Tupperware Brands, the Orlando, Florida-based consumer goods company that produces the iconic line of containers, said it was seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after struggling to revitalize its core business and failing to secure a tenable takeover offer.
Despite enjoying the same cultural ubiquity as Kleenex, Teflon, and other brands whose trademarked names are eponymous with entire product categories, Tupperware has suffered from waning sales, rising competition, and the limitations of the direct-to-consumer marketing model that once defined its success.
The company said Tuesday in its bankruptcy filing that consumers shifting away from direct sales, which make up the vast majority of its sales more than a quarter-century after the first Tupperware parties, has hit the storied business hard.