How Stanley Turned A 110-Year-Old Water Bottle Into A $750 Million Business

Established in 1913, Stanley has been supplying drinkware to blue-collar workers and outdoor enthusiasts for over a century. However, in 2019, with the relaunch of their Quencher, they attracted a new audience, propelling the 110-year-old company to seemingly overnight success. Since 2019, driven by the Quencher's popularity, Stanley's annual sales have surged from $73 million to a projected $750 million in 2023.

Correction:
8:31 - Stanley has seen a growth of over 300% in sales between 2019 and 2023.

Producer: Lauren Shamo
Senior Managing Producer: Eric M. Clark
Camera: Dmytro Savchuk
Animator: Elham Ataeiazar, Gene Kim
Reporter: Nicolas Vega
Narrator: Ashton Jackson

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How Stanley Turned A 110-Year-Old Water Bottle Into A $750 Million Business

[madbug]

It is amazing how Stanley was able to convince people that they needed a big heavy steel cup to carry around....

[ethan]

It’s water bottle bro, I’m repeatedly blown away by certain consumers groups. Stanley has had the perfect storm. Their buyers believe it is more than a water bottle, it’s grown their own personal value. They are now accepted in the social group, apart of the Stanley cohort.

[nathanhearn]

Hydro and yeti opened the doors. Stanley already being an OG in the insulated bottle game, they easily took advantage of the trends.

[petertwining]

My dad used to have a green Stanley metal container for decades he used it everyday on jobs. I never realised Stanley developed these others types and in different colours. It’s great to see they were smart enough to see and listen to market trends and reinvent the company but stay true to their existing clientele. Many companies fail to do this and see their market share deteriorate year after year until they just shut. Thankyou A very good video guys. 😊

[mobilemowers]

You forgot the very recent story in the news. The ladys car buried down in the US but her Stanley cup was still cold with lots of ice inside. Stanley then offered her a new car.

[AskMiko]

From a travel standpoint: Swell has been extremely reliable for me. Twenty plus countries and has never failed me. I think the allure of Stanley is more “look at me with my $45 tumbler “ than anything else. Men purchased them for function; women purchased them for aesthetics. Some of those women had 5, 6, 10 tumblers totaling hundreds of dollars. They are a new accessory vs. practical function. It’s great to see an American company thrive; the overconsumption it cringey.

[SincerelySandcha]

Congrats on being in business for so long and connecting to a different generation. Very inspiring.

[janellejohnson]

Middle school kids are now using this as a social status at school now. Hopefully they hang on to them for years to come.

[der_ludo]

The biggest issue I see with this is that the whole design of the bottle basically only works if you are driving with your car everywhere. Its just not a very practical bottle to carry in your backpack or hand all the time. And the design is very tailored to put it into a cup holder in your car. This inherently limits the sale of the bottles to car-centric cultures, e.g. North America, and I do not see them catching on in Europe or Asia due to these issues, even though water bottles (and drinking water) are also kind of trendy here at the moment.

[BWAcolyte]

There's no way people still need a new water bottle at this point. We've been buying insulated metal water bottles for like half a decade now. These things are literally indestructible. The thrift stores are FULL of them

[Luximoto]

In the end Stanley can thank Mormon Moms lol

[gracieofgod]

I bought a baby blue Stanley thermos twenty years ago. I loved their aesthetic and quality then, and I’m so glad to see them being appreciated now!

[glorias.]

It's so heavy and clunky but looks so sleek and stylish. People are buying it for the aesthetic. It's that matte finish too.

[berniemacs]

I got my first Stanley beer growler in 2017 and I love it still. The green is just classic, iconic, and I think their brand is so strong it’s why they can change up style and stay true to their quality and durability standards

[mattbosley]

Nice to see a legacy company being successful. Sometimes it just takes thinking outside the box, or the right person getting interested in your product.

[HighKingTurgon]

My mother bought a Stanley for long outdoor rehearsals at community theater. Big two-liter guy. He went with me to college and toted hot tea on days when I wasn't sick enough to stay home. I've lost his cup, but he's still with me decades later. My wife just received a personalized quencher as a gift.

I'm delighted that good products are finding the right marketing. And that a manly man's brand is discovering that they can decuple their revenue by discovering an ignored market.

[easondeguzmanjr]

The very goal of each one to replace a water bottle, but showing influencers having tons of them doesn’t look very “sustainable”

[BBXioful]

Ladies you don’t need all the colors . One is enough ! 🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️😂😂

[pfv]

I use Welch's Concord Jelly jar as my water bottle. It holds 1.5 cups of water so it reminds me to wash it on a regular basis to prevent bacteria an mold build up. If I'm going on a longer drive I use four of them for a total of six cups of water. The best thing about this is I can fill the jars up with boiled water and as the water cools down, it creates a vacuum seal thus keeping my water fresher for longer. I drink up one jar every hour. Every jar of water is fresh!

[salinas]

As a truck driver an someone who is outdoors a lot I have stanley everything from food thermos to drink thermos.. so when my sister said she wanted a stanley about a year ago I just figure i give her one of mine thermos… she looked at me like wtf is that “I want a quencher” lol .. the thermos are so much better but I can see the appeal with different colors