In 1946, Earl Tupper released his first patented airtight container, which he called 'Tupperware'. He felt that the best way to make sales was to demonstrate how the new concept worked, and how it could be used.

By 1949, his idea for demonstrating products had evolved into the direct selling model we now know as the 'Tupperware Party'. It did not take long for Tupperware to become known as the ideal opportunity for stay at home moms looking to make a little extra income.

When it comes to network marketing, we think you can't make money with multi-level marketing. Tupperware has a distinct advantage over most MLMs in that there is a noticable retail market for Tupperware. Like most married men, I can say that I've seen more than a few dollars worth of Tupperware in my own kitchen. This lead me to wonder if Tupperware was different, maybe the ladies hosting the parties were making a good living. We decided it was time to take a streetonomic review of Tupperware to see if the sales force is making money.

Is Tupperware Better than other MLMs

The key difference between Tupperware and most other direct marketing companies is that their business model focuses on making retail sales. The goal of the Tupperware party is to sell Tupperware products to retail customers. This gives them a significant advantage over other MLMs who rely mostly on their members to consumer their products.

Tupperware products are good quality and last a long time, I know this from personal experience. A selection of Tupperware containers appeared in my kitchen a little over 2 years ago. Despite the frequent use all of our Tupperware containers are still in perfect condition, with all lids still locking on as tightly as ever, we have not had to replace any of our Tupperware.

Unlike most MLMs that we have looked at, Tupperware doesn't try to pretend that the business is not about making sales. When new members join the Tupperware sales force, they are given a copy of the Tupperware Business Binder, which contains some basic sales training. Tupperware consultants know that to be successful in MLM, you need to sell lots of product.

Unlike most MLMs, Tupperware does not sell products which need to be replaced on a regular basis. Most MLMs focus on products such as cosmetics or diet products, which if used, will need to be replaced regularly. The company can make repeat sales to the same customer every month until they stop being a customer. Tupperware products do not require frequent replacement so it will be unlikely that you will have customers who make regular purchases. In order to make regular sales, Tupperware consultants need to constantly prospect for new customers

Are Consultants Making Money with Tupperware

To answer this question we started on the Tupperware Investor Relations page, which shows some of the financial highlights achieved by Tupperware in 2015. One of the slides shows that Tupperware made $2.3 Billion worth of sales, and had a sales force of 3.1 Million consultants. We then went back to the Tupperware business binder and found that consultants can earn up to a maximum of 35% commission on their personal sales.

After doing some calculations, we believe that most Tupperware consultants are not making enough sales to earn a substantial income. Even if they all earned 35% on every sale, then the average commission paid to Tupperware consultants in 2015 would have been $260 for the entire year. That's less than $22 a month. The Tupperware financial data and our calculations are shown in the table below: