The Stanley Water Bottle Craze, Explained

In basic terms, WaterTok was the trend of adding flavored, sugar- and calorie-free powder to H2O to help meet one's recommended daily intake.

The perfect storm of Stanley aesthetics, influencer reach, and status symbolism for bottles happened in mid-2023 with the rise of what's known as WaterTok.

"They aren't that great," Caroline Moss, the founder and host of Gee Thanks, Just Bought It!, a product recommendation podcast and platform, told me. "But, they are pretty. And that's all trends really seek: Is this thing moderately useful and does it look good?"

This technology, presumably, is behind the miraculous and hugely viral Stanley tumbler that survived a car fire. Back in November, a woman named Danielle's car caught fire, burning down to ash and melted rubber. But a beacon of hope, her Stanley, stood proudly amid this rubble, still in its cup holder.

In a world so full of chaos, there's something soothing in that Stanleys can be obtained in large numbers and arranged by gradient, creating a soft matte rainbow wall of tumblers with semi-sumptuous hue names like abalone, lilac, wisteria, and nectar. Stanley's myriad colorways photograph well and look great on social media, which helps the brand assert dominance.

Her drink, defiant to the laws of flame and heat, was still cold.

Stanley parlayed this popularity into an enormous fortune, going from a reported $73 million in revenue in 2019 to $750 million in 2023.