The Stanley cup craze: How a 110-year-old company went mega-viral

At the start of 2024, Stanley dropped its latest collaboration with Starbucks, a “Winter Pink” 40-ounce tumbler, sold exclusively at Target. The day of its release, people were camping out in Target parking lots, waiting in long lines and, in one case, jumping over counters to steal a box of the cups.

The tumblers were then listed on resale sites like Mercari, eBay and Poshmark for hundreds of dollars almost as soon as they were snagged from store shelves.

On social media, the fandom is as hot as the coffee in these cups: The hashtag #Stanley has amassed nearly 3 billion views on TikTok alone. Under this hashtag, fans show off their collections, some of which contain dozens, and multiple viral videos show kids shedding happy tears over receiving the cup as a gift.

Stanley’s popularity has been steady for some time, but more recently, its Quenchers ($45) have risen to a level of popularity akin to that of Beanie Babies in the ’90s. So, why is everyone suddenly so obsessed with a product from a company that’s been around for over 110 years?

Stanley’s history

The creator of Stanley, inventor William Stanley, was also responsible for developing the first practical transformer, which means you can thank him for the ability to plug your electronics into your wall sockets. Stanley was the holder of 129 patents, including the one for the hottest Christmas list item of 2023.

Back in 1913, Stanley was on a mission to keep his coffee hot all day while he was working. According to the Stanley website, he applied some of the theories he learned while developing transformers to create an all-steel, double-wall vacuum bottle — and he put his family name on it.

For most of the company’s history, Stanley’s thermoses have been a hit with outdoorsy folks and blue collar workers, some of whom still use the first Stanley they ever bought. One TikToker went viral for showing off her father’s well-worn but still functional Stanley thermos he’s used for over 20 years.

Stanley’s modern rebrand

The viral tides began turning for Stanley in 2019 thanks in part to shopping-focused outlet and Instagram account The Buy Guide. According to its founders, Stanley’s 40-ounce insulated tumblers, which at that point were not selling very well, were a favorite for the company.

So, they gifted one to Emily Maynard Johnson, a social media personality known for her appearances on both “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette.” Johnson posted about it on Instagram, which caught the attention of a Stanley executive who then offered The Buy Guide the opportunity to purchase thousands of Quenchers directly from Stanley to resell through their website.

“We were able to put in a purchase order with Stanley and buy 5,000 cups on our own. Scary,” The Buy Guide wrote in its post about the experience. After finding a warehouse space and team, the founders set up a shopping site which sold out in five days. After a restock and another blowout sale, the Quencher’s popularity couldn’t be denied.

Stanley switches strategy

In 2020, entrepreneur Terence Reilly had just finished a seven-tyear stint at Crocs, where he led the strategy that turned the ugly shoe into a fashion staple. Now the president of Stanley, Reilly was poised to do the same for the Quencher.

“My experience at Crocs told me that that kind of influencer opportunity was just the magic that Stanley might need,” Reilly told CNBC’s Make It. “And we were right. The Buy Guide proved to be amazing partners and helped us create the Quencher phenomenon.”

Using the success of The Buy Guide partnership, Reilly transformed the way that Stanley Quenchers were sold, creating partnerships with other brands, which led to the first colorful iterations of the Quencher. Now, the item comes in a prismatic spectrum of hues.

“When I joined, I realized that this could be something that, in the right hands, with new colors, materials and finishes, could be something that catches the eye of a new customer,” Riley told CNBC.

110 years after the company’s inception, Stanley’s 40-ounce insulated tumblers have reached a popularity that its founder could have never imagined. The Stanley Quencher now eclipses the Classic Legendary Bottle as the brand’s top-selling product, with company profits skyrocketing from $70 million in 2019 to an estimated $750 million in 2023.

Stanley culture goes mainstream  

There are a few factors responsible for Stanley’s extreme virality.

First, influencers continue to sing the brand’s praises all over social media, and partnerships with celebrities like country star Lainey Wilson keep the cup in our feeds. Also, the hydration-focused subculture known as #WaterTok, where users share “recipes” to spruce up their water — tout the Quencher as a must-have.

A major selling point for the product is its durability — and there was no better proof of that than in a viral video of a car fire from November 2023.

In it, TikTok user @danimarielettering shows the burnt wreckage of her car, which was totaled after catching on fire. But her Stanley Quencher was unscathed — and even still had ice in it.

That stunning display of Stanley’s indestructibility went extremely viral, garnering 94 million views. Stanley took note, and in a response video, Reilly offered to send her some free Stanleys and replace her car, buying her a brand new Mazda a month later.

Backlash to Stanley culture

Of course, with popularity comes criticism, and some folks have taken issue with a few things about the culture surrounding Stanley Quenchers.

In November 2023, another Starbucks x Stanley Quencher collab — this time, in holiday red — drove customers into a frenzy. Starbucks employees complained about customers “harassing” them and “cussing” them out for the chance to get their hands on one of the cups.

The Quencher releases have inspired excitement, for sure, but also pandemonium. Multiple reports of arguments and physical altercations over Stanley’s products have led people to ask whether it’s a cult or a cup.

Many have also taken issue with those who collect Stanley cups, wondering why they would own so many iterations of an item that is made to be reused.

“How likely is it that we’re just gonna see secondhand versions of these in thrift shops in a few years? I understand having a reusable water bottle, but why do you need more than one? Why do you need to collect them?” asks TikToker @tanya.volt.

There have also been reports of kids being bullied for not having a Stanley cup.

In one case, TikToker Dayna Motycka says she purchased a cheetah print insulated tumbler from Walmart as a Christmas gift for her 9-year-old daughter, and she came home from school “upset” after girls in her grade “made sure to let her know” that she wasn’t carrying a “real” Stanley cup, and that hers was “fake” and “not as cool.”

“Do I think that a nine-year-old needs a Stanley? No. Do I have one? Yes, I have one,” says Motycka. “I don’t have 50 Stanleys in all different colors. I’m not going to Target and fighting other women or moms to try and get the new Valentine’s Day Stanley. I have one.”

But she ultimately decided to buy her daughter a Stanley.

“Can we afford to buy her a Stanley? Yes. Did I think that she needed one? No,” she continues. “Apparently I’ve been proven wrong by the children in our school that are making fun of her for not having a real name-brand Stanley.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com