The company behind Tupperware, the plastic kitchenware that revolutionized food storage after World War II and became inextricably linked to the parties where women seeking a measure of financial independence and fun in midcentury America sold the colorful products, has filed for bankruptcy.
Tupperware Brands, the Orlando, Florida-based consumer goods company that produces the iconic line of containers, said it was seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after struggling to revitalize its core business and failing to secure a tenable takeover offer.
Despite enjoying the same cultural ubiquity as Kleenex, Teflon and other brands whose trademarked names are eponymous with entire product categories, Tupperware has suffered from waning sales, rising competition and the limitations of the direct-to-consumer marketing model that once defined its success.
The company said Tuesday in its bankruptcy filing that consumers shifting away from direct sales, which make up the vast majority of its sales more than a quarter-century after the first Tupperware parties, has hit the storied business hard.
The company also cited growing public health and environmental concerns about plastic, internal inefficiencies that made it challenging to operate globally, and the “challenging microeconomic environment” of the last several years for its financial straits.
Tupperware said it planned to continue operating during the bankruptcy proceedings and would seek court approval for a sale “in order to protect” the brand.