Tupperware: Embattled food container firm files for bankruptcy

US brand Tupperware has filed for bankruptcy as it struggles to survive in the face of sliding sales.

The food storage container firm said it will ask for court permission to start a sale of the business and that it aimed to continue operating.

The 78-year-old firm has become so synonymous with food storage that many people use its name when referring to any old plastic container.

Despite attempts to freshen up its products in recent years and reposition itself to a younger audience, it has failed to stand out from competitors.

Last year, the firm warned that it may go bust unless it could quickly raise new funds.

The company’s shares have fallen by more 50% this week after reports that it was planning to file for bankruptcy.

After a brief surge in sales during the pandemic, as more people cooked at home, the firm saw demand continue to slide.

The rising cost of raw materials, higher wages and transportation costs have also eaten into its profit margins.

“Over the last several years, the company’s financial position has been severely impacted by the challenging macroeconomic environment,” Tupperware’s chief executive Laurie Ann Goldman said in a statement to investors.

Tupperware was founded in 1946 by Earl Tupper, who patented the containers’ flexible airtight seal.

Tupperware was a major innovation, as it utilised new plastics to keep food fresh for longer, which was invaluable when refrigerators were still too expensive for many families.

However, it was not an immediate success.

It was the pioneering saleswoman Brownie Wise who helped turn the brand into a household name, literally.

She developed an approach in which salespeople, who were mostly women, sold Tupperware to other women in their homes, better known as “Tupperware parties”.

According to the company, Tupperware is now sold in 70 countries around the world.

“The party has been over for some time for Tupperware,” said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.

“Shifts in buyer behaviour pushed its containers out of fashion, as consumers have started to wean themselves off addictions to plastics and find more environmentally conscious ways of storing food.”

Ms Streeter added that “serious hiccups” in Tupperware’s financial reporting also had a negative impact on the company, including the mis-stating of results in 2021 and 2022.