American brand Tupperware has filed for bankruptcy after struggling to survive in the face of falling sales.
The food storage container company said it plans to seek court permission to begin selling its business and aims to stay in business.
The 78-year-old company has become synonymous with food preservation, and many people use the name when referring to any old plastic container.
Despite attempts in recent years to refresh its products and reposition itself among younger customers, it has failed to stand out from the competition.
The company warned last year that it could go bankrupt if it couldn’t raise new capital quickly.
The company’s shares fell more than 50% this week following reports that it plans to file for bankruptcy.
After a brief sales surge during the pandemic, the company has seen demand continue to decline as more people cook at home.
Rising raw material costs, wages and transportation costs are also putting pressure on profit margins.
“Over the past few years, our financial condition has been significantly impacted by a challenging macroeconomic environment,” Tupperware CEO Laurie Ann Goldman said in a statement to investors.
Tupperware was founded in 1946 by Earl Tupper, who patented a flexible, airtight seal for his containers.
Tupperware was a major innovation, utilizing new plastics to keep food fresher for longer, and was invaluable at a time when refrigerators were still too expensive for many households.
But success wasn’t immediate.
It was pioneering salesman Brownie Wise who literally put the brand on the map.
She invented a technique known as the “Tupperware Party,” in which salespeople, mostly women, would sell Tupperware in other women’s homes.
According to the company, Tupperware is currently sold in 70 countries around the world.
“The party ended a while ago for Tupperware,” said Susanna Streeter, head of finance and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.
“Changing consumer behavior has seen more consumers move away from their reliance on plastic and start finding more environmentally friendly ways to store food, making plastic packaging obsolete.”
Streeter added that “significant issues” in Tupperware’s financial reporting, including misstatements of its 2021 and 2022 results, also adversely affected the company.