You’ll find Tupperware in the strangest of places. In my house, the most conspicuous piece, the one I see everyday, is in my bathroom. Don’t judge. Let me explain.

I may sound a bit like a Tupperware nerd when I say this, but the Tupperware in my loo is from their ‘bowled over’ collection. It’s a set of four small bowls that come with lids. Their use in the washroom? Just like every other Indian woman, I, too, have my own set of ‘desi’ face packs that I lather on my face every weekend to have some semblance of a beauty regimen. Although marketed as a food container, my homemade face packs also entail a concoction of food items: gram flour, yoghurt and honey. So, to preserve the sanctity of these ingredients, the only suitable storage container for them is Tupperware.

Although, truth be told, Tupperware, in India at least, is used for various other things apart from storing food. From keeping assorted buttons, threads and needles to doubling up as a box to store loose bandages and medicines, Tupperware has been an iconic storage box. From school tiffins to piles of Tupperware stacked in the fridge full of leftovers, this iconic American brand is as Indian as it gets in terms of its versatility and bizarre uses in the Indian household.

‘These Godforsaken Dabbas’

Unfortunately, Tupperware has filed for bankruptcy. I’d like to believe that’s not because of my curses. I mean, there’s just something with the Tupperware lids. They just refuse to fit. They will always almost close but never fully. And if, god forbid, they do close, it’s shut so tight that by the time you end up opening the Tupperware box, the contents of the said container will be flying out in the process of opening it. Every time this has happened, I’ve uttered the choicest of curses to the company that made these “godforsaken plastic dabbas”.

Plastic itself, the material brand Tupperware was built on, is now taboo. Concerns around micro plastics leaching into our foods when we keep our food stored in them or heat them in the microwave has led many people to switch to stainless steel and glass containers. So, what is this sadness about Tupperware shutting shop?

Nostalgia. There was just something about growing up in the 90s that made us millennials feel so attached to things that were so central to our daily existence but somehow now are dispensable and forgotten. We went from tapes to CDs to iPods to Spotify. We went from VCR to cable TV to OTT platforms. We went from landlines to cordless phones to mobile phones to AI-powered Apple Vision pros and robots. Losing Tupperware is another piece of the Jenga falling. Eventually, the whole world we knew and grew up in will fall and be forgotten. Personally, to me that’s tragic.

Those Tupperware Parties

I wonder how women who hosted Tupperware parties to market their products — a genius marketing move in the 80s and 90s that led to the company’s success — feel about the company filing for bankruptcy. I remember as a child going to a friend’s house whose mother sold Tupperware. Picture a typical Punjabi household with Punjabi aunties discussing Tupperware in Punjabi. While one complained about turmeric and tomato curry stains not leaving the plastic containers, another aunty advised dipping the containers in water with baking soda and vinegar overnight to remove the stains and smells from the containers. But pretty much everyone swore by how Tupperware made their lives easy by storing and freezing an entire week’s worth of food in these boxes. All the aunties broke into a riotous laugh over the fact that none of their husbands and in-laws had so far figured out that they weren’t offering them freshly made food. One aunty also offered a little life hack, of storing kneaded and rolled-out dough for flatbreads with aluminium foil or butter paper between each rolled-out ‘roti’ and then taking them out when needed to be heated straight on the griddle. She swore that the rotis would remain fresh in these Tupperware boxes and the flatbreads would fluff up to become the softest ‘phulkas’.

 I, too, have to admit that I think twice before buying a plastic container for storing my food. I, too, have joined the bandwagon of healthy, conscious, sustainable living. Because it is the right way to live. But Tupperware is a piece of my childhood. I’ll probably keep my ‘bowled over’ collection and a few other boxes that I have. Perhaps, one day these will be collector’s items. 

(Zainab Sikander is a political analyst and columnist covering Indian politics since the last decade. She’s an avid traveller and a bona-fide foodie.)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author

Image for representational purposes only.

The story so far: Concluding a grim run of declining sales since the third quarter of 2021, food storage and homeware maker Tupperware on Thursday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Explaining the rationale, President and CEO Laurie Ann Goldman held that the company’s financial position has been “severely impacted by the challenging macroeconomic environment” – referring to the coronavirus pandemic and later the ensuing impact of Russian actions in Ukraine. Therefore, after having explored “numerous strategic options”, she stated, it was the best way forward. “This process is meant to provide us with essential flexibility as we pursue strategic alternatives to support our transformation into a digital-first, technology-led company better positioned to serve our stakeholders,” she said.  

What does Chapter 11 bankruptcy entail? 

Filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy does not translate to end of the road for an enterprise. Instead, it translates to what U.S. Courts define as “reorganisation bankruptcy”. The enterprise is mostly allowed to run their business and may, only with court approval, be allowed to borrow further money. 

The primary idea is to allow the company time in order to propose a plan of reorganisation and keep their business alive and pay creditors over time.  

Proceedings commence with the bankrupt applicant proposing a plan for reorganisation. Creditors whose rights may be affected are asked to vote on the plan. Thereby, the plan is confirmed by the courts if it gets the required votes and satisfies legal requirements. However, should the proceedings not find conclusive ends, the case is either dismissed or converted to Chapter 7 liquidation proceedings.  

What is potentially at the centre of Tupperware’s grim run? 

The serve-ware and homeware products maker has historically been reliant on its direct- selling model. Now, this is centred around freelance agents selling Tupperware products to consumers on a commission basis. However, as held by the Chief Restructuring Officer of Tupperware Brands in the court declaration, the growth slowed as “few newer market opportunities presented”. More pertinent to note, the over-reliance often came at the cost of developing an omnichannel strategy and a modern e-commerce infrastructure. The two were of particular importance considering the Chief Restructuring Officer’s observation about shifts in consumer behaviour, that is, with the advent on online shopping and increased retail convenience. To put things into perspective, 4% of homeware sales in the overall industry are derived from direct selling. However, Tupperware derived 90% of its sales through this channel, the Officer held.  

The two focus points have been largely absent from Tupperware’s distribution as well as marketing strategy. The latter is another realm where the Florida-headquartered has relied immensely on their freelance representatives. The declaration held that the company has “historically had very limited coordinated, formal marketing (particularly online)”. For perspective, the company’s digital advertising spend has been less than 1%.  

How did macro factors contribute? 

Tupperware’s distribution model was massively impacted at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic because of lockdowns and curtailed scope for interactions. The plastic storage maker however received a short-lived encouragement starting the third quarter of FY 2020 when sales went up 14% on a year-over-year basis owing to increased demand for safe food storage products from home-bound consumers cooking at home.  

The momentum however flipped again in third quarter of 2021 and sales continued to decline ever since.  

In fact, in 2020, Tupperware heralded on a ‘Turnaround Plan’ contemplating a shift from a distribution push strategy to creating more demand for its products, expansion into new product categories and expanding their product line-up. However, the then-ongoing pandemic and liquidity constraints- exacerbated by rising interest rates – limited the company’s ability to respond, “as comprehensively as the circumstances warrant”.  

Even as the coronavirus pandemic continued to have an impact, particularly in China which was experiencing severe lockdowns, Russia’s actions in Ukraine (February 2022) further dampened their prospects. Discretionary spending took a hit in the region as potential consumers diverted their money elsewhere because of inflation and rising energy prices.  

Post the pandemic, increased costs for transportation of a crucial raw material, plastic resin, also had a role to play with respect to pricing their products in a tight global economy.  

What next? 

As previously stated, Chapter 11 proceedings do not necessarily mean the end of the road for companies. In the past, several giants including General Motors and Marvel Entertainment, among others, have successfully emerged out of Chapter 11 protection.  

Tupperware stated that it would firstly seek approval to continue operating during the proceedings through its sale consultants, retail partners and online. More importantly however, the company informed about its desire to seek Court approval for facilitating a sale process to protect the brand and “advance Tupperware’s transformation into a digital-first, technology-led company.”