Abstract 

The caselet briefly introduces Tupperware Corporation, USA. It talks about Brownie Wise's role in
developing sales at Tupperware through a unique method called 'party plan'. It looks into
Tupperware's foray into the Indian market and discusses the selling and distribution strategies
adopted by the company.

Issues:

» Impact of unique selling methods

» Relevance of a women sales force 

Introduction

Tupperware Corporation (Tupperware), founded by Earl Silas Tupper

(Earl) in 1938, was a US-based multinational consumer products
company that manufactured and marketed plastic food storage, serving
items, and beauty products to consumers across many countries in the
world, through its 'Tupperware' and 'Beauty Control' brands.
In 2004, Tupperware, the US$1.1 billion company, had a sales force comprising over 1 million people
all over the world and most of them were women. Tupperware included a range of plastic containers
used in households to store and keep food airtight...

Questions for Discussion:

1. Brownie Wise revolutionized the way Tupperware sold its products. Discuss the role played by
Brownie Wise in Tupperware's success in the United States.

2. In India, Tupperware felt that a direct demonstration to customers was essential in creating
awareness and building up a customer base. Why did Tupperware feel that India was a good market
and what steps did it take to directly contact the customers?

India is one of the largest markets for the Tupperware products with a growth rate fluctuating between 50 to 60 per
cent per annum."

- Christian Skroder, Senior Vice-President, Tupperware.

"We have been named in the Guinness Book of Inventions as one of the top ten inventions of the 20th century."

- Pradeep Mathur, MD, Tupperware India.

Tupperware's Tryst with India

On April 27 2002, Christian Skroder (Skroder),

vice president Tupperware company
(Tupperware), felicitated about 900 star
performers of Tupperware India, the Indian
subsidiary of the $1.1 billion Tupperware
company in the US.

Skroder said that India was one of the largest

markets for the company's products. The company
had achieved a growth rate of 40% within four
years of its entry in the Indian market.

In 1996, the company had a turnover of Rs.100

million, which according to analysts was an
achievement in itself and in 2000, the company's
turnover touched Rs.570 million.

Commented Rajan Chabba, deputy managing director of KSA Technopak, a retail consultancy, "At launch,
Tupperware did a phenomenal job of creating a base in India and it has been growing ever since," 1 According to
analysts, Tupperware India performed better than most of the other foreign direct selling companies in India.

This was because it was focused on achieving its

targets both in terms of sales as well as segments.
The company was growth driven and pushed the
direct selling method well. Tupperware India
aimed at becoming the No 1 direct selling
company in India, by 2004.

Background Note

In 1937, when Earl Silas Tupper worked in

Dupont's2 plastic division in Massachusetts, he
transformed a piece of black polyethelyne slag, a
waste product produced in crude oil refinement
process, into a resilient, tough, non porous, non
greasy and translucent substance.
On April 27 2002, Christian Skroder (Skroder),
vice president Tupperware company
(Tupperware), felicitated about 900 star
performers of Tupperware India, the Indian
subsidiary of the $1.1 billion Tupperware
company in the US.

Skroder said that India was one of the largest

markets for the company's products. The company
had achieved a growth rate of 40% within four
years of its entry in the Indian market.

In 1996, the company had a turnover of Rs.100

million, which according to analysts was an
achievement in itself and in 2000, the company's
turnover touched Rs.570 million.

Commented Rajan Chabba, deputy managing director of KSA Technopak, a retail consultancy, "At launch,
Tupperware did a phenomenal job of creating a base in India and it has been growing ever since," 1 According to
analysts, Tupperware India performed better than most of the other foreign direct selling companies in India.

This was because it was focused on achieving its

targets both in terms of sales as well as segments.
The company was growth driven and pushed the
direct selling method well. Tupperware India
aimed at becoming the No 1 direct selling
company in India, by 2004.

Background Note

In 1937, when Earl Silas Tupper worked in

Dupont's2 plastic division in Massachusetts, he
transformed a piece of black polyethelyne slag, a
waste product produced in crude oil refinement
process, into a resilient, tough, non porous, non
greasy and translucent substance.

Tupperware in India

Tupperware entered India in November 1996. It started its

operations from New Delhi. It appointed 15 distributors in
the first 12 months itself. It achieved this by directly
recruiting candidates and training them, through a specially
designed 14-week training program in Delhi and Mumbai.
According to Pradeep Mathur (Mathur), the then managing
director of Tupperware India, as the concept of direct selling
was new to India, Tupperware had to sell both the direct
selling concept and its 'Party Plan.'...

The Tupperware Model

Tupperware, though a
direct selling company,
differed from other direct
selling companies. It
adopted a three- tier
network structure which
made operations easier
for the company.

Amway, another direct

selling company,
followed a model where
the distributors were the
centre of the model.

They played multiple

roles of
retailers/distributors, sales
agents, advertisers and
promoters (word of
mouth) for the suppliers'
products...
Marketing Strategy

Tupperware's marketing strategy was described by its three

Ps- Product, Party plan and People. The Tupperware
products carried a life time guarantee. Any damaged product
(cracks or breaks) could be replaced by same/similar new
Tupperware product from any place in the world. Mathur
said, "Our product has been the corner stone of our success
for many years."...

Future Outlook

Tupperware was gaining

fast recognition in the
Indian market. Its 'Party
Plan' worked well
because it fitted in the
urban and semi urban
culture of 'kittie party. By
2002, the company
expanded its operations to
more than 35 cities in the
country.

The company did not face

any major competition
from other plastic wares
in India, as the quality of
Tupperware goods was
much better. However,
Tupperware India
 competed with
manufacturers of steel
containers as Indian
consumers used steel
containers to store and
carry food...
Exhibits

dentification: Plastic kitchenware that used an innovative marketing and distribution model 

Date: Founded in 1939 as the Earl S. Tupper Company 
Significance: Tupperware became an American icon by pioneering the party-plan, direct-sales system.
Tupperware has been sold chiefly by women (a majority of whom have no professional sales
qualifications), who demonstrate the products to gatherings of friends in their homes. Although
Tupperware products are not sold through stores, annual sales volumes exceeded $1 billion by the
beginning of the twentyfirst century. 
Tupperware began when Earl Silas Tupper, an amateur inventor and designer, invented a new plastic
material from a refined version of polyethylene. Throughout the 1930’s, Tupper had striven to become
rich by improving women’s lives. The plastic designs that he created would allow him to achieve his
goal by producing labor-saving, flexible, lightweight containers that prevented spills, blocked odors,
and stopped spoilage. Despite acclaim from home magazines, however, initial sales of Tupperware
remained low. American women had no idea how to use Tupper’s products. 
Brownie Wise, a single mother and Tupperware dealer, began holding Tupperware parties in private
homes to demonstrate the products to women in their own neighborhoods. This approach proved to be
a great success, and in 1951, Tupper withdrew Tupperware from all retail outlets to focus exclusively
on direct sales. Wise became the face of Tupperware as vice president of Tupperware home parties. By
the mid-1950’s, the Tupperware party had become symbolic of suburban postwar America. Tupper
focused on design, while Wise focused on sales to the nation’s huge pool of stay-at-home mothers.
Tupper terminated Wise in 1958, but her sales strategies cemented the success of the company.

At a home party in the 1950’s, company dealer Brownie Wise throws a piece of Tupperware into the air
to demonstrate its strength.(Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History, Behring
Center)
Since the mid-1990’s, about 85 percent of Tupperware sales have been generated outside of the United
States. By 2000, a Tupperware party took place somewhere in the world every 2.5 seconds, and an
estimated 90 percent of American homes owned at least one piece of Tupperware. 

Product lines

One of the Tupperware's Ultraplus line of products.

Typical authentic Tupperware

Tupperware's product ranges are often marketed under different names

in different markets, and the product ranges and colors themselves differ
between markets. Some of Tupperware's most popular lines include:

 Eleganzia (UK, DE), Illusions (AU): A "glasslike" range of serving

dishes.
 FlatOut! (US), MiniMax (UK), Go Flex (AU): Bowls that flatten for
storage, and can be expanded when needed
 FridgeSmart (US, UK, AU), PrimaKlima (DE): With air control
vents, FridgeSmart containers are modular containers intended for
refrigerated fruits and vegetables. FridgeSmarts have air control vents
intended to allow different levels of airflow around different types of
fruits and vegetables, as well as a corrugated bottom to allow them to
store securely on a refrigerator shelf.
 Stuffables (US, AU), Bungee: refrigerator storage with flexible lids
for overfilling.
 UltraPro (DE, AU, UK), UltraPlus : plastic casseroles advertised as
being safe when used in a microwave or a conventional oven, with
heat resistant properties.
[edit]

Tupperware party in 1960

Tupperware is now sold in almost 100 countries, after peaking at more than a hundred after 1996