Tupperware — the food storage company that’s been used in households around the country since 1946 — has filed for bankruptcy.
On Sept. 17, the Tupperware Brands Corporation announced it has voluntarily initiated Chapter 11 proceedings in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. This type of bankruptcy allows debtors to reorganize their finances and assets with the help of the court to avoid shutting down.
According to the release, the Orlando, Florida-based company will seek approval from the court to continue operating during bankruptcy proceedings and plans to continue selling its products through sales consultants, retail partners and e-commerce.
Tupperware also says it will seek the court’s approval to sell the business “in order to protect its iconic brand and further advance Tupperware’s transformation into a digital-first, technology-led company.”
“Over the last several years, Tupperware’s financial position was severely impacted by the challenging macroeconomic environment,” Laurie Ann Goldman, president and CEO of Tupperware, tells TODAY.com in an email. The company discussed several strategies before determining this as the best path forward, she says.
“Tupperware intends to continue providing customers with award-winning, innovative products through our Tupperware consultants, retail partners and online at Tupperware.com,” Goldman adds, noting that this process is meant to provide the company with flexibility as it transitions.
Back in April 2023, Tupperware announced that it hired financial advisors to help improve its capital structure and remedy doubt in the company’s ability to continue functioning. This was days after an SEC filing warned the company’s stock was in danger of being delisted for not filing a required annual report.
The company said at the time that it was considering layoffs and that its board of directors and management were working to improve its finances. Tupperware added it was attempting to secure supplemental financing including taking on investors or new financing partners.
Tupperware says its agreements with independent sales consultants are not changing, and that it will continue to pay employee wages and benefits as well as “compensating vendors and suppliers under normal terms for goods and services provided on or after the filing date.”
“Whether you are a dedicated member of our Tupperware team, sell, cook with, or simply love our Tupperware products, you are a part of our Tupperware family,” Goldman said in a press release. “We plan to continue serving our valued customers with the high-quality products they love and trust throughout this process.”
Tupperware says it has kickstarted a plan to modernize itself, which includes bringing in new management, diversifying its way of business and implementing techniques to ensure its growth and survival.
“The Company has made significant progress and intends to continue this important transformation work,” the brand wrote in the release.
Over the years, Tupperware has fallen victim to genericization, a phenomenon where a brand becomes synonymous with the product it’s selling — to the detriment of that brand.
Quite a few folks were under the impression that Tupperware was a term for food storage containers rather than a brand name for a company that makes them.
“well I just learned that Tupperware is an entire brand and not just a broad name for all plastic containers,” wrote one person on X.
The public has reacted to the bankruptcy news with sadness and plenty of gentle jokes.
“i knew that lifetime guarantee would do them over one day 😭😭😭😭,” one X user wrote.
“tupperware filing for bankruptcy counts as a black day in mom history,” wrote another, with someone else responding, “the real bankruptcy was all the bottles we lost along the way.”
Another X user said, “Our Tupperware has held up to this day and was quality s—. Rubbermaid could never.”
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
