The foundation years of the Tupperware empire have all the elements of a great story. Earl Tupper, an introverted inventor determined to become a millionaire by the age of thirty, created the Tupperware range from a plastics waste product that was deemed unusable in postwar America. Sales were elusive until Brownie Wise, a poorly educated single mother, introduced Tupperware to the neighbourhoods, mobilised the masses, and formalised the highly successful, home-based selling technique, the Tupperware party.