Trends come and go from clothes and hair styles, but also apply to water bottles. The items used to stay hydrated are now a part of the outfit and are used as an accessory. Where did it come from, and why is it considered a trend?
Tik Tok is currently viewed as the most popular way to stay up to date on trends. As many early users recall, one of the first water bottle trends that existed on Tik Tok was in 2019 and was the Hydro Flask. It was promoted as an environmentally friendly (yet very overpriced) item that helped save aquatic animals from the dangers of plastic. Water bottles eventually became part of someone’s personal aesthetic and are now treated more like an accessory than a sustainable item to keep the owner hydrated throughout the day.
The style of water bottles evolved into the most important aspect of the item. Owners of the water bottle add stickers to personalize the bottle. Because of the cycle of trends, the relevance of Hydro Flasks became less popular as another water bottle took its place. When “Stanley Cup” is typed into any search engine, the results now appear as a comically large reusable water bottle rather than the Championship trophy that is awarded to the National Hockey League annually. Now, instead of the Hydro Flask with stickers to style it, the Stanley Cups are even bigger and people go as far as to add mini backpacks and keychains to the bottle so the accessory has its own accessories.
The Stanley brand has been around for over 111 years and was originally crafted for World War 2 Pilots. The new target audience is young women and the brand panders by giving the water bottles a wide range of colors. This strategy succeeded and “once the cups took off on social media, Stanley’s annual sales reportedly jumped from $75 million to $750 million in 2023 alone” CNN says. The brand relied heavily on social media influencers to “get the word out” and “create buzz” (CNN).
Why do trends become so popular and then quickly go out of style? Fashion Forecasting is the study of predicting trends to begin product manufacturing so that the item can be successfully sold during the peak of a trend. It is a business merchandising study that specifically focuses on fashion. Since Stanley had its peak in 2023, forecasters settled on a new water bottle trend to take over. The Owala has already grown in popularity. Now instead of a large mug-shaped cup with a straw and lid, this water bottle is smaller and much less likely to leak. With the popularity of the Stanley, water bottle enthusiasts have turned to function rather than aesthetic.
Charles Lindsay is an associate professor of marketing at the University of Buffalo School of Management and he explains that “from a consumer behavior standpoint, we are always incorporating variety and new things into our lives”. The demand for new water bottles is nothing new and is all a part of the company’s goal. All trendy water bottles were aimed for success through their targeted audience.
