As consumer-products companies compete to profit from booming growth in Asia's emerging markets, they could learn from an unlikely teacher, Tupperware Brands (TUP). The company came to life in the U.S. in the 1940s selling plastic food storage containers and gained fame for its unusual distribution strategy: Hundreds of thousands of homemakers held so-called Tupperware Parties to introduce neighbors to the new products and earn income by selling the colorful, vacuum-sealed kitchenware.

Five decades later, such scenes are taking place all over India. In an expansion move that founder Earl Silas Tupper could scarcely have envisioned, Tupperware has taken India by storm and is nearing its goal of 100,000 women selling everything from the "roti keeper" (for Indian bread) to the "masala box" (for spices) in major cities and villages alike. The company entered India in 1996 and has achieved remarkable success, growing at a compounded annual rate of 30 percent. From a base of zero, Tupperware has quickly become the leading seller of kitchenware in India, a category that has grown 12 percent annually from 2003 to 2008, thanks largely to the rise of the country's middle class.

To underscore the significance of the company's success, consider that until Tupperware entered the subcontinent, Indian women almost uniformly preferred to store leftovers in metal containers. Tupperware had to convince millions of homemakers to turn their backs on long-held kitchen tradition, creating the market for nonmetal kitchenware.

The company's success could serve as a textbook case of how to effectively adapt a business model to an emerging market. The food-storage container maker followed a strategic road map that kept it close to its main business and maintained brand integrity in a new market, while managing costs to compete with lower local prices.

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