Earl S. Tupper molded plastic into a party and pop culture phenomenon.
Now, an era of American consumer culture has come to an end.
Tupperware Brands Inc. announced it had filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday, months after closing its last remaining U.S. factory due to financial difficulties.
Boar's Head has discontinued the liverburst, a once-popular sandwich staple that Americans now dislike.
“Whether you're a dedicated member of the Tupperware team, sell or cook with Tupperware products or simply love using them, you are part of the Tupperware family,” President and CEO Laurie Ann Goldman said in a statement as the company voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
The Tupperware family united Americans across the country in celebration of food storage after World War II.
The photo on the left is from the time of the Tupperware party craze in 1955. Tupperware has long been a common item on store shelves. (Graphic House/Archive Photos/Getty Images, Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Sealable plastic food containers were an early form of in-person viral marketing that became popular at house parties.
The parties, and the colorful yet loyally reliable containers they promoted, built a brand name for the nerdy New Hampshire farm boy.
“Innate creativity”
Born in 1907, Tupper built his business fortunes by combining military engineering with a new form of friendly but far-reaching marketing.
Birthday Bonus: 10 places to enjoy free food and drinks on your special day
He was blessed with the brains of an engineer and the passion of a circus promoter.
“As a boy, he used his natural creativity to build devices that made life easier on the family farm and in the greenhouse,” Lemelson MIT, an innovation think tank in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said in a tribute to Tupper.
Tupperware products on shelves at a Target store after Tupperware Brands filed for bankruptcy. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
“He patented a frame used to butcher chickens for sale,” Lemelson MIT notes. “The young Tupper also showed talent as a salesman; he increased his family's income by selling poultry and produce door-to-door rather than at a stall or market.”
The Earl S. Tupper Company manufactured gas masks for American soldiers during World War II.
8 new wild foods coming to the State Fair of Texas
After the war, he discovered how to turn the foul-smelling polyethylene slugs derived from crude oil that were used in military plastics into translucent, odorless food storage containers with airtight, waterproof seals.
Tupper found an advocate in Detroit News columnist Brownie Wise, who liked to sell Tupperware at events she called “patio parties.”
Tupperware items, including the “retro” storage container set shown at left, are placed on a table during a Tupperware party. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
“She recruited dealers and managers, and soon was selling more Tupperware than any other store,” the National Women's History Museum writes.
“Her success caught the attention of Mr. Tupper, who became convinced that house parties were the best sales strategy.”
Click here to sign up for our lifestyle newsletter
Tupper made the “wise” decision to hire her as head of marketing for Tupperware.
Patio parties soon became popularly known as Tupperware parties and quickly became a part of American social life.
Click here to get the FOX News app
“At the iconic Tupperware Parties, well-dressed dealers with expert demonstration skills showed hostesses and their friends how to use the high-tech, colorful new kitchen gadgets,” Smithsonian magazine reported in 2018.
An unspecified group of women, some wearing hats made from Tupperware products, attend a Tupperware party in 1955. A Tupperware representative hosts a Tupperware party, inviting potential customers into his home to show them the Tupperware product line. (Graphic House/Archive Photo/Getty Images)
“She led the group in dramatic party games, such as filling a sealed Wonder Bowl with grape juice and tossing it around the room to demonstrate the strength of the seal.”
In the eyes of many consumers, America's time is coming to an end.
Decades-old kitchenware maker Tupperware files for bankruptcy
“Few products are more iconic to post-World War II American family life than Tupperware,” according to the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum.
For more lifestyle stories, visit www.foxnews.com/lifestyle
“Tupperware represents 'tomorrow's designs using tomorrow's materials.'”
Tomorrow's design is yesterday's news.
