[30] and moved fully to selling online and via the shopping TV channel Ideal World, shortly before Ideal World itself went out of business in early July 2023.[31]
On June 14, 2024, Tupperware announced that it would close its last remaining US manufacturing plant in Hemingway, South Carolina and shift production to their plant in Lerma in Mexico, with the closure to be completed in January 2025.[32]
On September 16, 2024, Tupperware Brands Corp. announced that they were preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection later in the week after a failed comeback after beneficial sales during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company's stock fell nearly 60% after the announcement.[33] On September 18, Tupperware Brands filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, with plans to continue operating during the proceedings.[4] Lenders involved are advocating for a foreclosure in order to claim assets.[34]
On October 22, with $818 million obligations, it signed a deal with lenders for $23.5 million cash and $63 million debt relief in the United States District Court for the District of Delawarebankruptcy court for approval of Judge Brendan Shannon.[35]
Tupperware parties
A Tupperware party advertisement from the late 1950s
Tupperware is still sold mostly through a party plan. A Tupperware party is run by a Tupperware consultant as a host or hostess who invites friends and neighbors into their home to see the product line. Parties also take place in workplaces, schools, and other community groups.[36] To stay in touch with its sales force, Tupperware published the monthly magazine Tupperware Sparks. The magazine had snapshots of saleswomen posing with awards and recognition for high sales. To avoid spending money on advertising, Tupperware created events that attracted free publicity.[37]
The multi-level marketing strategy adopted by Tupperware has been criticized as manipulative.[38] Statistics released by Tupperware in 2018 showed that 94% of its active distributors remained on the lowest level of the pyramid, with average gross earnings of $653.[39]
In recent years, Tupperware in North America has moved to a new business model which includes more emphasis on direct marketing channels and eliminated its dependency on authorized distributorships. This transition included selling through Target stores in the US and Superstores in Canada with disappointing results.[40] In countries with a focus on marketing through parties (such as Germany, Australia, and New Zealand), Tupperware's market share and profitability continue to decline.[41] In New Zealand, products can be also purchased online without a salesperson.
In China, Tupperware products are sold through franchised "entrepreneurial shopfronts", of which there were 1,900 in 2005, due to pyramid selling laws enacted in 1998.[42][43]
Feminist reactions
Feminist academics had different reactions to Tupperware. A more positive interpretation argued Tupperware provided employment for women who were pregnant or otherwise not guaranteed their position at work due to unequal laws in the workplace.[9] Opposing views argued that the intended gendered product and selling campaign further domesticates women, and keeps their predominant focus on homemaking.[44] Negative views also argued Tupperware helped keep women restricted to the domestic sphere.[9]
^Bax C. (2010). "Entrepreneur Brownie Wise: Selling Tupperware to America's Women in the 1950s". Journal of Women's History. 22 (2): 171–180. doi:10.1353/jowh.0.0159. S2CID154411167.
^Vincent, S. (2008). "Preserving Domesticity: Reading Tupperware in Women's Changing Domestic, Social and Economic Roles". Canadian Review of Sociology. 40 (2): 171–196. doi:10.1111/j.1755-618X.2003.tb00242.x.
Further reading
Tupperware: The Promise of Plastic in 1950s America by Alison Clarke, published by the Smithsonian Institution (September 30, 2014), ISBN1588344363.
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