Topline
The ultra-viral Stanley water bottle has taken over social media and has reaped millions in profits for the century-old company, but amid the craze, some shoppers have reportedly stolen thousands of dollars worth of Stanley cups and police departments are urging people to watch out for scammers.
The Stanley cup craze is TikTok’s latest viral phenomenon. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times … [+] via Getty Images)
Key Facts
Stanley’s “Quenchers,” a line of large, brightly colored reusable water bottles, are TikTok’s latest obsession: The hashtag #stanleycup has 7.4 billion views, and many videos feature users showing off their collections.
Some customers are going to extreme lengths to amass a Stanley collection: Roseville, California police said Sunday a 23-year-old woman was arrested after she stole 65 Stanley tumblers, worth about $2,500, from a retail store.
A video captured on TikTok user Rayah Sunshine’s livestream earlier this month depicted a man jumping the counter at a Starbucks store and attempting to run off with a box of limited edition Stanley cups before being tackled to the ground by customers.
Police in Chicago suburb Molton Grove, Illinois warned earlier this month of scammers claiming to sell Stanley cups online for as cheap as $19—much lower than the prices of the popular 30-ounce and 40-ounce cup sizes, which sell for $35 and $45 online.
The Better Business Bureau, a consumer rights nonprofit, has also previously warned about Stanley scams and a search for “Stanley” on the BBB’s scam tracker yields 35 complaints about scams filed this year so far—many of which come from false social media ads claiming to be Stanley or retailers like Dick’s Sporting Goods, according to the complaints.
Videos of customers storming the shelves, camping out outside Target stores and even getting into verbal altercations over the popular cup have flooded social media.
Key Background
The Stanley cup craze has consumed TikTok since around 2020, four years after Stanley released the Quencher line. That year, former Crocs chief marketing officer Terence Reilly joined Stanley as CEO and reportedly worked with influencer partners like The Buy Guide, which shares product recommendations on Instagram, to promote Quenchers. The community of Stanley lovers continued to grow and it reached new heights in recent weeks as many users gifted each other Stanleys for the holidays, and after the company unveiled limited-edition bottles for Valentine’s Day and a line in collaboration with Starbucks. Users frequently post videos unboxing and reviewing their Stanley products, showing off their Stanley collections or flaunting the various accessories they’ve used to decorate their bottles. One user sells name tags that attach to Stanley cup straws, and another user made a small backpack that fits on her Stanley cup so she can hold her lip gloss and padlock for her gym locker. Another user went viral for her massive Stanley collection: All of her cups barely fit on her desk, and she declared she has a color to match any outfit.
Crucial Quote
“While Stanley Quenchers are all the rage, we strongly advise against turning to crime to fulfill your hydration habits,” the Roseville, California police department said in a Facebook post.
Big Number
$750 million. That’s how much revenue Stanley had projected to make in 2023, CNBC reported, up more than tenfold from 2019 when it made $73 million in revenue.
Chief Critics
The Stanley craze—and the wild lengths some people have gone through to get the cups—has been met with confusion and criticism from some social media users, often in the comment sections of videos about the bottles. One user racked up 300,000 likes on a video of her shelves completely filled with differently colored Stanley cups, but many of the top comments were critical: Several users pointed out the cups are intended to be reusable and questioned why the user has more than one. “These are all gonna collect so much dust in a year,” another wrote, garnering nearly 40,000 likes on her comment. Another user received nearly 600,000 likes on a video critical of the Stanley craze, calling it “one of the most crazy examples of overconsumption ever,” adding that she only has a single Stanley cup because that’s all she needs.
Further Reading
Woman arrested after police found $2,500 worth of Stanley cups in her car (NBC News)
How a 40-ounce cup turned Stanley into a $750 million a year business (CNBC)
