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Tupperware is an American company that manufactures and internationally distributes preparation, storage, and serving
containers A container is any receptacle or enclosure for holding a product used in storage, packaging, and transportation, including shipping. Things kept inside of a container are protected on several sides by being inside of its structure. The term ...
for the kitchen and home. It was founded in 1942 by
Earl Tupper Earl Silas Tupper (July 28, 1907 – October 3, 1983) was an American businessman and inventor, best known as the inventor of Tupperware, an airtight plastic container for storing food, and for founding the related home products company that bear ...
, who developed his first bell-shaped container and introduced the products to the public in 1946. As of 2007, it was sold by approximately 1.9 million direct salespeople on contract. In 2013, the top marketplace for Tupperware was
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
, topping
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. Indonesia's sales in 2013 were more than $200 million. In September 2024, when its parent company filed for bankruptcy, it was a wholly owned
subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company, or daughter company is a company (law), company completely or partially owned or controlled by another company, called the parent company or holding company, which has legal and financial control over the subsidia ...
of
Tupperware Brands Tupperware Brands Corporation, formerly Tupperware Corporation, is an American multinational company that produces home product lines that include kitchen gadgets, preparation, storage containers, and serving products for the kitchen and home. I ...
Corporation (TBC). Two months later, it was announced that a company formed by a group of TBC secured lenders, Party Products LLC, had completed the purchase of the brand, as well as certain related operations.


Company history


Early years

Earl Tupper Earl Silas Tupper (July 28, 1907 – October 3, 1983) was an American businessman and inventor, best known as the inventor of Tupperware, an airtight plastic container for storing food, and for founding the related home products company that bear ...
(1907–1983) purchased
polyethylene Polyethylene or polythene (abbreviated PE; IUPAC name polyethene or poly(methylene)) is the most commonly produced plastic. It is a polymer, primarily used for packaging (plastic bags, plastic films, geomembranes and containers including bott ...
pellets from
DuPont Dupont, DuPont, Du Pont, duPont, or du Pont may refer to: People * Dupont (surname) Dupont, also spelled as DuPont, duPont, Du Pont, or du Pont is a French surname meaning "of the bridge", historically indicating that the holder of the surname re ...
to build Tupperware products in 1938. He developed the first product in 1946 in
Leominster, Massachusetts Leominster ( ) is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the second-largest city in Worcester County, with a population of 43,222 at the 2023 census. Leominster is located north of Worcester and northwest of Boston. Bo ...
. The
polyethylene Polyethylene or polythene (abbreviated PE; IUPAC name polyethene or poly(methylene)) is the most commonly produced plastic. It is a polymer, primarily used for packaging (plastic bags, plastic films, geomembranes and containers including bott ...
plastic containers could be used in households to contain food and keep them airtight, and featured a "burping seal" that was patented in 1949. The product became notable with a sale-through-presentation idea, held in a party setting. Tupperware developed a
direct marketing Direct marketing is a form of communicating an offer, where organizations communicate directly to a Target market, pre-selected customer and supply a method for a direct response. Among practitioners, it is also known as ''direct response ...
strategy known as the
party plan The party plan is a method of marketing products by hosting what is presented as a social event at which products will be offered for sale. It is a form of direct selling. The primary system for generating sales leads for home party plan sales ...
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.
Brownie Wise Brownie Wise (; May 25, 1913 – September 24, 1992) was a pioneering American saleswoman largely responsible for the success of the home products company Tupperware, through her development of the "party plan" system of marketing. She initiall ...
(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. Later, she created Tupperware Parties Inc. During the early 1950s Tupperware products gained popularity and sales increased. The company continued the Tupperware parties and rewarded top-selling women.


1960–2000

Tupperware expanded to Europe in 1960 when Mila Pond hosted Tupperware parties in
Weybridge Weybridge () is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge, Elmbridge district in Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. The settlement is recorded as ''Waigebrugge'' and ''Weibrugge'' in the 7th century and the name derives from a cro ...
,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, and other locations around the world. A comparison technique called "carrot calling" was used by the representatives wherein they would travel
door-to-door Door-to-door is a canvassing technique that is generally used for sales, marketing, advertising, evangelism or campaigning, in which the person or persons walk from the door of one house to the door of another, trying to sell or advertise a pr ...
in a neighborhood and ask housewives to compare
carrot The carrot ('' Daucus carota'' subsp. ''sativus'') is a root vegetable, typically orange in colour, though heirloom variants including purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist, all of which are domesticated forms of the wild ...
s placed in a Tupperware container with anything that they would have ordinarily left them in. These would lead to scheduling of a Tupperware party. In 1977,
Rexall Rexall was a chain of American drugstores, and the name of their store-branded products. The stores, having roots in the federation of United Drug Stores starting in 1903, licensed the Rexall brand name to as many as 12,000 drug stores across t ...
, the owner of the Tupperware brand, sold its namesake drugstores and renamed itself Dart Industries. Dart merged with
Kraft Foods Kraft Foods Group, Inc. was an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate (company), conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. on October 1, 2012, and was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz on July ...
to form Dart & Kraft. The company demerged, with the former Dart assets renamed to Premark International.
Tupperware Brands Tupperware Brands Corporation, formerly Tupperware Corporation, is an American multinational company that produces home product lines that include kitchen gadgets, preparation, storage containers, and serving products for the kitchen and home. I ...
was spun off from Premark in 1996. 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

In 2003 Tupperware closed down operations in the UK and
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, citing customer dissatisfaction with their direct sales model. The company relaunched in the UK in mid-2011, 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. In May 2018, the Israeli daily ''
TheMarker ''TheMarker'' () is a Hebrew-language daily business newspaper published by the Haaretz Group in Israel. ''TheMarker'' was founded in 1999 by journalist and entrepreneur Guy Rolnik along with Haaretz Group and U.S.-based investors. Five years ...
'' reported that Tupperware would withdraw from Israel, leaving 2,000 agents without a job. Tupperware Israel relaunched in December 2020 as an online shop. In March 2021 Tupperware closed down operations in the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
. In August 2022, Tupperware announced it would be leaving the New Zealand market in late 2022. In 2022 Tupperware faced criticism for continuing its operations and actively hiring in Russia, despite the country’s invasion of Ukraine. This decision drew scrutiny as many multinational companies have ceased their activities in Russia to comply with international sanctions and condemn the war, which has caused widespread civilian casualties and devastation in Ukraine. Critics argue that Tupperware's ongoing presence in Russia undermines global efforts to isolate the aggressor state and holds the company complicit in prioritizing profits over ethical considerations during a time of geopolitical crisis. 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%. 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. 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. As of April 2023 Tupperware had 82 countries listed as places they trade. 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. On June 1, 2023, Tupperware stopped supplying an independent sales force in the UK and Ireland and moved fully to selling online and via the shopping TV channel
Ideal World Ideal World is a British TV shopping channel, broadcasting on DTT, satellite and online, with transactional websites, previously hosted from studios in Peterborough. It is now owned by TJC and broadcast from their offices in West London, fol ...
, shortly before Ideal World itself went out of business in early July 2023. On October 14, 2023, Laurie Ann Goldma
became CEO and board director
following leadership roles at Spanx, Avon and Guess. Tupperware Chair Susan Cameron said in a prepared statement that Goldman “brings the right mix of business and brand experience and has built consumer affinity for some of the world's most iconic brands.” On June 14, 2024, Tupperware announced tha

its last remaining US manufacturing plant in
Hemingway, South Carolina Hemingway is a town in Williamsburg County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 504 as of the 2020 Census. History Hemingway was created from a crossroads community named Lamberts in 1911 by Dr. W. C. Hemingway, in an effort to sec ...
and shift production to their plant in Lerma in Mexico, with the closure to be completed in January 2025. On September 16, 2024, Tupperware Brands Corp. announced that they were preparing to file for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...
protection later in the week after a failed comeback after beneficial sales during the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. The company's stock fell nearly 60% after the announcement. On September 18, Tupperware Brands filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, with plans to continue operating during the proceedings. Lenders involved are advocating for a foreclosure in order to claim assets. 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 Delaware The United States District Court for the District of Delaware (in case citations, D. Del.) is the United States district court, Federal district court having jurisdiction over the entire state of Delaware. The Court sits in Wilmington, Delaware, ...
bankruptcy court United States bankruptcy courts are courts created under Article I of the United States Constitution. The current system of bankruptcy courts was created by the United States Congress in 1978, effective April 1, 1984. United States bankruptcy ...
for approval of Judge Brendan Shannon. In November 2024, the Tupperware brand name was acquired by Party Products LLC, who will allow for Tupperware's operations to continue.


Tupperware parties

Tupperware is still sold mostly through a
party plan The party plan is a method of marketing products by hosting what is presented as a social event at which products will be offered for sale. It is a form of direct selling. The primary system for generating sales leads for home party plan sales ...
. 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. 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. The
multi-level marketing Multi-level marketing (MLM), also called network marketing or pyramid selling, is a controversial and sometimes illegal marketing strategy for the sale of products or services in which the revenue of the MLM company is derived from a non-salarie ...
strategy adopted by Tupperware has been criticized as manipulative. 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. 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 Target may refer to: Warfare and shooting * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artille ...
stores in the US and Superstores in Canada with disappointing results. In countries with a focus on marketing through parties (such as
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, and
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
), Tupperware's market share and profitability continue to decline. In
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
, 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.


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. Opposing views argued that the intended gendered product and selling campaign further domesticates women, and keeps their predominant focus on homemaking. Negative views also argued Tupperware helped keep women restricted to the domestic sphere.Clarke, Allison J. (1999) ''Tupperware'', Washington:
Smithsonian Institution Press The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
. pp. 192–193. .


Tupperware records and archives

Several collections of Tupperware-related archival records, papers, and collections exist at cultural heritage institutions across the United States. Th
papers
of founder Earl S. Tupper are part of the Smithsonian's
National Museum of American History The National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center is a historical museum in Washington, D.C. It collects, preserves, and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific, and m ...
and its Archives Center. Th
records
of long-serving Tupperware vice president
Brownie Wise Brownie Wise (; May 25, 1913 – September 24, 1992) was a pioneering American saleswoman largely responsible for the success of the home products company Tupperware, through her development of the "party plan" system of marketing. She initiall ...
are part of the Smithsonian's
National Museum of American History The National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center is a historical museum in Washington, D.C. It collects, preserves, and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific, and m ...
and its Archives Center. Th
Jon and Sylvia Boyd Tupperware Films collection
at the Smithsonian showcases Tupperware-produced documentaries that chronicle annual 'jubilee' conventions for salespeople, held at the Tupperware Florida headquarters.


See also

*
Generic trademark A generic trademark, also known as a genericized trademark or proprietary eponym, is a trademark or brand name that, because of its popularity or significance, has become the generic term for, or synonymous with, a general class of products or ...
*
Gold party A gold party is similar to a Tupperware party in that a small group gathers at a host's home to sell their gold jewelry to a gold buyer. They were popular as people looked for ways to raise money during the Late-2000s recession. The buyer, generall ...
* Hana Cobi Plastic aka Lock & Lock *
Newell Rubbermaid Newell Brands Inc. is an American manufacturer, marketer and distributor of consumer and commercial products. The company's brands and products include Rubbermaid storage/or waste disposal containers; home organization and reusable container ...
*
Tub (container) A tub is an open-top circular or oblong container. In earlier times they were made from wooden staves held together with iron hoops and were made by coopers. Modern tubs used in industry might be made from concrete, metal or plastic. Small ...


References


Further reading

*''Tupperware: The Promise of Plastic in 1950s America'' by Alison Clarke, published by the
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
(), . *Charles Duhigg
"Why Short Sellers Want to Crash the Tupperware Party,"
''New York Times,'' . *Elayne Rapping, "Tupperware and Women", ''Radical America'', vol. 14, no. 6 (November–December 1980), pp. 39–49.


External links

*
Film of Tupperware annual jubilee event, "Wishes Do Come True"
(Collection item #AC0870-OF0001)
Film of Tupperware annual jubilee event, "Arabian Nights Jubilee"
(Collection item #AC0870-OF0003)
Film of Tupperware annual jubilee event, "Land of Ours Jubilee"
(Collection item #AC0870-OF0004)
Film of Tupperware annual jubilee event, "Wonderland Jubilee"
(Collection item #AC0870-OF0005) {{Authority control 1948 establishments in Massachusetts American brands American inventions Brands that became generic Containers Direct sales companies Food storage Kitchenware brands Manufacturing companies established in 1948 Personal selling Plastic brands Products introduced in 1948 Plastics companies of the United States Companies based in Orlando, Florida 2024 mergers and acquisitions Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2024