Tupperware plans to ramp up production at Dehradun plant
Business Line
Ramping up: Ms Asha Gupta, Managing Director of
Tupperware India, at the launch of premium kitchenware
range ‘Ultimo’ in Hyderabad on Tuesday. — Photo: P.V. Sivakumar
Hyderabad,Dec. 6
Tupperware is planning to ramp up its production capacity at its Dehradun manufacturing facility.
“There is still considerable scope for increasing production in India
which can be done in a phased manner,” Ms Asha Gupta, Managing Director
of Tupperware India, told newspersons after launching a range of
kitchenware products here on Tuesday.
The premium plastic market was expanding in India with over 200 million
household. “The potential in premium plastic market alone is estimated
at $1.5 billion,” Ms Gupta said.
Tupperware, which is present in 60 cities with over 100 products, also
has outsourcing partners in many locations including Hyderabad and
Bangalore.
The emerging markets were a focus segment for the US-based direct
selling company. They account for 30 per cent of $2.6 billion turnover
of the company, Ms Gupta added.
The new ‘Ultimo' range of kitchenware is priced between Rs 995 and Rs 9,100.
Tupperware targets sales of Rs 206 cr by `06
Ambar Singh Roy
Kolkata , Jan. 2
TUPPERWARE India has targeted a turnover of Rs 206 crore by 2006. In 2003, the company's turnover touched the Rs 100-crore mark, marking a 20 per cent growth over 2002.
Speaking to Business Line, Mr Kanwar Bhutani, Managing Director, said that a multi-pronged marketing strategy has been adopted to ensure that the company's turnover doubles in the next two years.
Towards this end, the company has firmed up plans to introduce this year a "more Indianised line of products" such as masala containers and idli makers.
The size of the food-grade storage containers market in India has been pegged at Rs 3,000 crore. In terms of people, the addressable market size is 100 million.
Mr Bhutani said that initially people are hesitant to purchase Tupperware products because they are perceived to be expensive. "Once they buy our products, they realise their worth."
According to him, most of the Tupperware products are sold through the direct selling route, involving some 55,000 housewives across the country.
"We believe that the customer should be given a choice to buy the product he or she likes."
Parties are held to inform and educate prospective customers even as a showcase on wheels with a kitchen inside is doing the rounds of 43 cities and towns.
The company has earmarked 15 per cent of its turnover for marketing and brand building.
Besides traditional methods, it is spreading word through sponsorships in magazines. The bid-and-win initiative on Air Sahara flights will continue this year as well.
Mr Bhutani said that Tupperware India has recorded double-digit growth annually since commencing operations in India in 1996.
Tupperware plans more products to suit local needs
Hyderabad, June 4:
Direct selling company Tupperware plans to introduce more products from
its global stable localising them to suit Indian consumers.
Just as it brought out multi-cook with idli keeper and multi-masala, both thoroughly Indian and that too South-centric, more such products may head India.
“The company, which has more than 4,000 products, sells about 300 of
them in India. Given the promise and the potential in India, we plan to
bring in more products but only after localising and customising them to
suit requirements,” said Mr Anshu Bagai, Marketing Director of
Tupperware.
The research and development teams based in Orlando, Florida, work
closely on what suits Indian requirements and accordingly, Tupperware
introduces new products.
To bring out products such as the one for idli and masala, it is necessary to work with researchers and design teams.
The company recently associated itself with Master Chef Kunal Kapoor to
promote the idea of healthy cooking and best storage practices.
The Ultimo range consists of nine products including casseroles and fry
pan. This is the first time Tupperware has launched steel products in
India. Mr Anshu Bagai told Business Line, “Tupperware has
consistently come up with innovations that not only surprise our
consumers but also delight them at every use. We have delightful
surprises in store.”
As a direct selling company, it relies heavily on community
relationships. Social media has been instrumental tool. On Facebook
alone, there are over 3,50,000 fans.
Tupperware to be present in shopping malls
Mr Kanwar S. Bhutani, Managing Director, Tupperware India, flanked by Mr David Kusuma (right), Vice-President, Engineering Development, Tupperware Worldwide, and Mr Dave, Director, New Products and Planning, Tupperware Asia Pacific, at the launch of `Multi Cook' in the Capital on Wednesday. — Kamal Narang New Delhi , April 28 LEADING direct selling company, Tupperware plans to showcase its products in the upcoming shopping malls as part of its strategy to achieve a turnover of Rs 206 crore in the next two years. "Tupperware will market its products through distributors in these malls," the Managing Director of the compay, Mr Kanwar S. Bhutani, told newspersons today. The company is also launching Indianised products in order to grow its market share in India. Towards this end, Tupperware today introduced `Multicook', a five-in-one product which can be used for cooking, steaming, straining, reheating as well as serving. Tupperware has invested about $8 million in the country since it began operations in 1996. The company, which said it has already achieved already break-even in India, has launched several new initiatives in the direct selling concept, including mobile carts, dedicated showcases and presence in retail chains. Tupperware plans premium range  CHENNAI, April 19 TUPPERWARE India Pvt Ltd will launch a premium line of products this year to draw customers from the SEC A market, said Mr Kanwar S. Bhutani, Managing Director of the company. Speaking to Business Line on the sidelines of a press conference, he said the majority of the company's customers came from the SEC B and C markets. The premium range, comprising tableware, would be designed in soft colours and etchings, he added. Mr Bhutani was in the city to launch the summer celebrations for its dealers and managers here. This year, the company's focus would be on expanding its reach in the South. Children's products and tableware would be product categories the company will pay attention to. In fact, this season's launch for children is branded Tupperkids, which includes a lunch case, drink and carry case and tumbler. The company's proprietary figure, Tiwi, a cuddly bear, will feature on some of the children's products from this year. The products for children would also be educational, he said, explaining that the lunch case had the alphabet on one side. Fifteen more products are going to be introduced this August. The company was designing products to suit Indian needs. While declining to give details of turnover, Mr Bhutani said the South accounted for around 20 per cent of the sales, while the North and West accounted for around 35 per cent each. His company had not felt the effect of a recession, he added. While direct selling is Tupperware's main revenue stream, the company has also set up two kiosks, one each in Shoppers' Stop outlets in Mumbai and New Delhi. This retail presence is meant mainly to create awareness and not a mainline strategy to draw sales though the company was "looking at increasing their number", Mr Bhutani said. The `Caravan' (a van designed for a Tupperware road show during the festive season) and cross-promotions were other components of the company's strategy to create awareness and generate leads. The company is launching another promotion with Hindustan Lever's brand where products will be given away free on purchase of five-litre and 15-litre packs of Dalda. Over the next couple of months, the company would also conduct Tupperware melas. Selling on the Internet was part of future plans, Mr Bhutani said. Tupperware India has a manufacturing facility in Hyderabad and 13 warehouses all over the country. The company, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Tupperware Corporation of the US, has so far invested $15 million in India and would continue to invest as business dictated, according to Mr Bhutani. All the raw materials and colours are imported from abroad. According to Mr Bhutani, the direct selling market in India was estimated at Rs 1,200 crore and was growing at 25-35 per cent a year. Tupperware was now present in 31 cities in the country and aimed to cover 40-45 cities by the end of 2002. There are 40,000 Tupperware dealers in India. The company has been present in India since 1996 and it is here that Tupperware has seen the fastest start-up, Mr Bhutani said. Tupperware products are sold in over 100 countries. Tupperware launches expandable container New Delhi , Feb. 16 TUPPERWARE India on Wednesday unveiled expandable storage solution called "Go Flex". Go Flex expands to three different heights so that storage space of 950 ml is available and can be folded back after use to a 2-cm high disk. "Since Tupperware's entry into India in 1996, the company has carved a niche for itself on the shelves of the Indian kitchen. "The introduction of Go Flex underlines Tupperware's new lifestyle approach for the market. Following Go Flex, the company will seek to introduce a series of high-end, stylish and modern food storage solutions during the coming months," the General Manager, Tupperware India, Ms Asha Gupta, said here. The direct selling industry in India is worth Rs 2,000 crore with annual growth rate of 25-30 per cent. Tupperware India clocked sales of Rs 100 crore in 2004. | Stories in this Section Made in India, mobile MNCs' new call Hospitality sector joining hands with Lankan hotels VH1 channel poised to make foray into Indian homes Reliance Info ties up with Baazee.com Pepsi `Fido Dido' offer Need for designers, branded business to team up: LIFW It's bye to tobacco ads in two days ... but picture on surrogates still smoky Enterprise Nexus to help switch Anchor to a new image Tupperware to be present in shopping malls UB open to joint management, ownership of regional brands OyzterBay in pact with 4 diamond houses |
US & Canada
With their financial success, Sylvia and Jon Boyd were able to live more comfortably
'How Tupperware let me live the American dream'
Sylvia Boyd, a housewife from California who became
a Tupperware hostess and millionaire, talks about what the American
Dream means to her
A
sense of fulfilment and personal and financial success are factors
often associated with the American Dream. For Sylvia Boyd, success came
in the shape of the airtight, plastic storage boxes that made her a
Tupperware millionaire.
"I can't even begin to imagine what life would have been
without it, without any part of it, the people, the success, the
product, the money we made. I mean every area of our life is impacted,"
says Sylvia Boyd.In the 1950s she was a housewife, living in California. A former child actress, she had left high school, married her husband Jon, a Los Angeles city fireman, and had two children. However that life of domestic devotion soon became frustrating.
"I was home all day, kind of bored, just talking baby talk most of the day," she said. "Jon was gone 24 hours on, 24 hours off."
"There was no question that we [women] had a niche - in the kitchen, in the house," she said.
"Most of us did not have a car in the daytime and in the night-time we didn't go out anyway. If we did it was with our husband and generally that was only on the weekend.
"We didn't get babysitters very much… it could be a very stagnating kind of an atmosphere to live in."
Lifetime guarantee However, one day Sylvia was invited to a party that would change her life.
"We lived in a typical post-war neighbourhood with California bungalows and everybody was young and everybody had babies and was having babies.
"I went to the [Tupperware] party, watched the girl that was putting on the party and I thought, I know I could do that."
Lifting the lid on Tupperware
- Invented by Earl Tupper, Tupperware was first introduced to the consumer in 1946
- At first customers did not understand how the new airtight seals worked and the products did not sell well in retail stores
- The first Tupperware party was hosted in 1948 in order to demonstrate the range within the home
- The parties proved a popular career choice for women as a flexible way to earn money after World War II
- By the 1990s "Rush Hour" and "Office" parties were created for those in a hurry
- In the 21st Century, new sales opportunities arrived in the shape of the internet and shopping mall demonstrations
Sylvia became a Tupperware
hostess in 1956, holding parties three times a week in which women would
gather together to be shown and then sold various lines from the
polyethylene range.
"We'd show the features and the benefits of the product and
talk about the lifetime guarantee," said Sylvia. "I mean what can you
buy for 49 cents that 15 years later if it cracks we'll give you a brand
new one, no questions asked."The Tupperware parties were known for their fun, flamboyant atmosphere. When releasing a new product range, Sylvia's husband Jon would often attend the party dressed up as a "Tupperlady" in a long yellow wig, thong, pinafore and holding a feather duster.
However there was a strict dress code for the real Tupperware ladies. Skirts and tights had to be worn at all times - never trousers or bare legs - and white gloves often accompanied the outfit.
Sylvia would use a technique called "carrot calling" to help book the parties.
"We would go door to door in a neighbourhood and say 'I would love for you to run an experiment for me'. I have a bunch of carrots with me and a Tupperware container and I'd like to leave it with you today if you'll allow me.
"Put this carrot in anything that you would ordinarily leave it in and let's put this one in Tupperware. I'd show her how to seal it… and then we'd come back and inevitably we'd date a party because they'd be so amazed."
A richer life
Four years on, in 1960, Sylvia and her husband were offered their own distributorship in Indiana. Her husband gave up his job as a fireman and the move was a gamble.
"We had $5,000 to our name. That was from selling our house and all of our furniture. The only thing we kept was a mattress that we put in the back of our station wagon.
"The kids laid on it all the way from California to Fort Wayne, Indiana."
The business grew 500% in the first year and became one of the top 25 distributorships in America in the second year. But after three years the family were given the chance to move their business back home to Los Angeles.
The success continued and in 1983 Sylvia was appointed to Tupperware staff, becoming only the third female regional vice president in the company's history.
Although Tupperware made Sylvia a millionaire, she believes the American Dream is more than just achieving financial security, it is also having the opportunity to fulfil your own potential no matter what your start in life.
"Tupperware was the first dream that ever came to me and to all the people that I worked with, and that definitely said to us it doesn't matter how much money you have, we will help you get started.
"We will provide the product and you know you can make as much as you're willing to work at.
"So Tupperware was just like it dropped out of heaven."
Sylvia Boyd was interviewed for the BBC Two series - The American Dream - which was first broadcast in the UK
Tupperware Freshens Up the Party
The Tupperware Brands Corporation, based in Orlando, Fla., has been on a mission to update its Betty Crocker image, introducing hip products and courting celebrities. It sponsored a baby shower for Tori Spelling, and Brooke Shields is the spokeswoman for its Chain of Confidence charity, which works to educate and build bonds among women.
The strategy seems to be working. Shares of Tupperware, the direct marketing company, are trading at their highest point in a decade. The company bought a beauty division from Sara Lee in 2005. The chief executive, E. V. Goings, spoke about developments recently from South Africa, where he was meeting with a sales crew.
Q. Is the Tupperware party still going strong?
A. The Tupperware brand is seeing the strongest growth it’s seen in 15 years. Every 2.3 seconds, there’s a party starting somewhere. What is amazing about it is where they are happening — they’re happening in Zululand in South Africa, where I am. The fastest-growing markets for us are Russia, Turkey, China and India, where there are limited earning opportunities for women. But we’ve also seen double digits this past year in the U.S. and Canada, where we’ve been for 60 years.
Q. Tell me about your efforts to update the image of Tupperware, which for many people conjures up nostalgic 1950s kitsch?.
A. Since we spun the company off from Premark International in 1995, the idea was to stay below the radar. We first had to contemporize the product line. We decided to give up the commodity ground on cheap plastic storage products and bags, which, by the way, aren’t very good for the environment.
We still have wonderful Tupperware burping bowls — they whisper now — but we got into new categories, redefined the role of design and color. We’re in microwave products that are made out of the same high-tech resin you find on the windshield of an F-18 fighter. We got into tabletop items, and exotic new products for storage, like FridgeSmart, which doubles the shelf life of produce. Americans throw away about a third of all they buy.
That took about 10 years. Then we had to change the party, which was also dated. It was for stay-at-home moms, and they had a kaffeeklatsch. There’s still some of those, but its more a girls’ night out, much more themed, fun things — like what you’d do at a book club. We had to do all of that stuff first before we could even update the image.
Q. Do recent Tupperware products reflect a more modern design sensibility?
A. In the past, the engineers and designers were all guys. We didn’t have enough home economists, female designers and international designers. Now our head of design is a woman, and a lot is coming out of Europe, Scandinavia and Japan. We still want our products to be functional, but we want them to be fun and fashionable as well.
Q. What is driving Tupperware shares?
A. The stock is at a 10- or 11-year high. When we talk to investors, we ask them what they like about the company, and they say cash flow, brand name and the fact that we now have a big footprint in the beauty business.
Q. You have 1.9 million independent sales representatives. Is it hard to recruit?
A. It’s getting easier, the more we’re viewed as having contemporary products with a contemporary selling situation. What’s driving our U.S. sales growth is, we’re getting better educated, more committed people, so their productivity is going up and recruiting has gotten better.
Q. How much can a sales representative earn?
A. A party in the U.S., around $400. And she can make $100 to $150 for a party that lasts 90 minutes. They can also build their own sales organization — we have women that make $50,000 to $70,000 a year, and some, who build their own sales organizations, are making more than $1 million. It gives women opportunity, especially in developing countries.
Tupperware Brands Corporation – Orlando Native | Delta’s SKY Magazine
Did Tupperware invent social networking? Fifties parties were the first Facebook claim the plastic container company
By Jane MulkerrinsTupperware parties may conjure up quaint images of 1950s suburban domesticity, hosted by housewives across the world, but they are widely considered to be an early form of a latter-day phenomenon: social networking.
The word-of-mouth model of direct sales and marketing developed by Tupperware relied upon trusted relationships between women.
Now the 65 year-old brand is embracing the modern-day equivalent, launching an ambitious social media strategy to ‘coolify’ the company’s image.
Chat rooms: Tupperware parties during the Fifties and Sixties were early forms of social networking before Facebook and Twitter
They've drafted in former American Idol winner, 29 year-old Kelly Clarkson, as one of the faces of the new strategy, who will feature in online videos for the campaign, which carries the tagline 'chain of confidence'.
Ready to conquer: Kelly Clarkson, the former American Idol winner, will feature in online videos for the company's campaign
'Kelly Clarkson is the perfect ambassador, as not only is she an extremely confident young woman, but is hugely influential in the social media world, with over two million Facebook fans and almost 900,000 followers on Twitter.'
Miss Clarkson will also headline a concert in New York later this month, called Confide + Conquer, which is sponsored by Tupperware.
'It is a very smart move on the part of Tupperware to go back to its roots in a sense, although those roots have been updated for a digital age,' said Roben Allong, market research consultant at brand consultancy and trend forecasters Reality Check Inc.
'Facebook represents the same type of social get-together with like-minded friends as a Tupperware party, except that it’s not in someone’s actual home, but a virtual host-home instead.'
While Tupperware will be hoping that the new digital presence will attract a younger consumer, they are by no means abandoning their established customer base.
'The biggest growth group in social media, especially on Facebook, is baby-boomers [those born between 1946 and 1964], who are in their forties, fifties and sixties now,' said Ms. Along.
'So it makes great sense for Tupperware to use it as a tool to communicate with their core consumers as well as to reach a new potential market.'
The chain of confidence campaign will also feature so-called 'confidence counsellors', who will regularly post videos, motivational tips and personal experiences, to help, as Ms. Steele said 'enlighten, educate and empower women'.
Facing the future: Tupperware plan to take their parties into the digital age via Facebook to 'coolify' the company's image
The images and messages to be posted on the new Facebook page (facebook.com/chainofconfidence) steer well clear of any hard sell, however.
In her one-minute video filmed in Nashville, Tennessee, Miss Clarkson does not mention Tupperware products at all, and neither, in her clip, does Ms Bond. Ms Zeichner uses the phrase ‘Tupperware parties’ only in passing.
'It is a very smart move on the part of Tupperware to go back to its roots'
This new strategy for Tupperware Brands is not borne of any need to rescue a business languishing in the doldrums. Last week, the company, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, closed at almost $65 a share. And that success is replicated in almost 100 countries worldwide in which the company has a presence.
The burping seal is not to be sniffed at; South Africa’s top-selling Tupperware consultant is turning over $14 million of products each year. In France, in spite of the sluggish economy, Tupperware sales grew 17 per cent in the first quarter of the year.
This success is, in part, due to the improved and updated range of products the company is offering, including $550 sets of knives, microwave steamers for $147, beauty products and high-end stainless steel pans.
But Tupperware has, like Amway, Avon and other direct selling companies, also seen a huge growth in emerging markets, which now make up 57 per cent of the Orlando-based company’s revenue. Tupperware is proving popular in fast-growing countries which lack established retail infrastructure or income opportunities for women.
Fortune in food: Tupperware have expanded
their product range from the traditional storage bowls at $49.99 to top
of range Chef Pro knives at $550. Last year the company savoured a tasty
total of $2,300 million sales
Using pieces of rigid polyethylene, he created lightweight, non-breakable cups, bowls, plates and even gas masks that were used in World War II.
In 1946, he patented the famous ‘burping seal’, the means of keeping containers airtight which was for decades the most famous aspect of the Tupperware brand.
The company’s success exploded in the 1950s thanks to its army of self-employed female hosts, who sold the products directly to their friends and neighbours through parties or ‘jubilees’.
'Tupperware met a real need for women after World War II,' said Ms Steele. 'Women had been working en-masse for the first time, but when their husbands returned from war, they were told to go back to the kitchen. They missed their jobs and they missed the interaction with other women that work had brought them.'
The food storage revolution of the Fifties: A
party host introduces her eager neighbours to the full range of
polyethylene Tupperware products
Today, Tupperware still offers a vital earning option for some women. The company currently has over 2.6 million consultants globally, up from two million three years ago.
'More people have come to Tupperware as a way to supplement their income in tougher times, or because they have been laid off as a result of the recession,' said Julie Levinthal, from Maloney and Fox, the New York public relations firm masterminding Tupperware’s social media strategy.
'But more people these days are also turned on to earning opportunities which mean they are not beholden to large companies and corporations.'
PLASTICS NEWS REPORT
Tupperware VP David Kusuma is flanked by Ray Lambert, left, ExxonMobil Chemical’s sales and business development manager for Santoprene Specialty Products, and Andy Switky, head of the Asia-Pacific region for design firm IDEO, during a Design Day panel discussion about innovation and global product development.
So far Guangzhou is Tupperware’s only production site in the country. About 200 employees work at the South China plant.
“The fact that Tupperware has a plant in China already helps the company out,” Kusuma said. “It helps to manufacture and deliver product to the local market and helps Tupperware Worldwide to follow up on global products that are being sourced in that part of the world.”
“We try to control the design and outsourcing outcomes,” Kusuma said in an October 20 interview with Plastics News at the newspaper’s Plastics Encounter trade show in Charlotte. Kusuma had just returned from a three-week trip in China where he worked with a couple of factories from which Tupperware is outsourcing.
He notes that Tupperware is just getting used to the Chinese market’s preferences. The best-seller in China is expandable containers. Also, “[the Chinese] do not like to buy individual containers, but in combinations and sets,” he said.
Tupperware is not yet aggressive in China with technological innovation. Most companies Tupperware is monitoring are in Japan and South Korea, he said.
Orlando, Florida-based Tupperware gets materials locally, but “only from subsidiaries or joint ventures of global suppliers,” Kusuma said. It manufactures some tools in China, but only with a few long-term partners. However, it makes a lot of its outsourced products in China.
“In terms of product development, China’s importance will grow in the future,” Kusuma said. “We don’t do product development in China, [but] we do product development for China.”
Primary channel
Tupperware differentiates itself from competitors in unconventional ways.
“There are two areas of competition. The first is the product; the second is the marketing channel. Most of our competition on the product side are not competitors on the channel side,” he explained.
“We are a global, direct-selling company first,” Kusuma said. “We certainly monitor companies with product categories that overlap our own, but we don’t necessarily consider ourselves their competitors.”
Direct selling is Tupperware’s main distribution channel, with “home parties” held by distributors worldwide. In relatively new markets like Latin America, Kusuma said, direct selling is gaining much popularity.
Diversification
Despite the emphasis on marketing channels, Kusuma said Tupperware has a strong heritage that needs to be maintained — ultimately its products.
“Our customers expect our products to be the best in quality, best in design, and last a lifetime,” he said.
In his presentation at Plastics Encounter’s Design Day conference, Kusuma underlined three current strategies: to reposition product lines, diversify categories and focus on outsourcing.
In addition to the traditional lineup of food containers, Tupperware is growing with trendy gadgets and kitchen items such as stainless-steel cookware and porcelain tableware.
Even with the portfolio expanding to glass, ceramics and stainless steel, Kusuma said plastic food containers remain Tupperware’s core business. “That’s where our expertise is.”
But he underscored the firm’s diversification, saying: “Beauty packaging business will soon account for one-third of Tupperware’s worldwide sales.”
Tupperware bought Dallas, Texas-based Beauti-Control Inc., a direct marketer of cosmetics, about three years ago. Another acquisition, currently pending, will boost the firm’s share of the beauty business once the deal closes shortly, he said. Tupperware is buying Sara Lee Corp.’s direct-sales operations, which primarily sell beauty and personal-care products in Latin America and Asia. Brand names included in the deal are Fuller, Nutrimetics, NaturCare, Avroy Shlain, Nuvo Cosmeticos, Swissgarde, and House of Sara Lee.
Beauty packaging is different from food containers, Kusuma said: “It has to look good, it has to last, but it doesn’t have to last forever.”
Instead of simply adding product categories, Tupperware’s diversification goes hand in hand with innovation. The company describes its products as “low-tech” innovative applications and “smart” innovative applications. The fresh-vegetable container, which uses air pressure to balance humidity, is a good example.
The company now has two product development centers, one in Orlando focusing on U.S. markets, and one in Belgium designing for foreign markets. Tupperware closed a product development facility in Japan about two years ago, consolidating capabilities to focus better, he said.
The firm divides its world market into North America, Latin America, TEAM (Tupperware Europe, Africa and the Middle East) and Asia Pacific. Europe, its biggest market, accounts for about half of global sales.
For a U.S. company that generates 80 percent of its sales outside its home country, the outsourcing model has the general advantages of low-cost labor and market proximity. Yet, lower costs are not the sole reason to outsource, Kusuma said. Tupperware did not build its plant in Okazaki, Japan, for cost advantages, but for Japanese consumers who prefer products made domestically.
“The production costs are very high in Japan,” but it is worthwhile because the market is willing to pay the price, he said.
In Asia Pacific, Tupperware’s largest markets are Australia and Japan. The company developed a tall and thin rice dispenser to solve space problems in Japanese kitchens. In South Korea, small refrigerators are designed for making kimchi at home.
Both the Chinese and Indian markets are growing rapidly, with their own special needs and consumer expectations, Kusuma said. The popularity of stainless-steel food containers in India keeps Tupperware away from certain product categories. Although the firm makes stainless products, it cannot make them more cheaply than local Indian manufacturers.
Tupperware said outsourcing does not affect design that much, but it is hard to find qualified suppliers overseas. Some suppliers tend to trade high capital for labor costs. “Rather than doing anything in automation and having products coming out of the end, they do not mind going with cruder equipment and finish it all by hand,” Kusuma said. “To solve the problem, partly, you need to form partnerships and bring them up to meet the specifications.”
Entire contents copyright 2012 by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved.
Tupperware Brands Chairman and CEO Offers Words of Inspiration and Wisdom to Colombian Market
Tupperware Brands Chairman and CEO Rick Goings hosted a success development seminar in Bogota, Colombia. During the visit he sat down with Portafolio Magazine and La Republica to discuss the company’s plans for the market.
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