sundance

Tupperware and the art of simple design

Clockwise from top left, the Dip ‘N Serve (1950s), Crisp It (1983), Keep Tabs (2009) and the Wonderlier Bowl (1946). Photos from Saveur.com

It’s hard to believe that people still throw them, but every 2.5 seconds someone, somewhere is having a Tupperware party. Tupperware is one of the few (and maybe only) products from the 1940s that is still just as relevant today as it was then. Perhaps some of the color schemes have changed and maybe production of the Dip ‘N Serve Tray has come to a halt, but the initial concept and design haven’t changed much since Earl Tupper founded the company in New Hampshire in 1939.

Tupper got his start in plastics making pieces for radars in WWII, but he quickly sought out nongovernment uses for his injection-molded polyethylene goods. The first thing he made? A cup. The Bell Tumbler, to be exact. After its initial success he moved onto practical food saving devices for the growing refrigerator-centric home kitchen. His ideas were simple: lids ‘burped’ when you closed them (something he thought would appeal to his female consumer) and they were stackable and came in different sizes and shapes. The design was so straightforward, in fact, it hasn’t required a redesign since. The 2009 Keep Tabs looks as if it could have been made 50 years ago, which is, of course, is the beauty of the product.

Tupperware has somehow managed to escape the craze of brand updating that has plagued so many other companies (we all remember the Tropicana redesign debacle) while still remaining relevant. In fact, the company distributed 135 new products in the last year alone, including geographically specific designs like the Kimchi Keeper for Korea, the CheeSmart cheese saver for Europe and the microwave-friendly versions we have in the States. But Tupperware has an eye on the future. This year they’re slated to release the Nature Nano Water Filter, “a water storage unit for Indian households where tap water is available only a few hours a day.”