Stanley Mug Viral Growth

A story about how Stanley, a 100-year-old thermos brand traditionally used by construction workers, transformed into a viral sensation after being discovered by mommy bloggers.

"Stanley was this 100-year-old brand that construction workers would use to keep their coffee hot all day while they're on-site. Then a couple years ago, this mommy blog out of Utah was like 'we love these mugs.' They gifted it to some influencers on behalf of 'The Buy Guide.'

Someone at Stanley noticed and reached out saying 'Hey thanks for doing that. Do you think your audience would like this?' They gave them 5,000 cups to try to sell through their site. They scrambled to get warehouse space, posted it, and in 5 minutes it sold out. They did it again and it sold out again.

Stanley realized there's this cool mom market they weren't touching. The moms were like 'this is great because every mom wants to be hydrated, but the colors suck.' Stanley was like 'What do you mean? These are classics - dark moss green and construction red.' The moms said 'No, no, you need pastel pink.'

They created new colors and it took off. Then this crazy moment happened where a car caught fire, and there's a Stanley mug in the cup holder, untouched. The whole car is scorched black and destroyed. She picks up the Stanley mug, the straw is a little melted, but the cup is still good. She shakes it and the ice is still inside. Stanley flew her out and bought her a car, and it went super viral.

They went from $70 million in sales in 2019 to $750 million in 2022-2023."