Pyrex glassware and multi-cooker maker Instant Pot has filed for bankruptcy protection, with debts of up to $1 billion (£790 million).

Instant Brands blames high interest rates and weak demand for their problems.

It comes after another iconic kitchenware brand, Tupperware, warned in April that it could go bankrupt unless it could quickly raise new financing.

Instant Brands said it saw strong sales during the pandemic as people stuck at home.

However, its chairman and chief executive officer, Ben Gadbois, said that “tightening credit terms and higher interest rates have affected our liquidity levels and made our capital structure I’m not sustainable.”

As part of the bankruptcy process, the company appointed Adam Hollerbach as its chief restructuring officer, who said in court filings that sales fell as consumers began to spend less on goods for their home after the pandemic.

The Illinois-based company, which is controlled by private equity firm Cornell Capital, said it will continue operating during the restructuring with help from a new $132.5 million in funding. dollars from existing lenders.

Last week, credit rating agency S&P Global downgraded Instant Brands, saying its net sales for the first three months of 2023 were down nearly 22% from a year earlier.

The announcement comes as people cut back on non-essential spending as the cost of everything from food to electricity rises.

In January, Instant Brands agreed to pay a fine and change its marketing practices to address a US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) complaint that it falsely advertised measuring cups. Pyrex crystal is “Made in USA” while importing some mugs from China.

As well as the more than century-old cookware brand Pyrex and Instant Pot, launched in 2010, Instant Brands’ portfolio also includes the Corelle, CorningWare and Snapware kitchenware brands.

In April, American food container maker Tupperware warned that it could go bankrupt unless it could quickly raise new financing.

The 77-year-old company said there was “substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern”.

Tupperware tried to reposition itself towards a younger audience but failed to stop its sales decline.