In 1946, plastics chemist Earl Tupper first rolled out his food storage containers, soon to be coined “Tupperware,” noted for their patented double-seal lids. But it wasn’t until the 1950s that the products took off, thanks to the deliciously-named Brownie Wise, a single mother who threw home parties to demonstrate to fellow moms and homemakers the benefits of lightweight, airtight Tupperware over traditional glass dishes. And thus the Tupperware Party was born. Only now, as many business commentators are phrasing it, “The party is over for Tupperware.” It seems the company’s devotion to its early success model, the signature house parties, was also its downfall. Tupperware was late to the party of selling online and through other vendors (they only partnered with Target in 2022), to the point where they simply couldn’t keep up with competitors. After issuing notice last year that they were in dire straits, Tupperware brands has now officially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy:
“Over the last several years, the company’s financial position has been severely impacted by the challenging macroeconomic environment,” Laurie Ann Goldman, president and CEO of Tupperware Brands Corporation, said in a statement late Tuesday.
Chapter 11 bankruptcy allows companies to solve their financial problems by restructuring. “This process is meant to provide us with essential flexibility as we pursue strategic alternatives to support our transformation into a digital-first, technology-led company,” Goldman added.
Tupperware has historically sold to consumers only through so-called direct sales, most commonly at “Tupperware parties,” similar to cosmetic company Avon’s business model, and only began selling in Target in 2022. The 78-year-old brand empowered women to enter the sales business.
“The party is over for Tupperware,” Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at UK investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown, said in a note. “There is still a chance a buyer for the business can be found but, with plastic seen as far from fantastic among eco-aware consumers, revitalizing the brand will be an uphill struggle.”
Even though the brand was once a household name, it became less popular with younger consumers, in contrast with some of its competitors.
Tupperware rang the alarm bells in April 2023 when it disclosed in a regulatory filing that it could go out of business. The Florida-based company said at the time that, if it didn’t find more cash, it would no longer be able to fund its operations.
Tupperware found that lifeline four months later, when it reached a deal with its creditors to reduce its interest payment obligations by $150 million. It also secured $21 million in new financing, an extension on the deadline for paying back about $348 million in debt and a reduction in the amount of debt it owed by around $55 million.
But the company’s finances still declined following the deal.
Tupperware shuttered its only US plant, in South Carolina, this year, resulting in 148 layoffs, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act filing.
The company said Tuesday that it would seek the approval of the bankruptcy court to continue operating during Chapter 11 proceedings.
Well, I guess everything old really is new again. Tupperware came on the market to displace glassware, and now younger generations are opting for glassware once more. I can attest that I always prefer to use a glass or Pyrex dish for heating something up in the microwave, though I’m more open to using plastic containers for storage purposes only. (Sidenote: I picked up a sweet set of Pyrex bowls from an antique mall this summer! All solid colors, though, so the prices weren’t outrageous.) Still, I salute Earl Tupper for working to curb food waste, and also for acknowledging Brownie Wise’s achievements. Tupper saw Wise succeeding where he was failing — in selling out his product — and instead of stewing in jealousy, he hired Wise in 1951 to be his vice president of marketing. True, they had a big falling out and he fired her by 1957, but Tupperware is forever tied to Brownie Wise as much as it is to its namesake Earl Tupper. And now concludes this mini history lesson.
#Tupperware #foodhistory #domesticspaces pic.twitter.com/vcguiFn65S
— Gastronomic History (@GastroHistory) September 18, 2024
WATCH: Once a mainstay of kitchens around the world after its inception in 1946, Tupperware has recently has found itself in tough times and has filed for bankruptcy protection.
Read more: https://t.co/AlqgPswEd8 pic.twitter.com/r0hZ2w8fGM
— Globalnews.ca (@globalnews) September 19, 2024
Photos credit: Arnulf Hettrich / ImageBROKER / Avalon, Getty and via Instagram
I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but I love my tupperware. I went to a few parties in our neighborhood before the pandemic and they really do have some interesting products now. We use the products a lot for storing fruits/veggies and for freezing food. I use glass for storing leftovers and the like in the fridge but I definitely get a lot of use out of my tupperware items.
I think if they had pivoted to a stronger online presence earlier they might have been able to avoid this.
I’m 59 and have only one piece of Tupperware in my house: a pale green colander. It was my late mother-in-law’s, so it probably came from a 1970’s Tupperware party she attended.
OMG!! same age, and I also have the pale green colander, and we still use it!
I freeze meals ahead of time and nuke them individually… so when I saw some tupperware in Target, I was interested.
I forget which phase of the process it failed (I want to say not dishwasher safe maybe?) so I said ‘nope, moving on…’ it seems like it just didn’t keep up.
I would buy vintage Tupperware if I saw it at yardsales or fleamarkets, but I rarely do. I hope they go online. That stuff is quality & lasts generations! Serve with glass. Store with Tupperware. And picnics and traveling? Tupperware all the way!
It wasn’t just that they were very late to the eCommerce party but I think there were a bit too expensive esp when compared to competitors (IKEA for example who do very good plastic dishwear etc..).
Also there is a market for their vintage designs/products they could have had a heritage line or something that would have sold well. Some of the vintage Pyrex stuff sells for a LOT on eBay and Etsy. In fact Pyrex themselves should do this.
I think someone will buy it and it will likely go online – would be a shame for it to just go completely. And anyways who still has these parties now, I didn’t think Avon still did them anymore.
I used to sell Tupper ware for a very short while. I have some great pieces that I still use today. I have a huge that’s a bowl that I put Halloween candy in to give out. I have some little pieces that I would give out as hostess gifts too somewhere in a cupboard I need to clean out.
Tupperware is *so* expensive compared to Rubbermaid or glass containers. It also stains and is terrible in the microwave.
My partner hates when I buy plastic containers…microplastics etc. So I’ve been buying glass containers, mostly from IKEA…Poor Tupperware…but if they only went online in 2022, there’s really no one to blame but yourself. IKEA, Temu and Amazon made a clean sweep without any competition.
Yeah, it’s very hard to avoid plastics in most phases of life, so I’m not using them at home if I can help it. It’s a bummer though, because I have a tupperware mixing bowl that is from the 70s from my house growing up and I loved it for so long, but I just don’t really use it anymore.
Tupperware was really the stuff of my childhood in 1980s Germany, but I threw it all away some years ago. It was never quite clear to me if these boxes were BPA-free. Never used them in the microwave. But there was a strange smell which I didn’t feel comfortable with.
Tupperware is such good quality and innovative but expensive. And I could only get it at parties. They have an online website, but I didn’t see them in stores or anywhere else online. Can’t believe they stuck with just parties. Their storage for fruits and veggies, spaghetti noodles, flour, sugar, coffee, love it. Many things I have had for years or inherited from my mom.
@kismet I remember reading that the paint in vintage pyrex is filled with lead. I don’t know if it’s true…
As a young married woman in 1970s Kansas, I attended more Tupperware parties than I can remember, and I still have/use a few of those same pieces. I do agree about its use in a microwave and also an odd musty smell at times, but among the pieces I own are two colanders and a very useful lidded container perfect for making Hidden Valley Ranch dressing (the kind with real buttermilk).