By this point, you’ve probably heard of the Stanley cup trend. People are lining up to get them, kids are teased if they don’t have them, and “WaterTok girlies” rely on them. But it’s not exactly a surprise to see a water bottle reach such levels of popularity.
Before people were fighting to get Stanley tumblers, Hydro Flask was the must-have water bottle. The metal bottles became part of the VSCO girl aesthetic and were built to be durable — so strong that they outlasted the brand’s time in the limelight.
Now, the trends have changed and Stanley has become the must-have water bottle, and Hydro Flask’s quality can’t outsell Stanley’s trendiness. But, if it’s true that trends cycle back, will Hydro Flask be able to return to the spotlight? Or was its time as a must-have accessory just a flash in the pan?
Hydro Flask’s popularity geyser
For some people, Hydro Flask’s rise to popularity may seem like it was ages ago — but really, it wasn’t even five years ago. It became an essential item for Gen Z thanks to its prominence on VSCO, and becoming associated with the “VSCO girl” aesthetic. It would also be featured on TikTok, and while the app was popular at the time, it wasn’t the cultural phenomenon it is today.
With such a strong online presence, teens wanted these colorful, eco-friendly bottles. By the time the 2019–2020 school year began, they’d become a bit of a status symbol. After all, Hydro Flasks are comparable in price to a Stanley cup and could easily cost $50, which isn’t trivial for a high school student.
Hydro Flasks definitely resonated with Gen Z because they’re colorful and viral online, but they also appealed to the generation’s preference for sustainability. Not only that but there were legitimate reasons to love the quality. By design, the bottle’s double stainless steel walls help preserve temperature for long periods while preventing condensation.
It was a perfect trifecta. Hydro Flask was practical and durable, but somehow, it also became fashionable. Often, kids would deck them out with stickers, but the brand’s signature, colorful powder coat was enough to distinguish it from other wide-mouth bottles, regardless of someone covering the logo.
The eventual waterfall
If we look at Google Trends, we’ll see that searches for Hydro Flasks peaked in September 2019, with another bump in popularity that December, around the holidays. However, sales follow a slightly different timeline.
Helen of Troy, Hydro Flask’s parent company, saw quarterly sales growth soar at the start of the 2020s, peaking at 34.3% in Q3 of Financial Year 2021 (September 2020-November 2020). Since then, the brand has seen more quarters with sales declining, and they’ve been consistently negative for its past five quarters (FY23Q3 through FY24Q3).
It seems every metric points to a decrease in popularity, but it doesn’t really explain why the brand lost its buzz, and there isn’t a single, clear-cut answer.
Social media undoubtedly helped Hydro Flask become trendy, but there are many viral products online at any given moment. The bottles became inescapable because teens were looking at them when they weren’t looking at their phones — while at school. Kids saw them all day; eventually, they wanted to imitate their peers.
Then, kids weren’t in school and so was the peer pressure to own a Hydro Flask. Rather, they were looking at their teachers through screens on Zoom. Likely, many people were sipping water through water bottles they’d previously purchased, but there was no reason to upgrade. Hydro Flask builds its products to endure the elements while people are playing sports or hiking. Kids sitting at their desks, especially when they’re remote learning, had no real reason to buy another Hydro Flask.
This left enough time for another trend to creep in, and by the time kids were back in school the cool kids weren’t sipping from Hydro Flasks.
Another brand flows in
It’s funny to think that Stanley was struggling while Hydro Flask was thriving. In 2019, Stanley had actually discontinued its 40-ounce Quencher before it started to skyrocket in popularity through brand collaborations. Then, the tides turned.
As we entered a post-pandemic world, people were finally looking to replace their old Hydro Flasks, and the Stanley cups were going viral. They offered similar color pallets to Hydro Flask, held just as much liquid, and insulated it well.
But, Stanley did one thing Hydro Flask couldn’t: It convinced people they needed to buy multiple cups.
Stanley makes its tumblers in every color under the sun, and when that doesn’t quench your thirst, it relies on collaborations. It’s worked with NBA teams, Joanna Gaines’ Target collection, and most notably: Starbucks. Many of those exclusive cups sold out very quickly, likely because Stanley intentionally didn’t produce enough to meet demand.
Hydro Flask never indulged in the same level of consumerism — customizing your bottle usually meant decorating it with stickers. It relied on quality to sell the product, and the fact that it had a moment in the spotlight was just a bonus.
Is Hydro Flask over?
At the moment, Stanley may be at the top of the water bottle game, but that doesn’t make Hydro Flask obsolete. People are still buying from the brand, but they’re shopping for functional purposes — not because the bottles are fashionable.
For a brand like Hydro Flask, the viral trend is a net positive. Sure, many people will convert to a Stanley Tumbler, but the trend brought a lot of exposure to the brand. Hydro Flask was created in 2009, compared to Stanley which dates back to 1913, but the publicity it received from the viral trend will make consumers aware of the brand for years to come.
Even if Hydro Flask’s moment in the spotlight earned it some lifelong customers, it’s unlikely to reach similar heights to 2019. If we take a look at the brand Yeti, a water bottle that had a popularity surge before Hydro Flask, it hasn’t repeaked. But, the brand hasn’t exited the discussion either. It remains a viable option for consumers, but it won’t get you TikTok followers.
This is where Hydro Flask will likely live. Athletes and outdoors enthusiasts will likely gravitate to the brand for its high-quality, insulated water bottles, and that will keep it as a valuable part of Helen of Troy’s product lineup. But, it won’t dethrone Stanley. The next viral drinkware trend could be a newcomer — Owala has received considerable hype — or an old staple like Nalgene could return. Regardless of brand name, the trend is likely to come from TikTok, and Gen Alpha isn’t likely to mimic the trends that Gen Z exhausted. For Hydro Flask to stay afloat, this means becoming a brand that’s functional, not fashionable.
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