Tupperware Company Review

Posted in Tupperware

Tupperware Business Review

Tupperware was founded by DuPont chemist Earl Tupper in 1946 when he realized the potential for using polyethylene plastic for a variety of products for the home. Polyethylene was long lasting, yet pliable—and even attractive. In fact, before creating Tupperware, Tupper produced a line of colorful bathroom glasses. Then came those famous bowls with the airtight, “burp-able” seal that would ultimately make him a fortune—and his invention a staple in households across the globe.

Originally, Tupperware was sold in retail stores. However, consumers who were largely unfamiliar with this new product passed them by. The products sat on shelves, and sales failed to take off. That all changed when Tupper noticed that two of Stanley Home Product’s distributors were moving significant amounts of their products. Brownie Wise came on board and helped Tupper create the now-famous Tupperware home party plan. The results were so successful that Tupper decided to stop distributing his products in retail stores.

In 1958, Tupper sold the company for $16 million to Rexall. Rexall became Dart Industries in 1977 and then merged with Kraft to become Dart & Kraft. Later, the company demerged, and Dart’s assets became Premark International. In 1996, Tupperware Brands was spun off from Premark.

Today, Tupperware is sold in nearly 100 countries. Sales revenue in 2009 was $2.1 billion, and Tupperware has a sales force of about 2.3 million people. The company employs 12,900 at its headquarters in Orlando, FL, and is headed by CEO Rick Goings The company is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under TUP.

Tupperware Product Review

Tupperware is much more than burping food containers. Today, the company features an expanded product line including Armand Dupree, Avroy Shlain, BeautiControl, Fuller, NaturCare, Nutrimetics, Nuvo, Swissgarde, as well as its trademark Tupperware.

But even the familiar Tupperware is so much more than it once was. You can even make ice cream with Tupperware now! In fact, Tupperware’s product line includes a whole host of items for your kitchen—and even your life. Cooking supplies and cutlery, potholders, towels, aprons, a line of microwaveable cooking tools and containers—just about anything and everything for your kitchen.

In addition to kitchen equipment, there are lunch containers to keep your food cold and fresh when you are on the go. And for the kids, there are colorful and unbreakable utensils, plates, and even toys.

Tupperware MLM Opportunity

Tupperware offers consultants the opportunity to direct-sell its products with a minimal upfront investment of either $79.99 for a business kit or $119.99 for an executive business kit. After that, consultants must make $250 in personal sales within the first 4 months of joining. However, there is no need to maintain an inventory as Tupperware drop ships orders directly to customers.

The compensation plan offers its consultants a 25% commission on personal sales of products. If your monthly sales reach $1,200, you earn a bonus of 5% on your sales. If you reach $3,200, you receive 10% for a total commission of 35% of your sales volume.

Recruiting new Tupperware consultants will earn you a higher ranking, which further increases your earning potential. Recruit 3 new consultants and achieve $500 in personal monthly sales volume and $2,000 in group volume, and you become a manager. The commission (called “royalties”) on team sales ranges from 4% to 8%. The percentage you receive is based on the number of consultants you recruit in any given month. If you don’t sign up any, you get a 4% bonus, for example. The more recruits you sign the bigger the monthly bonus is up to 8% for 3 new recruits.

Royalties get even higher at the director level and above. You receive Director Development Bonuses as well as royalties on the sales volume of your teams. To get to the first director level, you need to have 9 recruits and a team sales volume of $10K. Commissions from the team’s volume at this level range from 6% to 12%.

Recommendations

Our bottom line recommendation is that Tupperware can be a fun way to earn some extra pocket money—but, for most consultants, it is not a replacement for the income from a full-time job. Although some people have been able to make a lucrative full-time income selling Tupperware, this is not the norm. Another consideration is that Tupperware is a mature product line; hence, market oversaturation is a concern.

Tupperware itself is not an expensive product, and thus, the issues you would have with a higher-priced ticket item are not there. The Tupperware trademark home party is a non-threatening selling method. Thus, it is conceivable that Tupperware consultants can, at a minimum, earn back their initial investment and start to see a positive return quickly. However, it should be noted that, as with any opportunity, the rate of return is directly proportional to the amount of time and effort invested.

Tupperware has kept up with the times and offers consultants their own websites at the low rate of $8 per month. With the option of holding a virtual Tupperware party, you can keep your time and money investments low. However, the appeal of the traditional party is the social aspect of getting together and lowering buying inhibitions through games and food. So each Tupperware consultant should weight the benefits of having a virtual party against those of the traditional party to see which avenue is more profitable and appealing to them.

Although Tupperware products are not consumable and, thus, do not require constant replacement, they do have a somewhat limited useful life which means repeat sales. The broad range of products offered by the company also gives a lot of possibility for additional sales among the Tupperware consultant’s customer base.

The biggest factor for success in selling Tupperware is a constant supply of leads for parties—whether online or in person. Most new recruits will have a warm list of people to approach in the beginning. The challenge is to find new and creative ways of marketing yourself and continually finding new customers while maximizing repeat sales from existing and past customers.

In the current recession, the number of new Tupperware consultants has rapidly increased, which means that the competition for new recruits has also increased. At this point in the company’s history, chances are that just about every person you meet has heard of Tupperware, attended a party, and perhaps even purchased some. And somewhere in that process, they have been approached about the possibility of selling Tupperware themselves. Although the number of people interested in being Tupperware representatives may continue to grow as the economy makes a slow recovery, this is not an ideal situation for a new recruit. At some point, market oversaturation becomes a problem.

And there is another concern. Products similar to those that Tupperware sells for cooking and food storage and serving are now available at many retail outlets throughout the world. Therefore, as a Tupperware consultant, you not only face increased competition from within the organization but also from your local discount or grocery store. The same is true for the overcrowded beauty and personal care products.
All in all, if you are looking for some extra spending money, Tupperware can be your answer. But don’t quit your day job—at least until you are certain you have a successful system for continually marketing yourself to new customers over the long haul and enough repeat customers to make it on your own.

Maniac Melissa says…

So what do I think of when I think of Tupperware? Honestly, I think of the 70s. Bright orange and hideous, pukey-green Tupperware adorned the shelves of our fridge when I was a kid, housing our aging leftovers. What does this have to do with you selling Tupperware? you might wonder. Nothing really.

My thing with Tupperware and any plastic food-storage containers is that if you put food in them for any length of time, your food winds up smelling and tasting like plastic. I’m just not the type of person who stores food in plastic.

Are you?