Having made ‘Poly-T’ (as he named it), Earl Tupper from Massachusetts, looked around to find ways of

using it, coming up, amongst other things, with a food container which he could make in fresh bright
colours. More important, he took inspiration from the way paint tins are sealed to develop a snap-on lid
which gave an excellent seal. He registered his patent in 1947 (awarded in 1949), launched a range of 14
products – and failed to grow any kind of market. Not entirely surprising since plastics were still in their
early stage as consumer products; people associated the material with being easy to break, greasy to
touch and smelly. What he was offering was a good product with a potentially big relative advantage –
an alternative to tin foil as a way of storing and keeping food fresh. He tried to deal with the issues the
market was concerned about – his plastics were brightly colored, odorless and soft to the touch – and
priced reasonably.

Market testing suggested they should sell – people described them as “featherweight,” “flexible” and
“modern.” In another corner of the USA a possible solution was already in operation. The Stanley Home
Product Company distributed and sold brushes, cleaning materials and other household goods and in
the process had evolved an interesting sales model. They’d been experimenting with a new approach;
instead of selling door-to-door their salesmen had begun to organize parties and invite local housewives
(their target market) to a social event; during the evening there would be a demonstration of some of
the products Stanley were trying to sell. The model built on the idea of creating a stage – a context in
which the customers could be exposed to the product in an environment which was social, comfortable,
safe and without pressure. The sales pitch came alongside food, drink and conversation – and it was
much harder to close the door on the salesperson.

Tupper could see the potential value in this approach, so he engaged the Stanley company to distribute
his new Tupperware range and sales began to improve, though not as expected. Brownie Mae Wise, a
single mother was working hard to try and make ends meet and worked as a party demonstrator for
Stanley Home Products. She was an innovator with a gift for what we might call ‘position innovation’.
Innovation not in the product or process but in the way it is sold – the story wrapped around it, the
opening of a new market by pioneering and improving sales techniques. She guessed that the home
party model was still in its infancy but offered plenty of potential; so in 1949 she left Stanley Home
Products and set up her own business, Patio Parties, selling, amongst other things, Tupperware. She
recruited other ‘housewives’ who were well-dressed, social and had an interest in throwing parties. The
model gave the women who acted as hostess several incentives; they had social status not only for
organizing a party but also for being the source of information which others valued – in this case about a
useful range of products which would make their lives easier. And she would be rewarded, directly with
a small gift of Tupperware merchandise but also with commission on the sales she was able to generate
across her social networks.

Not surprisingly this consistent improvement in sales caught the attention of Earl Tupper who invited
her to this headquarters – and found a woman full of ideas for his sales approach. She told him that
people wouldn’t buy his products from catalogues or pick it off shelves in stores. Instead, they needed to
see it, feel it, even smell it. They needed to be able to drop it and throw it across the room without the
seal leaking. They needed to enjoy the bright colors and the practical shapes. And they needed to be
reassured by having this experience in the company of a trusted friend or a neighbor. It was convincing
enough to get him to withdraw from his current sales channels and instead to sell it exclusively using the
home party approach. The move paid off; by 1952 sales had jumped to over $2m with the figures tripling
in the final quarter of the year.

Instructions:
 Your points / opinons should have supporting evidence from the case
 Use your own words – DO NOT copy and paste

Questions

1- Critically evaluate is the company used the design thinking process to encourage and speed up
its innovation. Support your answer using evidence from the case.

Lord Tupper was an innovator and an enthusiast who eagerly pursued opportunities to improve
the world around him. Tupper had a lot of strengths for similarly about how to operate on the
people around him, and he was always coming up with stronger contraptions and doohickeys.
Although he was born into a poor farming family, he worked hard to become a successful
businessman and an established artist. Fearless Teenager

Although he was born in New Hampshire, Tupper spent most of his boyhood between ranches
in central Massachusetts. He was born in 1907. His mother, Lulu, maintained a clothes and
guesthouse while his father, Ernest, a slack hobbyist who lacked passion, ran the family ranch
with nothing to show for it.

Earl, even at a young age, had big goals for himself. He opened a shop when he was only 10
years old, where he sold the

products from one home to another. His lack of motivation frustrated him much as a child, and
he had little patience for his father. His parents eventually opened a nursery in Shirley,
Massachusetts, where they provided the area's largest selection of geraniums.
2- Critically evaluate the viability of the company by using a business model canvas. Use
evidence from the case.

An alternative to tin foil for storing and keeping food fresh, as he was, was an excellent product
with a potentially large relative advantage. He had made an effort to address the market's
concerns by creating polymers that were visually appealing, odorless, and tactilely pleasant
while yet being affordably priced. People's descriptions of them as "featherweight," "pliable,"
and "contemporary" in market testing showed they might sell. The Tupperware collection was
dubbed "great art for 39 cents" in a prominent issue of "House Beautiful."

If you have a good concept, it will speak for itself. It appears that this is not the case. At best,
there was a low rumble in the background. It wasn't the product itself that was giving him
trouble, but rather, how others saw it. There was a problem with the market that he couldn't
solve; it sold, but not in large quantities. Scaling up is always a challenge for new innovations.
His difficulty was in bridging the gap between proof and acceptance, a situation that is far from
unique.

3- Critically analyze the risks you think the company might face in the future. Explain your
answer.

An alternative approach was already in use in another part of the United States. The Stanley
Home Product Company had developed a novel business strategy via the distribution and sale of
brushes, cleaning supplies, and other home products. Instead of going door to door, salespeople
have been throwing parties for local housewives (their target market) and demonstrating some
of the things Stanley is attempting to sell throughout the course of the evening.

The foundation of the model was the conception of a "stage," or a setting in which the product
could be shown to clients in an atmosphere that was at once convivial, relaxed, secure, and
unpressurized. It was much more difficult to shut the door on the salesman when they were
bringing food, drinks, and chat along with their sales presentation. It made use of preexisting
social norms and institutions.

4- Critically analyze if the company is using a push / pull strategy. Use evidence from the case.

The distribution route between manufacturers and end users is like a push and pull mechanism
(Harrison 2003). In contrast to the "push" method, "pull" strategy is luring clients to your brand
rather than forcing them to find it.

Chief Marketing Officer of Tupperware India, Chandan Dang Singh, has said, "Unlike most other
vendors that depend on a push technique to enhance sales, Tupperware utilizes a smart blend
of push-and-pull methods." In a 2016 article for Adgully.com,
 Push Strategy:

Tupperware India has a well-planned strategy that includes incentives, bonuses, etc., to
motivate its sales team. A dealer retains 25% of gross profits and is entitled to a 20% discount on
everything Tupperware offered. On top of that, they'll get extra perks and a whopping 35% off
any new products offered if the performance is improved. To paraphrase (Watson, 2012)

Pull Strategy:

Tupperware India makes heavy use of television, internet media, and traditional media. Flyers
are handed out at events, and ads appear in some of the most popular women's publications
including Elle, Cosmopolitan, Femina, etc (Mukherjee 2002). Moreover, it partnered with
industry heavyweights like Samsung and P&G. (Singh & Shankar 2010). SheCanYouCan's
inspirational campaign and the company's well-known brand name both played significant roles
in drawing in new customers.

5- Critically evaluate the sources of innovation used by the company to innovate. Use supporting
evidence from the case to evaluate how these sources helped the company.

Tupperware Brands is committed to becoming an industry leader in the use of sustainable

materials (which we refer to as "ECO+ material") and uses its history of innovation as a
benchmark when searching for and choosing potential suppliers. In 2019, we debuted our ECO+
material with the launch of our Eco Straw in a few chosen regions across the globe. Eco Straws
are made from a game-changing substance called circular polymers. These circular polymers are
produced by breaking down waste plastic from a variety of single-use items down to their
molecular level and then reforming it into a new material that meets FDA standards for use in
food packaging. This first substance was in line with our intention to combat the worldwide
epidemic of disposable plastics. We are now experimenting with bio-based materials and other
sustainability-focused advancements as we grow our ECO+ range. We have no intention of
stopping on this path; rather, we want to continually seek for, evaluate, and implement new
ECO+ materials across all of our product lines in order to further fulfill our No Time to Waste
goal.

Tupperware Brands is making significant adjustments to our business model and product
offering to address the problem of waste, but you don't have to do the same. Reduce the
amount of trash that ends up in landfills by making a few simple adjustments to your daily
 routine, such as packing a lunch in a reusable container, like one of the many Tupperware®
items available.
6- Critically analyze which of the 3 innovation models is the company using. Use supporting
evidence from the case.

In terms of sales, Tupperware is among the most successful brands in India, where it operates
under the Direct Selling model. Women, who make most household purchases, are targeted for
employment as sales representatives. Since its start, Tupperware has been successful thanks in
large part to the "Tupperware Parties" business strategy. In addition to selling Tupperware
containers, the company educates its customers on how to best use them in the kitchen.

Tupperware is more than just a company that makes and sells containers. As a result of this
product, many women have been able to realize their full potential, gain new perspectives, and
achieve economic independence. These brands, which are now available in over a hundred
different countries, are known for providing consumers with a wide range of options that are
both attractive and practical. We love Tupperware so much that it has become an integral part
of our home, not just the kitchen.