My Tupperware Business Review – Should You Start Selling?

Thanks for checking out my Tupperware review where I want to outline if you should start selling these well-known products.

Tupperware has been a household name for quality food storage and other plastic containers for 70 years now.

There are countless opportunities out there to get involved in direct selling and multi-level-marketing that promises you the freedom to choose your own (working) hours and the opportunity to earn big bucks and Tupperware is one of them.

So is Tupperware worth your time and effort? I will show you what it takes to get involved and talk about the good and the not so good.

My Tupperware review will show in detail if this is the right business for you. I had been involved in direct selling for a few years and know what to look out for whether there is potential to eran money or not.

Without further ado, let’s get started.

Looking for a business opportunity that doesn’t involve recruiting or selling? Read my # 1 recommendation here.

What Is Tupperware All About

It all started back in the 1940s when a man named Earl Tupper developed plastic containers to store food to keep it fresh for longer.

Finally, he launched Tupperware in 1948 and ever since the products have been synonymous with quality and practical items every household needs.

Direct selling was born in form of selling products via home parties, a concept developed by Brownie Wise. She was so successful with this back in the days revolutionary marketing system, the ‘Party Plan’, that Tupperware made her vice president for marketing in 1951.

Companies like Mary Kay, or Stella and Dot come to mind who have adopted the ‘Party Plan’ system for their marketing structure.

Tupperware has been a global success and is sold in almost 100 countries by nearly 2 million direct salespeople.

It has not always been without hiccups though. According to Wikipedia, in 2003 Tupperware closed down in the UK and Ireland and withdrew in Israel in May 2018. That meant thousands of distributors were left without a job/business overnight.

Since 2018, Tupperware is lead by the first female CEO in its history, Patricia Stitzel.

The Tupperware Products

Tupperware has a wide range of storage containers, kitchen utensils, baking ware, cookware, knives in their product range. They have extended their range from mainly plastic items to also stainless steel and aluminum cookware.

Since 2010, the plastic products are free of BPA. That is great news!

The products are modern, functional, practical, and last a very long time which is reflected in Tupperware famous lifetime warranty. This is great in one way but from a selling point of you not so much.

Hint: how much plastic does one need? More about that later.

Tupperware products are not cheap and the competition is pretty fierce. You’ll find lots of similar high-quality products through online stores like eBay, Amazon or at retail stores like Target and Bed, Bath&Beyond for example.

How To Join – The Tupperware Business Opportunity

The business kit costs a moderate $99 and contains Tupperware products and business tools worth $350. You can even pay in two payments if you register through a consultant with an initial payment of $39.

The kit comes with an apron, a handy bag to store your items, and all the things you need to hold your first parties until you stock up on even more products.

For people who haven’t been to a Tupperware party yet – they are hands-on. The consultant usually demonstrates how certain products work and how they can make your life in the kitchen easier.

If customers book a party they can choose from different themes like a ‘Gourmets Gift Party’, a ‘Tupper Chef Party’, or a ‘Mindful Meal Prep Party’.

When it comes to training etc, Tupperware provides online support materials, training events, and a supportive community of Tupperware business owners.

There are three ways of selling the products:

1. The good old party where the Hostess in return receives hostess rewards as a ‘thank you’
2. A fundraiser event, great for community groups, preschools, kindergartens etc, where the consultant has the chance to meet a big group of people. A good opportunity to get new customers or even recruit new consultants
3. Online  Parties – you can register an online party via the Tupperware website. Once you registered (you also need the consultant’s name) you can send the link to friends, colleagues, acquaintances and they can conveniently shop from home. The virtual party is open for two weeks and you as the hostess still gets rewards.

The Compensation Plan

Now here is the important part for any MLM  company, the compensation plan. You can check the full comp plan by clicking here.

You can achieve 12 ranks within the company from being a consultant to the highest rank of a Presidential Director.

Besides a commission on product sales, Tupperware pays commissions on team sales (unit/vanguard), teams sales bonus, leadership commissions (on Director level) up to 7 generations and a one time bonus also on Director level.

The basis commission on retail sales is 25% and can increase depending on the sales volume. If you sell $1500 worth of products you’ll get 30%, and for sales over $4000, it is 35%.

To stay active, the consultant has to achieve $250 in sales in a four-month period. It gets trickier once you qualify for the next rank.

I find the requirements to achieve the next level of becoming a Manager quite hard: in order to qualify you’ll need $500 in sales, have recruited three consultants and have team sales of $2500. Wow, that is a lot!

It is even harder to get to Star manager, just look at the screenshot. My main concern here is the required unit sales of $5000. To achieve and maintain your rank, a lot depends on the performance of your team. No pressure, right?

That brings me to my next point…

Can You Make Money Selling Tupperware

Well, have a look at this chart I have found on the Tupperware website. In a perfect world, you could earn $2100 a month by holding three parties a week which equals 12 parties a month.

It sounds enticing to earn a fulltime income for part-time hours. The reality looks, unfortunately, a bit different. Unless you are a gun at selling and convincing people that holding a Tupperware party is the next best thing in the world, it is challenging to get all these parties booked.

You may have these parties, but will people buy?

I have found a fairly recent income disclosure from 2016 for Tupperware Canada. Have a look at the screenshot.

49% of active consultants earned an average of $484.70 in a 10-month-period. That equals less than $50/month. A person who qualified as a Manager earned around $3112.93 or an average of $312 in a month.

These numbers don’t even take any expenses into account like paying for gas, buying ingredients for the parties, paying for business tools and so on.

Based on these numbers, my answer is that is very unlikely that you can make a good income with selling Tupperware.

Tupperware Business Opportunity – Pros And Cons

Let’s recap the good and not so good sides of the Tupperware business opportunity.

Here are the Pros:

• The start-up costs are moderate
• Tupperware is an established MLM company with 70 years of being in business
• BBB rating A+
• high-quality products with a lifetime warranty
• Tupperware has introduced virtual parties

Here are the not so good

• the income potential is low
• requirements to rank up and maintaining the level very challenging, especially the recruiting and team sales requirements
• parties can be time-consuming with prep and cooking demonstrations (requires lots of preparation)
• products are nonperishable that means customers don’t need to buy on a regular basis as they would with skincare, makeup, or  dietary supplements

Should You Start Selling Tupperware

The decision is ultimately up to you, but what I can see from my research and my own experience with the ‘Party Plan’ business, I would not recommend starting to sell Tupperware.

Direct selling/MLM is a tough business where you have to learn to deal with rejection, objections, and lots of party cancellations. It is essential to learn sales techniques and in Tupperware’s case have a nick for hands-on demonstrations.

I have been in the party plan business (not with Tupperware) and know how frustrating it is when Hostesses ring to cancel their party last minute or no one is buying anything.

Or these awkward situations when you present your products at markets, school fairs and the likes.

It takes a strong mindset to overcome these obstacles and to build a successful business in the industry.

You are not in control of certain factors e.g. team sales accumulated by your down line, people could leave your team at any time and the likes.

The MLM company wants you to believe that you run your own business when in fact you are only the salesperson who tries, besides selling the product,  to recruit new salespeople into the company.

What happens when the company all of a sudden decides to withdraw from a market place as it happened with Tupperware in the UK, Ireland, and Israel or with Avon who finished in Australia and New Zealand in 2018.

Thousands of consultants lost their ‘business’ overnight and were left with nothing.

When I started my direct selling business I was looking for something different than ‘just’ being defined as a mom. The thought of being part of a sisterhood was also appealing to me.

Even though I am a self-confident person, not reaching my goals, and not enough sales and recruiting left me quite frustrated at times and doubting myself.

The truth is ‘the overwhelming majority of MLM participants (most sources estimated to be over 99.25% of all MLM participants) participate at either an insignificant or nil net profit.’ (source Wikipedia)

If you do love the products and feel they are worth the money then, by all means, go for it. But expect to put long hours and consistent work into networking, phone calls, and organizing presentations.

To build a substantial income, you’ll need to put in full-time hours for sure.

Read how I earn four digits a month without selling, recruiting, or doing home parties – and you can do too.

My Recommended Business Model

I had been a consultant with a direct selling company for over three years so I speak from experience when I say it takes a lot of hard work to be successful with the MLM business model.

The initial enthusiasm rubs off pretty quickly if other people don’t share the same love for the product you are trying to sell.

.Ringing potential customers, dealing with return and refunds, traveling for hours to do presentations without sometimes getting any sales was tough going.

I know of people who were super successful but they were working consistently for around 40 hours or more a week.

Well, looking back I’d say it was a huge learning curve but not what I was looking for in an ideal business. In reality, the hours weren’t exactly flexible, instead, I had to work in the evening and on weekends.

How I Earn Residual Income Now

For the past three years, I have been building my online business that doesn’t involve recruiting or calling people at all. Now I can work whenever and wherever I want to work with only a laptop and an internet connection.

If you are able to invest between 10 and 20 hours of work a week then you will surely succeed.

Once you get the foundation right, you will earn passive income for years to come. All it takes is good training, consistent work, and taking action!

Ready to take the leap and start a legit business that doesn’t involve recruiting or selling?

Sign up here for free!

Start Building A REAL Business And Make Money Online!

Anke