Newsmaker: Asha Gupta first Indian to lead Tupperware in Asia-Pac

Convincing Indian women to abandon stainless steel for plastic containers is a tough job. But Asha Gupta, Tupperware's India MD, has done just that with over 114 women distributors in the country. And now she is being promotedas group president of the Asia-Pacific region to oversee the American direct selling multinational's operations in 15 countries, including India, China, Japan and Australia, The Economic Times reported today.

According to the report, Gupta is the first woman and first Indian to lead Tupperware in Asia-Pacific.

After Amway, Tupperware is the second-largest direct selling company in India with an all-woman sales force of over a lakh. According to a report in Business Today, it was the slowdown in 2008-09 that helped the companylift its fortunes in India. As more middle class families needed dual incomes, an increasing number of women became Tupperware distributors and earned up to $6,000 a year.

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"The task at hand was to pick and train grassroots women on the ABC of direct selling," Gupta told Business Today.

And now Tupperware is eyeing the online platform to sell its range of storage containers.

[caption id="attachment_1261629" align="alignleft" width="380"] Tupperware[/caption]

The company entered India in 1996 and has grown there at a compounded annual rate of 30 percent. From a base of zero, Tupperware has swiftly become a leading seller of kitchenware. Today,India is among Tupperware's top 10 markets and its India sales increased 38 percent last year against just 6 percent in the US.

Gupta has diverse experiences in sales and marketing with multinational companies, both in India and abroad.

She started her career with Coats Viyella India (Madura Coats) and worked with the organization for three years in sales management in Mumbai. She then worked with Coca-Cola in the Middle East, where she oversaw the launch of new products such as juices and energy drinks. She joined Tupperware in 1997 as part of the start-up team and headed the sales for the southern markets in India. After a successful two-year stint in the South, she was promoted to head of marketing for Tupperware in India.