In 1946, Earl Tupper introduced a line of plastic kitchen products featuring an unusual innovation: an airtight seal modeled after the lid of an ordinary paint can. The idea would eventually help make Tupperware one of the most recognizable names in American kitchens and turn its inventor into a multimillionaire.
Just 12 years later, Tupper sold his company to the Rexall Drug and Chemical Company for $16 million.
The journey began with plastic.
Tupper, who was born in New Hampshire in 1907, had worked for DuPont before striking out on his own, according to PBS’ American Experience. During the 1940s, he experimented with polyethylene, developing a way to turn the material into lightweight, durable household products that could be produced in an array of colors.
He introduced his Tupperware line in 1946.
But the containers weren’t the only innovation. Tupper also developed a lid that could create an airtight and watertight seal, taking inspiration from the way a paint can lid fits tightly onto a can, according to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
The containers had to be sealed in a particular way to remove excess air, producing the famous Tupperware “burp.”
There was just one problem: Consumers didn’t necessarily understand how to use them.
Although Tupperware was initially sold through department and hardware stores, the products proved difficult to explain while sitting on a shelf. Their eventual success would owe an enormous debt to a woman named Brownie Wise.
Wise had discovered that Tupperware was particularly well suited to home demonstrations. Customers could see how the containers worked, learn how to seal them properly and watch the products put through their paces.
Tupper and Wise eventually joined forces, and the Tupperware Home Party became the company’s defining sales strategy. Wise was named vice president of Tupperware Home Parties in 1951 and built a massive network of women who sold the products directly to consumers.
The parties turned plastic food containers into a cultural phenomenon.
Tupperware offered women an unusual opportunity to earn money through direct sales at a time when their professional options were often limited. Wise became a celebrity in her own right, even appearing on the cover of Businessweek in 1954.
Behind it all was Tupper’s deceptively simple product: colorful plastic containers with lids designed to keep air out and food fresh.
By 1958, however, Tupper and Wise’s partnership had fallen apart. Wise left the company, and Tupper was preparing to leave it himself. That July, Tupper sold the business to the Rexall Drug and Chemical Company for $16 million.
After the sale, Tupper largely left his famous kitchenware creation behind. He eventually moved to Costa Rica and continued inventing, although none of his later ideas achieved the success of Tupperware.
Tupper died in 1983 at age 76.
But the invention he introduced decades earlier endured. What began with polyethylene and a seal inspired by an everyday paint can became a staple of postwar American kitchens and a household name.
For Tupper, it also became a fortune: 12 years after introducing his plastic kitchenware, he walked away from the company with $16 million.
Related: In 1921, a Minneapolis Flour Company Invented ‘Betty Crocker’ to Answer Customers’ Letters; by 1945, Fortune Named Her America’s Second-Most Famous Woman After Eleanor Roosevelt
This story was originally published by Parade on Oct 25, 2026, where it first appeared in the Food & Drink section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.