Over the years, water bottles have fallen victim to micro-trends in social media: Stanley Cups, Hydro Flasks, and Owolla. Water bottles are an essential item, but they’ve also become an accessory. It all started with the crazed trend of “And I oop sksks.” The 2019 VSCO trend launched the Hydro Flask in pop culture.
The Hydro Flask epidemic was a simple trend that came to be from the social media app TikTok. Hydro Flasks became more than just a water bottle; they became an accessory that went along with the style trends of VSCO girls. Teenagers went crazy for the water bottle because they wanted that aesthetic of the time.
Hydro Flask started the trend of people decorating water bottles with colorful stickers to represent their creativity and style. Hydro Flask was named the start of the “emotional support water bottle” with people carrying their water bottles everywhere they went.
The brand has been running since 2009, but didn’t find popularity until the end of 2018 and the beginning of 2019. However, the Hydro Flask hype didn’t last long, and people began to seek out other water bottle options.
One option was the Thermoflask, which looks similar to the Hydro Flask but is more affordable. Another alternative was the Yeti, which was dubbed the “granola aesthetic” by influencers on TikTok.
“My Yeti is so dear to me,” sophomore Lilah Payne said. “Nothing compares to the cool taste from a refreshing beverage a Yeti beholds. Drinking from her is like sipping on the holy tears of an angel. Drinking from her is like sucking the sweet juices of a raincloud. I am reborn as soon as the magical liquid from a yeti caresses my lips. They say water gives you life, but I live for my yeti. There is nothing purer than what the metal walls of a yeti water bottle contains.”
Even though both Thermoflask and Yeti were great reusable water bottles, nothing topped the trends and popularity of the Hydro Flask.
However, in late 2019, the VSCO girl trend quickly faded away, along with Hydro Flask’s popularity. The downfall of Hydro Flask was the loud sound of it dropping in quiet areas trying to hope that no one saw or heard the disrupting sound, but everyone heard the clashing sound of the metal making contact with the floor.
Many people still use the Hydro Flask and still love it. But is this the best water bottle trend and can anyone top the hype over the Hydro Flask?
“Water bottles are expensive, go plastic!” junior Kaeli Naea said.
Since the hype of the Hydro Flask began, other companies worked to catch up to the popularity of the brand and compete with Hydro Flask. There was everything from a mini micro trend like the flavor-changing Gatorade bottle to long-established companies entering the ring to compete. Companies such as Igloo, Yeti, and Stanley began to produce more colors and styles to try to outdo the success of the Hydro Flask. Still, at that time, no one could topple Hydro Flask and its success.
Until late 2022 and early 2023, influencers on Tiktok and Instagram began to show their new water bottles. With the practical designs and handles and a day-to-day must-have, Stanley quickly rose to popularity and was reaching for the top of the charts. Even though the company was established in 1913 and had made a name for itself in the camping world, Stanley didn’t become a pop culture icon until more than 100 years after its founding.
More and more people saw the Stanley tumbler on social media, which helped catapult it to fame. People wanted to see the hype about the new refillable and reusable water bottle that came in a variety of colors. It didn’t matter what one’s aesthetic was, it could be coquette, clean girl, grunge, or even gym rat. For the teenage demographic, this was the next big thing.
Over time, the water bottle became popular with the older demographic as well, soon making its way up the charts again. Moms thought it would be a perfect gift, teachers loved having it with them in their classrooms, and nurses found it to be a practical solution for their long shifts.
“I own a Stanley and a Hydro Flask, though I prefer the Stanley,” English teacher Ms. Megan Womack said. “I like that my Stanley has a handle that I can carry easier, and my Hydro Flask doesn’t have a handle. I got my first Stanley when they first dropped the 40 ounce.”
The cup became an obsession around the U.S. People would go crazy for the new color drops because they wanted it to be a part of their collection. This happened whenever a new color would be released; sometimes the place selling it like Target would run out of stock within minutes.
During the 2024 “Brat Summer,” the Stanley hype started to die down, though many people still own and collect the cups. But then, crazed cup collectors were waiting for a must-have water container. Enter, the Owalla. The Owalla quickly became the new it item for the summer.
