HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Around the U.S., people are camping out and trampling over each other for insulated drinking containers.

What You Need To Know

  • Stanley, a 110-year-old company, went from making around $70 million annually to $750 million

  • That's thanks to the enormous popularity of the “Quencher,” a 40-ounce tumbler with a handle.

  • Ashlee LeSueur said a major contributing factor to that popularity is her discovering the product in 2018 and writing about it 

  • An NKU marketing professor said she thinks Stanley has the potential to be to insulated water bottles what Kleenex is to tissues.

Stanley cups, or tumblers, are everywhere. Anh Dang, Northern Kentucky University (NKU) assistant professor of marketing, sees them every day, both on TikTok videos and in her classroom. She said other businesses should take notes on the company's success. 

“Many of my students actually have the cups; when I ask them how many cups they have, each of them has, like, at least four," she said. 

Stanley, a 110-year-old company, went from making around $70 million annually to $750 million, according to FOX Business, thanks to the enormous popularity of the “Quencher,” a 40 oz tumbler with a handle.

Ashlee LeSueur said a major contributing factor to that popularity is her discovering the product in 2018. She began writing about it on the website she started with her cousin and sister, The Buy Guide.

“I found the Stanley cup very organically; I was shopping at Bed Bath & Beyond, and I saw it there," LeSueur said. "Just like everybody else, I have a cupboard full of insulated cups and water bottles at home. There was something that bugged me about every single one of them."

The Stanley “Quencher” checked all of her boxes. It was double-walled, keeping things cool all day into the next day, as well as machine-washable. She also found the straw made for easy sipping. 

“For me, it was an instant home run," she said. "I loved it. We had a crazy level of confidence in this cup. We just felt it in our bones; we just knew that this was it.”

Now, people are camping out for Stanley cups whenever the company announces a new color drop, trying to be the first to get their hands on one.

The Buy Guide, which has partnered with Stanley for several years, has also influenced the company’s marketing. It inspired the introduction of more vibrant colors.

“It will never not be fun for us to see the way that we had an impact on bringing a 110-year-old company to a whole new demographic and to a whole new generation,” LeSueur said. “It’s our favorite marketing case study that we’ve ever heard of, and we feel really lucky that we got to live it.”

Dang said the cups have created a bandwagon effect, meaning people don't want to be left out. Whenever other people adopt a product, she said, they want to have it as well. 

“In the past, the Stanley cups were designed just for men, and the main purpose is just to keep water cold and hot," Dang said. "It served as a functional product. But there’s actually a demand from the ladies; they want to use the cups not just for keeping hot and cold water, but I think they also want to have something like an accessory.  So they really understand their customers.”

As for whether it’s a flash in the pan or here to say, Dang said that will depend on Stanley’s continued marketing efforts. However, she added she thinks Stanley has the potential to be to insulated water bottles what Kleenex is to tissues. 

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