‘Sunburst’ lids and party games: Aussies share nostalgic memories as Tupperware returns

I can still recall my first Tupperware party. I was a child and my mother had hosted an event in her home as a ‘kitchen tea’ for my older sister, who was about to get married.

There were at least a couple of dozen women of all ages in my home, and all sorts of delectable treats to entice a young girl’s sweet tooth, but my biggest memory is the woman who arrived with boxes and boxes of kitchenware items she laid out in my mother’s living room in a display that would rival David Jones.

As the Tupperware hostess gave a blow-by-blow description of each item, the assembled guests ooh and aah’d on cue.

There were games, including pass the parcel for grown-ups – I won an egg separator I still own – and a demonstration on how to close the lids to elicit the now familiar Tupperware sound, known as the ‘burp’, but I have always thought it sound more like ’thwop”.

After a break to have a drink and something to eat, the hostess got down to the business of selling. My mum bought a set of those containers in a questionable shade of brown with the iconic ridged ‘sunburst’ design lids. 

She still has them – a testament to the quality and indestructibility of Tupperware. I am quite sure that if the world ever ended in nuclear war or a meteor strike, the few survivors would come out of their bunkers and find perfectly-preserved containers in the rubble of Aussie homes.

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I am not alone in feeling nostalgic about Tupperware.

While discussing their own memories and favourite items, nine.com.au staffers mentioned the cordial jug, salad bowl and beetroot strainer. One staffer even had a Tupperware lady in the family.

“My late grandma was a Tupperware lady, so we had a lot of it in the house. Some of the pieces that instantly take me back to my childhood are the orange cordial jug, the classic green salad bowl (that apparently also doubled as a ‘spew bowl’ in some families) and the beetroot strainer,” she said. 

“We also had these green containers Mum would use to shake up milkshakes for us on rainy weekends.”

“The cordial jug is hugely nostalgic for me. My mum regularly used it to make cordial for us and I clearly remember seeing it in the fridge and pouring drinks from it for years,” another colleague said.

“The lid is also memorable because you had to take it apart to wash it.”

Decades later, Tupperware had a resurgence. I was among those who went to a party at a friend’s house and ended up buying a few items. Of course, I was also roped into hosting my own party.

Later, the lid of one of the items I bought ended up becoming damaged. When I mentioned it to my friend, she told me to let my consultant know and a replacement found its way to me in the mail, such is the brand’s commitment to honouring its 10-year, and in some cases, lifetime guarantee.

Another Nine staffer said she was a new mum when Tupperware made a comeback about 20 years ago.

“When I was a new mum all of my mum friends were doing parties, and then they would book more parties through the parties, so we would have to go to all of them and feel obligated to buy stuff,” she said. 

“I had so much Tupperware I didn’t need. An entire picnic set. Tupperware is great, but I don’t need every gadget and it is much easier to buy stuff from the supermarket these days.”

Now, as is turns 80, the brand is celebrating by looking back on its humble beginnings.

Early beginnings

Tupperware was founded in the US by chemist Earl Tupper, who was inspired to create an airtight seal for plastic containers, similar to those on paint cans, to help families preserve food and reduce waste in the post-Depression, wartime era. 

He created the first food storage container, a bowl with a lid, in 1946, and that move forever changed the way the world stored, served and prepared food.

But selling it also caused a revolution.

Tupperware developed its own direct marketing strategy, known as the party plan, to sell its products via an army of women who went door to door selling products to the masses, via their family members, neighbours and friends.

Making a splash Down Under

The company arrived in Australia in the early 1960s, and quickly made its way into Aussie hearts and kitchen cupboards.

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Tupperware officially shut down its Australian manufacturing and direct-sales operations in December 2024. The Australian business was liquidated thereafter.

It followed the announcement the company had filed for bankruptcy in the US several months earlier. Tupperware was later given permission to continue to trade in the US after undergoing a massive restructuring, but the only way for Aussies to get their hands on it was through the official US website or retailers such as Amazon.

Now, HAG Import Corporation (Australia) Pty Ltd has come on board as the authorised distributor for Tupperware products in Australia.

The privately owned Australian company designs and distributes recognised homeware brands including Maxwell & Williams, Casa Domani, Krosno and WOLL. 

It is behind the relaunch of Tupperware in Australia and New Zealand from today.

Its director of sales and head of product, Daniel Grundmann, told nine.com.au: “We know how much Australians love Tupperware, everyone has a fond memory or story about the brand.

“That’s exactly why it’s such an honour to bring back a piece of that nostalgia for Australians, while making it more accessible than ever before both online and in-store.

“We want Tupperware to be part of Australian kitchens for generations to come as the same trusted, durable product it has been for eight decades.”

A surprise return

To mark 80 years of Tupperware, the brand will once again be available in Australia.

A new range has also been created to mark the milestone, spanning seven collections, covering everything from storage solutions to meal prep, as well as lunchboxes and water bottles. All products are BPA, PFAS, PFOA and PTFE free.

The new range features a charming nod to Tupperware of the past, featuring the pastel colours that were popular in the ’60s when the range was first created, as well as many of the popular designs many of us will remember from our childhood, including the distinctive ‘sunburst’ lid.

Grundmann said HAG was “thrilled to bring that legacy back with a range that holds onto everything people loved about the original while being built for the way Australians cook, store and live today”.

“For 60 years, Tupperware has been a fixture in Australian kitchens, and for so many of us, it’s tied to memories of family dinners, school lunches and the unmistakable pop of a perfect seal,” he said.

The new Tupperware range, including some divided containers, is stackable, freezable and microwavable.

They are designed to maximise fridge and pantry space, and have clear-view windows so you can see what’s inside. They are also airtight and leak-proof thanks to that burp seal, but are easy to open.

The new range is available online at Tupperware Australia from today.