Tupperware warns it could go out of business, product lovers hope it stays

Tupperware's durable containers, as well as its lively home parties, have been passed down through generations, becoming a part of family traditions and valuable memories. While it might be the beginning of the end for Tupperware as we know it, lovers of plastic food storage products are not ready to let go.

Janet Henriksen Lloyd, 44, is a mother of four who sells Tupperware products from the comfort of her home in Davison. She specializes in collecting vintage items and refurbishing old carts to use for her Tupperware advertisements.

One of Lloyd's favorite Tupperware products, the Ham Flavor Saver Storage Server Container, was previously owned by her grandmother, she said. "We just had it out right before Easter."

After joining a friend's online Tupperware party and seeing all the discounted products, Lloyd became a consultant herself in March 2022. She created her own website and Facebook group — Janet's Tupperware With Flair, where she posts Tupperware sales, specials and upcoming events. The group now has 640 members.

In April, Tupperware Brands Corp. announced that there is "substantial doubt about the company's ability to continue as a going concern." However, Tupperware "has engaged financial advisors to support financing and liquidity initiatives," in an effort to save the 77-year-old business.

As news circulated about Tupperware's closure, Crista Yeiter Simmons, 70, of Lowell, began reminiscing about her and her parents' involvement in the company years ago. The Yeiter family owned and operated Seal Craft Sales, a Tupperware distributorship in Grand Rapids, for approximately 35 years.

"It truly breaks my heart that Tupperware might go out of business because it was such a huge part of our lives," Simmons said.

Brownie Wise and the history of Tupperware home parties

Founded in 1946, Tupperware became a household name post World War II, known for its airtight and durable containers that revolutionized food storage in the 20th century.

For decades, Tupperware was an integral part of the social and economic lives of women in the United States and Canada, after a middle-aged, single mother living in Detroit, Brownie Wise, introduced the concept of Tupperware home parties. A talented saleswoman, she began recruiting her own team of consultants for Tupperware in Detroit.

Soon after, "the Tupperware Home Parties of the 1950s and 1960s were the only way to purchase a line of polyethylene plastic storage containers that were the brainchild of Earl Tupper, a Massachusetts businessman," according to the History Channel. Tupper hired Wise as his general sales manager and vice president of Tupperware Home Parties in 1951; she moved to Florida to accept the position. "Wise knew how to demonstrate Tupperware. Her at-home demos were fun and frenetic."

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Wise would toss a Tupperware bowl filled with liquid across the room to show that it didn’t break or leak, play fun games with her guests, and show how to "burp" airtight Tupperware seals correctly. Tupperware home parties revolutionized the company's marketing and sales approach, thanks to Wise. She was fired from the company in 1958 after a falling out with Tupper.

Before Tupperware, during her time as a housewife and mother in Detroit, Brownie Wise actively contributed to The Detroit News' "Experience" column — a forum where local readers shared stories, predominantly women, according to the Detroit Historical Society. Using the pen name "Hibiscus," Wise "wrote long, carefully crafted, and often romanticized descriptions of her life."

Tupperware home parties transition to 'un-parties'

Simmons grew up watching her parents host Tupperware parties and run the distributorship. Her mother, Ida Yeiter, was selling Avon products and making aprons when she was invited to a Tupperware party in 1958 and became a consultant herself. Seeing how much it was financially helping the family, Simmons' father, Sam Yeiter, got in on the act, too.

A World War II veteran and head cheerleader at Michigan State University, Sam Yeiter "would stand on an upside-down Tupperware Wonderlier Bowl to show how strong it was," Simmons said. Her parents did so well hosting Tupperware home parties that her father was asked to come on the company's staff in Kissimmee, Florida, in 1959. Her mother hated Florida, so the family moved back to Michigan after purchasing Seal Craft Sales in 1961.

The distributorship was in the top 10 distributorships in the country at the time, Simmons said. In the '70s, Sam and Ida Yeiter received the "Ad Astra" Award from Tupperware for their selflessness and dedication. "Ad Astra" means "To the Stars" in Latin. The award is now known as the "Lead With Your Heart" Award.

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At the age of 16, Simmons started working at her parent's distributorship, processing orders. By 17, she was hosting her own Tupperware parties, before even graduating high school.

"We played a couple games," Simmons said. "Each demonstrator had our own kits with various products, and we would feature those products during the party."

In-person Tupperware parties have been few and far between since the COVID-19 pandemic, Lloyd said. She enjoyed demonstrating how her favorite Tupperware products worked, including the Grate Master Shredder and the Servalier Bowls.

However, Tupperware home parties have taken a new shape nowadays. By utilizing Facebook or Messenger, the party can even run itself and last for days or weeks. All product information and sales can be viewed online; customers can even submit questions to be answered.

"You can do what's called an 'un-party' which I've found to be pretty popular lately," Lloyd said. Tupperware consultants can share a personal link and "anything purchased through that link will count toward their sales. Instead of face-to-face, it's just a low-stress way of doing things. There're different ways and different levels of doing it."

Convenient, durable, and practical

Tupperware's lifetime warranty on most of its products means you'll have them for longer. The company will replace most items that break, crack or peel under normal use, including missing lids for when you can't seem to find the one that belongs to the container you're using.

To this day, Tupperware provides its consultants with flexible work hours, empowerment, social connection and work-life balance.

"I can work at night when I'm lying in bed. I just need my phone," Lloyd said. "I take a few minutes out of my day here and there and post-sales that are happening. I have fun with it. It's like a hobby but I also make money."

For a week in April 2022, Lloyd was the No. 1 consultant in personal sales throughout the U.S.

"I get 25% back on everything that I sell through my website," Lloyd said. "It's not a large income but you can make as much as you are willing to put in, and since I have four kids I don't have time, but I have enough time to keep my page running and it's a nice little boost of income."

With her refurbished carts, with various themes, Lloyd has found new and creative ways to post her Tupperware products and attract customers.

Whether it's due to the durability of the plastic, the company's lifetime warranty products, or the home parties that gave women entrepreneurial opportunities — Tupperware has held up pretty well and its products will stick around for generations to come.

"I'm in it and I'm enjoying it and if it comes to an end, then of course that will be too bad, but I'm just going to hope for the best," Lloyd said.

Contact Nour Rahal: nrahal@freepress.com

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tupperware could go out of business, but many are still relying on it