Most people in their 60s or older will know all about Tupperware parties – where housewives invited friends and neighbours to their homes to sell the containers and claim sone free items in return.
Tupperware was iconic, though expensive, and lasted a lifetime.
But the 77-year-old US company is battling rising debt and falling sales and could go bust – despite attempts to freshen up the products and make them more appealing to a younger audience.
Also, its core business model of using self-employed salespeople who sell primarily from their homes has been going out of fashion for a while.
Now company bosses say that, without new funding, the brand could vanish from the market.
“We use it (Tupperware) as a noun, which is quite unusual for a brand,” said Catherine Shuttleworth, founder of retail analysis firm Savvy Marketing. “I think a lot of younger people will be surprised it is a brand in itself.”
While Tupperware was a ‘miracle product’ when first sold decades ago, Ms Shuttleworth s said the market has been flooded by companies offering cheaper alternatives.
Do you have Tupperware? Did you attend Tupperware parties?
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