Brownie Wise the Orignal Tupperware Lady

Brownie Wise didn't invent home sales parties but she turned them and Tupperware into a marketing revolution. Brownie (her real name) was born in 1913 to a poor family, her mother was a single mother and worked leaving Brownie alone much of the time to take care of herself. She met and quickly married and man named Robert Wise in 1936. They had one child Jerry but things didn't work out between Brownie and Robert, he a apparently was an abusive alcoholic so Brownie did the almost unthinkable in the 30's, she divorced him. She was now a single woman with a child to raise and needed to work. She tried working as a secretary but that just didn't feel right. Brownie then discovered Stanley Home Products becoming a saleswoman. She started working for Stanley becoming part of the new "Home Sales Party" trend. It was during this time she discovered Tupperware products being sold in a department store. Tupperware was founded by Earl Tupper, a one time DuPont plastic engineer, as a line of kitchen storage containers in 1946.

Brownie added Tupperware products to her home parties and the sales started to take off. Brownie then called Earl Tupper personally and convinced him to hire her.
The "Tupperware Party" was born in 1951. Tupperware because of Brownie and her home parties became a sensation. Earl Tupper was never a man to listen to advice but Brownie's success proved to be too compelling and he made her Vice-President. Brownie was a success in a male dominated business world.
Tupperware moved its corporate headquarters from New England to Florida in the mid 50's. One of the sales incentives for "Tupperware Ladies" created by Brownie was a trip to Florida to enjoy the annual Jubilee or sales conference. The Jubilee and other incentives grew increasingly expensive and tensions between Earl Tupper and Brownie mounted. Brownie's success brought fame. Earl didn't care for being over shadowed by Brownie and in 1958 he forced her out of the company.
Brownie undaunted by what she considered a forced retirement and Earl considered her firing started her own cosmetics company called "Cinderella". She once again employed her home party concept. This time she did not succeed. Her concept was used to a success though by Mary Kay Ash with her new company Mary Kay Cosmetics.

Brownie Wise lived out the rest of her life in relative obscurity in Kissimmee, Florida where she died in 1992 at the age of 79. Brownie never owned any Tupperware stock and when Earl Tupper sold the company for 16 million dollars she got nothing.