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Indonesians bid farewell to Tupperware after 33 years
The closure of Tupperware Indonesia in January was almost a foretold outcome over years of falling sales and an outdated business model amid the rise of e-commerce and local competition, leaving behind a digital legacy of humorous memes.
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Stock image of Tupperware products (Tupperware/-)
T
upperware Brands Corporation, known for its airtight plastic containers, primarily for storing and serving food, has officially ceased its local operation after more than three decades of selling its products to Indonesian consumers.
Many people recalled being a loyal Tupperware customer over the years as the brand became a kitchen staple in homes nationwide, from food containers and tumblers to utensils.
The brand has a strong presence among the country’s housewives as well as on social media platforms, which are filled with various memes making fun of the horror of losing a Tupperware container, to the extent that doing so could invoke a mother’s wrath.
Tria Patrianti, 52, a mother and educator in Jakarta, has been involved in numerous Tupperware parties and in buying products from sellers and at events for decades.
“The last time I bought Tupperware was last year, at a [shopping] mall exhibition,” she told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
Tria said Tupperware’s established community of direct sellers had introduced her to the brand, which she deemed “more expensive than others but worth the quality”. Its door-to-door delivery of attractive catalogs also played a part in making her a loyal Tupperware customer since the late 1990s.
The company is widely known for its direct selling approach, recruiting individual resellers to join its “sales force” and market its products directly to consumers through networking activities, among them the fabled “Tupperware party” at a seller’s home. This strategy has mainly attracted women as the brand’s largest market segment and empowered them as key players in its direct selling model.
