The Stanley water bottle craze, unpacked

Liquid Container fever has some unusual origins.

More info and sources at bottom.

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Listen, this video isn’t sponsored. But honestly the water bottle is pretty ok. Do what you will with it. Click the affiliate link or don’t. I am just an observer, sipping slowly.

My research for this video primarily relied on piecing together stats from different articles, but this Harvard Business Review podcast (which I really only read in transcript form) was the most important thing for unlocking the perspective you see in the video. Not that Mr. Reilly ever says any of this explicitly. He’s pretty on message. But it kinda shaped my perspective.

Here’s the CNBC article and video I reference. I think it’s pretty bad because it just parrots the Stanley corporate line, but you do you.

Here’s The Buy Guide’s cup chronicle:

One of those books that I found alluringly persuasive, and then it brings up something woefully outdated or that we’d call backward. Kind of helpful to not get too lured in, actually.

Hi five to this 3d model lol:

[J_Stronsky]

The cup in the car fire thing annoys me as a firefighter because all water bottles will do that. If a container is full of water with little or no air, then a fire won't melt it because the thermal energy required to boil the water is huge and it can absorb more energy than is required to melt the thing as a whole. The heat gets transferred into the water and the vessel remains intact - there's a limit to the effect but generally a car fire doesn't reach that point. We routinely put out car fires and find flimsy plastic bottles unburnt, the Stanley cup is nothing special.

[AdamDrew]

This is so wild to me, since I was almost completely unaware of the Stanley craze. I have a ten-year-old Stanley coffee press in old-school green, and when I bought it, they were still marketing themselves as "The same insulated bottle your grandpa used to take coffee with him when he went fishing."

[ericktrevino]

Props to you for reporting how this Stanley trend was not an accident or created by influencers, but instead a carefully crafted marketing scheme. Haven’t seen other major news organizations point this out!

[angerock]

It's hard not to feel despair at how much consumerism is worsening! Drop culture is waste culture. Thank you for your explanations!

[leafy_]

As a BlenderBottle fan myself, I hope y’all remember to wash your lids really well. Fancy design leaves a lot of nooks and corners for mold to grow. Great video!!!

[drgenio]

stanley did something similar before in Argentina. "mate" is a traditional drink. a type of tea if you want, anyways, a lot of people carry a hot water bottle with them everywhere. stanley made a special version for argentina. it's the same bottle, but with a spout. it sold like crazy. everyone wanted THE stanley bottle... an imported american brand to make the most traditional drink of the country that's been in our culture since colonial times. LOL.

[auggo]

Stanley cups are also a particularly American phenomena in large part to their design, with the U.S.'s stadium and car culture uniquely (and obnoxiously) lending itself to the cupholder friendliness of the Stanley bottle.

[spaguettoltd.]

This is weird. Back in 2020, I worked at a sporting goods store. In the field of steel drinkware, Yeti was king, with hydroflask as crown prince. A few other brands competed for third, like corksicle and maybe another. I remember the Stanley mugs rounding out the bottom, rarely selling. Crazy to see how things have changed

[chenzenzo]

I bought a 32oz Stanley thermos in 2010 for $12 bucks.
They've been around for over a hundred years and make fine products.
I've seen affluent teenagers with mullets walk into my work wearing Champion sweatshirts, Jordan's from 1987 and wraparound sunglasses.
Crazes go away, but with today's social media presence and FOMO culture, these marketing campaigns can be carefully crafted to suit the times.
I'll stick with my original stuff and spend that extra money on sandwich meat.

[zinja]

I have been befuddled by the resurgence of crocs for years and now I finally get it! The fact that the same guy is behind this makes so much sense

[_weasel]

lol I saw a "what your water bottle says about you" article and my reaction was just, "It says I'm thirsty."

[ballardtrip]

When Hydroflask and Yeti water bottles were all the rage and were supposed to be so great at keeping water cold, I thought, Big Whoop, It's a thermos, I've had a thermos forever. Now we've come full circle, it really is a Thermos.

[glennac]

It’s just a repeat of the Beanie Baby craze of the 90’s. In a few years collectors won’t be able to GIVE these Stanley cups away. 😆

[EcstaticObsessive]

I'm from New Zealand and Stanley cup culture hasn't really popped off here the way it has in the US, so watching America from the outside the craze looks absolutely alien. We don't have things like limited edition Target drops and $200 cup resellers. I've been so curious trying to get to the bottom of what is driving this craze and where it came from but trying to look up stuff about it only results in people just attributing it to influencers and TikTok, which doesn't really explain it to me. There's plenty of viral consumables that don't have people brawling in Target. Thank you for an actual in-depth video explaining the history and business culture around it, instead of just making fun of teenage girls.

[LekstiI]

This is a very American phenomenon. I'm European, but have been living in the US for over 10 years, and I remember one of the first culture shocks I had here, was the obsession with water bottles. Maybe it's crazier than ever right now, but there's always been the Hydroflasks and Camelbaks. Somehow Americans are weird about staying 'hydrated'. One other thing that is a lot less common in Europe, is being obsessed about brands. Everything here needs to be a status symbol. While in Europe, it's a lot more important that your coat looks good and fashionable, here you have to make sure everyone sees the Canada Goose logo on your 2000$ coat.

[snowpoint]

I never saw these cups before last Christmas. Everybody was going crazy for them. Thanks for the video. It all makes sense now.

[DouglasJenkins]

Yes, they are popular, and conspicuous. But with that high center of gravity, and narrow bottom, they tip over so easily ... and that's a lot of beverage to leak/spill!

[dasmysteryman]

When I first heard about this I legit thought they were selling thousands of replicas of the NHL Stanley cup in various colours.

[pickyyeeter]

News anchor: "Are you familiar with these Stanley cups?"

San Jose Sharks: "Next question, please"

[ilRosewood]

The other aspect I want to deep dive into is the water bottle brand trend. Nalgenes, Contigo, Camelbak, Swell, Hydroflask, Yeti, Stanley - it’s been a wild ride.