Tupperware Inc. is in trouble. Last Friday, the company submitted a filing admitting “substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue” — sending shares plummeting ~50% on Monday.
Airtight marketing
Founded by chemist Earl Tupper in 1946, Tupperware truly began to take off when Brownie Wise became VP of Marketing in 1951. Wise took the concept of home-selling and supercharged it through her own business, Patio Parties, selling Tupperware to housewives before recruiting them to host their own parties. The result? A 20,000-strong network of sellers and distributors by 1954.These "Tupperware parties" remained a core part of the company's distribution, even after launching its own website. Indeed, the parties are still going today in 84 countries, with over 3 million independent sellers. So successful was Tupperware, that it became a catch-all term for the entire food storage category, a phenomenon known as a proprietary eponym, similar to Velcro, Band-Aid, Q-Tip and ChapStick.
Thinking inside the box
Despite its global brand, Tupperware has been struggling to re-invent itself. Last year, the company attempted to appeal to a younger audience by re-launching in Target, after a failed attempt in 2003. However, as time has passed Tupperware's lock on the food storage market has loosened, with customers opting for eco-friendly glass, stainless steel, silicone containers or just other plastic brands. Sales peaked a decade ago, and have fallen ever since. The company's shares have followed, and are down 90%+ this year alone.
Tupperware, like much else that it shares space with at the Smithsonian Museum of American History, may soon find itself out-of-date.
