Declining sales have put an end to the Tupperware party in the Netherlands, the company has said.

Tupperware, designed by American Earl Tupper, became known in the 1950s as a way of marketing the product directly to women. The company launched in the Netherlands in the 1960s.

The decision did not come as a complete surprise to Adrienne Oomen, who hosted Tupperware parties for three years. The coronavirus crisis put the final nail in the coffin of what had become a 55 year-old institution already on the way out, she said. ‘Many people already have Tupperware products and they think ‘Oh no, not another one who wants to sell me things,’ Oomen told the AD.

The company’s promotion of the parties as ‘the suburban women’s plastic path to empowerment’ still resonated with Lenny Kwetters (58). She started as a party host and ended her 11-year career as a distributor.

Kwetters said the Tupperware sales approach offered her and many other women a ticket to financial independence. ‘I had four children and I didn’t want to spend all my time at home,’ she told the paper.

Kwetters said she felt the Tupperware products were relatively expensive. ‘I always told people to think hard: do you really need this product?. I was always selective myself and my kitchen cabinets are not full of Tupperware. I do wonder where I will go if something breaks.’

People in the Netherlands who still want to buy Tupperware products can do so in Belgium and Germany, the company said.