[herunan]

> "Over the last several years, the company's financial position has been severely impacted by the challenging macroeconomic environment," Tupperware's chief executive Laurie Ann Goldman said in a statement to investors, external.

I agree that their food storage products, which is what Tupperware is most known for, have suffered from the abundance of next best alternatives in the market. However, I just went on their website and all their products and product lines feel so uninspired.

I would blame their decline in demand due to lack of innovation as a way to stay relevant. They could’ve ventured into other areas that capitalise on their ‘airtight’ applications. That’s what made Tupperware unique when it was founded.

For example, a consumer product line of waterproof bags or cases for electronic devices and other important items. Due to brand awareness and trust, they could’ve really leveraged the ‘Tupperware’ brand there in a way that other brands couldn’t.

Or highly invest in R&D for more industrial and scientific applications that require airtight solutions or vacuum spaces. This would’ve created highly lucrative partnerships that would’ve kept them afloat even if sales for their consumer products dwindled.

[AStonesThrow]

> That’s what made Tupperware unique when it was founded.

I suppose they were making a unique product, but it was the grassroots marketing that made them a standout and a household name.

I believe that those suburban home-based "parties" bridged the gap between door-to-door salesmen and catalog/online sales.

In my neighborhood, "Tupperware parties" were not stigmatized or dreaded, but just seemed like a fun way to pick up some durable modern containers.

[brudgers]

In the 1970's and 80's, Tupperware was functionally superior to widely available alternatives. If you wanted a reliable tumbler with fitted lid that didn't leak or a bin to keep celery fresh, Tupperware was the way to go. Pyrex glassware was available but the lids were leaky and/or low durability...most of them still are. And it looked good.

There really wasn't anywhere for Tupperware to pivot, and the death seems natural.

[throaway921]

And it wasn't Earl Tupper who did the marketing. It was a woman (of course I now forget her name), who invented the Tupperware Party and was basically the face of the company for many many years. She was then fired by Tupper and basically erased from the company's history until recently. There's a good documentary on it, very interesting.

[dudefeliciano]

They could have also entered the food delivery market, providing clean&green reusable packaging. During the covid lockdowns they could have targeted urban restaurants to package their to-go food. There are some companies that tried/are doing this (I’m thinking recup and similar) but maybe Tupperware would have been able to make this much more ubiquitous.

[andai]

Re: adjacent markets: I saw a Dyson branded hair curler the other day, which threw me for a loop! There was a big poster with a quote (from the CEO?) about how they want to become experts in this domain, implying they just decided to branch out one day. Does anyone know more about this?

Edit: I don't know much about hair curlers, but apparently Dyson's airflow expertise gives them an edge here.

[mc32]

I don’t know about curlers, but for hair dryers, bio ionics are great.

[lazyeye]

Wait till you hear about Dyson hair styling products (creams etc)

https://www.dyson.com/hair-care/styling-products/chitosan