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There are many ways to know that you’re officially old, but when you work in social media, those ways multiply exponentially. Every day brings a new trend or bit of slang that reconfirms I’m no longer with it, whatever “it” means nowadays. Given some of these trends—your skibidi toilets and what have you—sometimes this revelation is welcome.

Sometimes, however, I find myself thinking, you know what? Good for the youth. I wish things had been like that when I was their age.

One of those trends, which I find both strange and endearing, is the rise of status-symbol water bottles. Yes, it’s a little weird that giant pastel-colored flasks are becoming collectors’ items, but hey, at least the kids are hydrated? Back in my day we just had a few sips at a grody water fountain every three hours, so this is undoubtedly progress.

We all remember Stanley’s viral moment last year, but that was just the tipping point for when the water bottle craze hit the public consciousness. The real story goes much deeper than that. Multiple brands have carved out different niches within the burgeoning water bottle industry, with creators sitting at the heart of that effort. This week, I want to unscrew the lid on this space, and investigate the key players and major trends that are fueling healthy drinking habits all around the world.

Let’s dive in. Hope you’re thirsty!

The Top Brands of All Time (Of the Week): H2O Edition

Yeti

Yeah yeah, I know what you’re thinking: but Alex, Yeti makes coolers, and coolers are not water bottles unless you are extremely thirsty! Well guess what, hypothetical reader? Yeti sees where things are going, and has adapted accordingly. When I Googled the brand, instead of seeing pictures of coolers, or Himalayan cryptids, I saw this:

Yeti Search Results

Those are water bottles, my friends! If that’s what Yeti wants me to know about its brand, then that’s good enough for the standards of this newsletter.

Besides, this shift from coolers to drinkware seems to be working out pretty well for Yeti:

Yeti EMV for 2018 - 2023 

It’s not a coincidence that 2023, the Year of the Water Bottle, was when Yeti really took off. However, the brand had been laying the groundwork for this progress for years, partnering with a range of unconventional entities and organizations to achieve broader market saturation.

What do the World Surf League, Red Bull Racing, the Professional Bull Riders league, and Metallica have in common? Well, besides for all being badass, they’re all major brand partners with Yeti, and ranked amongst Yeti’s top 10 EMV-drivers from July 2023 to June 2024.

This was not the selection of partners that I would have expected from Yeti (nothing says “hydration is important” like, uh, Metallica), nor the general strategy that I would have thought the brand might pursue. But it’s been undeniably effective at tying Yeti to a diverse set of audiences. Additionally, layered on top of those brand partnerships, Yeti pulled in consistent mentions from lifestyle creators like Ashton Sedita, who featured tumblers in high-impact giveaway posts.

By reading the room, launching cross-vertical partnerships, and catering to an incoming population of lifestyle creators, Yeti has positioned itself at the top of a crowded industry. But challengers await…

Stanley

You’ve heard of these guys before, and not only because I’ve already mentioned them in this newsletter. If you were on the internet in late 2023, which I’m guessing you were (if not, welcome!), you’ll recall the harrowing tale: a woman’s car caught fire, and when the flames were extinguished, the sole surviving object amid the charred wreckage was a Stanley tumbler filled with still-cool water.

For more details on that incredible viral marketing moment, check out Stanley president Terence Riley’s convo with our very own Conor Begley. For more details on how Stanley has capitalized on that moment ever since, well, just keep reading.

Leading up to its debut as a viral sensation, Stanley has one of the crazier growth charts I’ve seen. I know I say that every week, but this time I mean it:

Stanley EMV for 2018 - 2023

Stanley rocketed from negligible EMV in 2020 to a greater-than-Yeti total in 2023. But as with all viral moments, Stanley’s time in the spotlight ran the risk of flickering out.

Not this time, though: from January to June 2024, Stanley netted $48.7M EMV, a 20% improvement versus July to December 2023. In other words, Stanley was able to not only sustain momentum, but build upon its grand debut.

Stanley achieved this rare feat by the same means that propelled the brand to the forefront of the hydration industry. Giveaways were one major factor, with posts auctioning off Stanley tumblers inspiring $16.8M EMV from July 2023 to June 2024, a whopping 19% of the brand’s total. Generally, giveaway content inspires somewhere in the neighborhood of 5% a brand’s EMV, demonstrating the fervor with which consumers and creators clamor for Stanley items.

Stanley was also successful at locking in an active partner community. The brand’s top hashtags during this time period reinforce how Stanley has built a strong brand identity and organic affinity for its products, with these factors prevailing before any signs of sponsorship:

Stanley Hashtags and Their EMV

With Stanley at the top of the heap and Yeti close behind, it’s clear that the water bottle space is highly competitive. Which makes it the perfect environment for a challenger to appear…

Owala

An upstart compared to these two heavy-hitters, Owala launched in March 2020, which was either a very good or very bad time to start a business, depending on the nature of that business. For Owala, results were mixed:

Owala EMV for 2020 - 2023

It took until the broader water bottle boom of 2023 for Owala to take off, but once it did, the brand has shown no signs of slowing down. If we look at how Owala stacked up against Yeti and Stanley by EMV from July 2023 to June 2024, it’s clear that the other brands have an advantage:

Brand EMV: July 2023 - June 2024

However, the shoe’s on the other foot—or, uh, the bottle is in the other hand—when it comes to comparing each brand’s YoY EMV growth over the same time period:

YoY EMV Growth: Jul 23 - Jun 24 vs. Jul 22 - Jun 23 

That’s an absolutely wild 400% YoY growth for Owala, next to what were already impressive 101% and 102% respective improvements for Yeti and Stanley.

Owala has wisely positioned itself as something of a hipster alternative to Stanley and Yeti, with many Owala creators mentioning those other two brands as a means of distinguishing Owala as their preferred choice. Owala enthusiasts are often lifestyle creators without a strong allegiance to a different water bottle company, allowing Owala to build a new community from scratch: of the brand’s $17.0M EMV from July 2023 to June 2024, $14.2M EMV—roughly 84%—of this total came from creators who hadn’t posted about Owala previously.

These newcomers included top earners like Delanie Kristek (@chiknnuggiesinmytummy on TikTok), Hannah Noelle, and Lehandra Staude, all of whom proclaimed Owala their “favorite water bottle”—a designation that means a lot in such a competitive market. Notably, five of Owala’s top seven earners were micro-influencers, demonstrating that the brand has the potential to grow with these creators, just as Yeti and Stanley did with their own early fans.

Conclusion: Waterworld II: Electric Bottaloo

It’s not just hype, or a passing fad. For everyone from middle schoolers up through many of my wonderful colleagues at CreatorIQ, water bottles are a matter of not just brand identity, but personal identity. With so many savvy hydration brands practicing creator marketing, and so much room for growth, I encourage everyone to grab a beverage and bottle of choice and tune in to see what happens next.

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