End of the Tupperware party? After almost 80 years, the iconic brand famous the world over for its plastic food containers warns it may not survive another one

Tupperware has indicated its business may not survive due to waning demand for its plastic containers and mounting debt.

In a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Friday, the firm said it was in a 'challenging financial condition' and would miss its deadline to file a 2023 annual report.

The 77-year-old company said it likely doesn't have enough money to last another year.

Tupperware was founded in 1946 by chemist Earl Tupper and became famous for its airtight food storage containers made from polyethylene.

Its products soared in popularity throughout the 1950s thanks in part to its iconic 'Tupperware parties', in which a salesperson would visit somebody's home to demonstrate and sell the containers.

Tupperware Brands has indicated its business may not survive in an SEC filing on Friday

A group of unspecified women attend a Tupperware party, some wearing hats fashioned from Tupperware products, in around 1955

Iconic Tupperware parties have captured the popular imagination ever since.

For example, Dixie Longate is a drag queen persona known as 'Tupperware Lady'. She is played by the actor Kris Andersson and known for her comic skits in which she sells the plastic wares.

The COVID-19 pandemic provided a boost in Tupperware sales as families stayed indoors and cooked more meals at home.

Since then, the company has suffered from poor sales and accrued increasing debt, causing its share price to slide to its lowest-ever levels.

The SEC filing read: 'The company's accounting department has experienced, and continues to experience, significant attrition which has resulted in resource and skill-set gaps, strained resources and a loss of continuity of knowledge.'

It was trading at $1.34 on Friday, down from a high of almost $100 in 2013.

The company first raised substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern nearly a year ago.

Dixie Longate aka the Tupperware Lady performs in Westwood, California

Tupperware Brands shares were trading for $1.34 on Friday, down from a high of almost $100 in 2013

Since then, it appointed consumer goods industry veteran Laurie Ann Goldman as its CEO.

After it discovered prior period misstatements in its financial reporting, it hired investment bank Moelis & Co to explore strategic alternatives and struck an agreement to restructure its debt.

It plans to complete its due processes and file its 10K for 2023 'as promptly as possible' but added that 'there can be no assurance with respect to the timing of completion of the filing'.

Earlier this year, Tupperware was required to retain KPMG as its new independent auditor after the former auditor declined re-appointment.