The newest trend that has taken the internet by storm is the Stanley cup. Whether through TikTok or students at MHS carrying them around, many of us have at least heard about the product. Coming in a variety of sizes and colors, the cup is a surprisingly normal product that you may have previously walked past. For example, a pink “Valentines” edition Stanley cup had people trampled in line as the doors opened at Target, according to the New York Times article “Why People Are Camping Out at Target for the Valentine’s Stanley Tumbler” by Sopan Deb. For something as simple as a water bottle, what makes it so special that people line up outside of stores just to buy one?
Water bottles having a place in mainstream media is not something new. Back in 2019, Hydroflasks were the craze when they were an essential part of the “VSCO girl” starter pack. However, Stanley stands out due to how their product grew to mainstream success. One of the first events that started the meteoric boom of Stanley cups was when a woman who was involved in a car crash revealed on TikTok the aftermath, and how only her Stanley cup stood undamaged. Stanley capitalized on this and sent the woman a brand new cup as well as a new car, which encouraged fans on TikTok to quickly buy the bottles.
TikTok was the main platform where the popularity of Stanley cups rose. Users uploaded thousands of videos to the app that included people waiting outside stocked stores such as Target for the bottles, as well as people with multiple bottles with various different colors. While the trend of multiple bottles ultimately contradicts the reason for buying a reusable water bottle, which is to save resources by using the same bottle, the videos encouraged people to buy one for themselves.
Another factor that attracted customers, which is primarily women, according to the article “The rise of the Stanley tumbler: How a 110-year-old brand achieved viral success” by Caroline Jansen, is Stanley’s ability to use a surprisingly simple economics concept: supply and demand. By making an extremely popular item limited in stock, the price that consumers are willing to pay increases.
By utilizing this technique, as well as the popularization of their product, Stanley was able to go from a reported $73 million revenue in 2019 to a reported $750 million revenue in 2023, according to the article published by Vox, “The Stanley water bottle craze, explained” by Alex Abad-Santos.
Through collaboration with brands such as Starbucks and creating limited edition color selections for their bottles, Stanley cups became similar to collectible items.
The craze over Stanley cups represents something larger, however. It shows us that social media can create trends out of thin air and manipulate the marketplace drastically. Market manipulation is not a new concept, but manipulation due to social media is something that is occurring more and more in recent times.
If that woman had not posted a TikTok, Stanley may not have been able to dramatically increase their revenue and we would have all stuck to our Hydro Flasks and ThermoFlasks. However, one video being uploaded to TikTok became the catalyst for something bigger, and it is only a matter of time before the next seemingly average product takes over the internet.