TUPPERWARE PARTIES ARE BACK
TUPPERWARE has certainly grown up. No longer the naff brown and yellow containers you’d hide your school lunch in, the US brand has expanded its portfolio to playful colours, pots and steamers.
A multinational direct sales company, Tupperware has more than 3.1 million members worldwide, and according to stock market analysts, consumer buying is on the up.
Rewind to the early 1940s, and American Earl Tupperware invented a durable, flexible, odourless, non-toxic and lightweight plastic that he used to create storage containers.
He later patented the Tupper Seal in 1949. News of a product that you could freeze, reheat and serve in, took suburbia by storm.
Soon South Africa caught a whiff of it, and Tupperware made it to the top of the food chain, dominating kitchens from 1964.
Tupperware area manager and consultant Virgio Visser Gertse has been hosting Tupperware parties for the past eight years, and says the trend is still strong.
“Most of my clients are women, and some of my agents are even male,” says the Cape Town-based businesswoman.
She says a typical customer is someone who wants a spacesaving solution, and that’s what Tupperware products provide.
“They make sure their kids are sorted with school food, the meat is packed for the braai, and they don’t only use it in the kitchen.
“If you want to give your bathroom a quick update, use Tupperware containers.”
A Tupperware hostess can earn from R3000 to R7000 at a party, Visser Gertse adds, noting that a customer is prepared to part with as much as R500 for a product: these durable plastic containers don’t come cheap .
A steamer can cost as much as R1069, while the Chef Series Pot can set you back R2399. She says this doesn’t deter her clients.
Craig Douglas, managing director of Dynamic Sales Tupperware in North Riding, Johannesburg, says Tupperware sales have been “great” since the brand arrived in South Africa.
“On average, a customer will spend R1 500,” he said, adding their most expensive product was their Microwave Pressure Cooker which retails for R3 000.
Let’s not forget the investment value. If you’re a keen collector, chances are your vintage Tupperware might be worth far more than you think. Ecommerce websites like Etsy and eBay are doing a roaring trade with people listing their vintage gold, from canisters to measuring cups.
If you want to make sure you’re selling the real deal, look for a two-part number stamped somewhere on the product and the word “Tupperware”.
The most popular items in demand are the mid-century “Millionaire” line of pinks, greens and blues, vintage Tupperware seller Stacy Verdick Case told TODAY Food.
Why the sudden interest in Tupperware? Case thinks it’s likely a mix of nostalgia for those who remember using the old Tupperware when they were growing up, and the fact that these pieces are still used as functional, everyday items.
Someone with a somewhat unusual Tupperware obsession is Janice Johannes. “My whole family is into Tupperware,” said the social media manager and mother of two
“My colour is pink, so everything I buy must be that colour. I spent R800 last month, and this month R300. It’s become addictive.”
Chatsworth resident Ramoshni Naidoo is another with an impressive collection, valued between R20 000 and R30 000. She’s been an agent for five years.
“I even bought my sons sets when they got married,” she says. From water bottles to lunch boxes, she says they come in handy when preparing lunch for work.
And being an agent seems to pay dividends, as Naidoo adds it’s her main source of income, along with selling AMC cookware.
That pales in comparison to Netherlands-born Monique Hageman’s vintage collection. According to Canada’s The Globe and Mail, some of her rarest items can collect $100 (R1 500) a piece.