Sept 18 (Askume) – Tupperware Brands ( TUP.N) filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday after struggling for years with weak demand for food storage containers and mounting financial losses.
Here are some key moments in the evolution of this brand that was once a mainstay in American kitchens:
1940s
The company is named after chemist Earl Tupper, who invented the plastic container using waste polyethylene residues from the oil refining process at DuPont plants.
The designs were mass-produced in a variety of colors to help war-weary families avoid food waste after the Great Depression, but were not sold in department stores.
According to Smithsonian Magazine, advice columnist Brown Wise is working with Tupper on a “party plan” marketing strategy, where they hold patio parties and invite women to sell merchandise to recruits.
Wise’s strategy boosted Tupperware’s popularity. According to the magazine, the woman he hired sold 56 bowls in one week.
1950s
Tupperware Party has been named vice president of marketing.
Tupper holds a patent for the “Tupper Seal”, which refers to the air-tightness and leak-proofness of its container lids to keep leftover food fresh.
However, after achieving success in 1958, Tupper decided to sell the business to Rexall Drugs (now Dart Industries) for $16 million and fired Wise.
1960s
Tupperware’s new owners expanded operations into Europe, Central, and South America, leading to rapid expansion overseas as well, often through personal selling techniques such as Tupperware parties.
1970s
The company began producing a variety of containers and entered the toy market.
Tupperware is known for its Shape-O toys, shiny plastic balls with cutouts that correspond to yellow plastic shapes. According to food blog Chowhound , the colorful toy is still on sale.
Sales exceeded 500 million in 1976, according to the Encyclopedia website .
1980s
Founder Tupper died in 1983, and many of Tupperware’s patents expired.
Many competitors are entering the market with cheaper alternatives to Bakeware, ranging from off-brand plastic food storage containers to major players like Rubbermaid and Glad.
The company’s sales and profits began to decline, in part due to labor problems as women entered the workforce, limiting their time for going out and partying.
1986 Dart Industries and Kraft Foods. They split up, resulting in the 1980 merger being cancelled and Tupperware becoming part of a new company, Primark International. It has improved its products, including sandwich keepers and lunch bag sets.
1990s
Although international business grew, U.S. sales declined. Rick Goings, an executive at direct-selling leader Avon, took over as president in 1992.
The company began sending catalogs via direct mail in 1992 to reduce costs and increase sales recruitment.
According to the Encyclopedia website , profits improved in the mid-1990s, due in part to large-scale product innovation between 1994 and 1996.
In May 1996, Primark spun off Tupperware and the company subsequently became listed on the New York Stock Exchange as an independent listed company.
-2000
Business slowed, and the company struck a deal with Target Corp. in 2002 to allow the retail chain to sell plastic containers in its U.S. stores.
2020s decade
Tupperware has seen a resurgence in sales and popularity during the pandemic as more Americans turn to cooking at home amid travel restrictions.
But as restrictions were eased, rising costs of raw materials, as well as labour and freight, hurt the company’s profit margins.
The business has been further hurt by a surge in takeout orders from restaurants during the pandemic, as well as increased competition from Newell Brands (which makes Rubbermaid, FoodSaver, and Ball glass jars) and Clorox’s GladWare .
The company’s share price may fall in 2023 due to uncertainty, delays in annual reports and breaches of debt obligations.
The stock has been caught up in the “meme stock” craze , in which retail investors coordinate on social media to bet on distressed companies with high short-term interest.
In September, Bloomberg News reported that the company was preparing to file for bankruptcy. A day later, the company filed for bankruptcy protection but said it would continue to sell the product during the proceedings.
