The Seattle-based brand was pulling in a comfortable $70 million in annual sales for its famous hammertone green products and seemed poised for another century of modest, reliable success.
But from 2020 something changed. A young product came into his own and turned Stanley into a juggernaut.
Over the last four years, the Stanley Quencher has become one of the most popular water bottles in the world. Sold in an ever-expanding range of colors and finishes, the Quencher has boosted Stanley's sales by appealing to a demographic that Stanley didn't spend much time on in its first hundred years: women.
Popular with nurses, teachers and celebrities alike, the Quencher is such a popular product that Stanley's annual sales are expected to exceed $750 million in 2023, according to data reviewed by CNBC Make It.
Here's how Stanley used the Quencher to turn a century-old company into one of the biggest names in hydration.
The Quencher came onto the market in 2016 with little fanfare. The 40-ounce insulated cup, which retails between $45 and $55, features a handle for easier transportation as well as a tapered design that allows it to slide into a car's cup holder.
But in the first few years, the quencher didn't make much of an impression. Year after year, the iconic green bottle remained the brand's best-selling product. In fact, sales were so mediocre that Stanley stopped restocking and marketing the product in 2019.
In 2020, Stanley brought in Terence Reilly as its new president. Reilly spent the last seven years at Crocs, where he led the strategy that made the rubber clogs one of the hottest shoes on the market.
When Reilly came on board, he did a listening tour of the company to hear from employees about what was working and what wasn't. An employee mentioned a group of women in Utah who ran a trading blog called “The Buy Guide.”
Buy Guide co-founder Ashlee LeSueur purchased her first quencher at a Bed, Bath and Beyond store in 2017. She fell in love with the product and quickly started giving it away to friends and recommending it to her followers.
The quencher costs between $35 and $55 and is available in dozens of colors and styles.
Lauren Shamo
In 2019, she tried to get Stanley to continue production of the Quencher, but sales weren't there. Instead, Stanley gave her another option: place a wholesale order to sell Quenchers directly to her Buy Guide audience.
“I felt like I was signing a mortgage,” LeSueur tells CNBC Make It of her order for 5,000 Quenchers. “That was a big risk. We used every penny we had in the business account plus some personal money to make this happen.”
However, these quenchers sold out within a few days. When Reilly took over, he took The Buy Guide on as a partner and worked with them to promote new, exciting colors like Desert Sage and Cream.
“My experience at Crocs showed me that this type of influencer opportunity was exactly the magic Stanley could need,” he says. “And we were right. The Buy Guide proved to be a great partner and helped us create the Quencher phenomenon.”
In fact, the quencher sold so well that it replaced the iconic Stanley bottle as the brand's best-selling product in 2020. Since then he has not given up his top spot.
The success of the Quencher helped Stanley increase its annual sales from $70 million to over $750 million in four years.
Gene Kim
With each new color Stanley released, sales continued to increase. Stanley's revenue increased from $73 million in 2019 to $94 million in 2020. In 2021, it more than doubled to $194 million.
In 2022, Stanley launched a redesigned Quencher model with a streamlined design and a new range of colors and finishes. Sales doubled again this year to $402 million.
The Instagram-friendly pastel tones helped the Quencher to be perceived less as a utilitarian product and more as a fashion accessory. As available color options increased—Stanley has released the Quencher in over 100 colors—some fans began building collections.
“We see that all the time [our customer] wants her treat to match her fit, her nail polish, her car, her mood, her cuisine,” Reilly tells CNBC Make It. “We serve her wherever she wants the product.”
Content creator Chelsea Espejo first learned about the quencher in 2022. She now has a collection of 47 cups. As an avid athlete, she credits the cup's large size with helping her stay hydrated during exercise. The wide variety of colors certainly doesn't hurt either.
“On the days when I have more time, I look for something concrete [color] “This matches my shirt,” she tells CNBC Make It. “I wouldn't even say I use Stanleys.” They're actually part of my personality. If I don't have it, if I don't choose the right color, my day somehow doesn't go the way I planned.
Espejo isn't the only one who has a strong bond with her quencher. The cup is a social media darling, especially on TikTok. The hashtag #StanleyTumbler has been viewed more than 300 million times and the product has been the star of many viral videos.
They are actually part of my personality. If I don't have it [my Stanley]If I don't choose the right color, my day somehow doesn't go the way I planned.
Chelsea Espejo
Stanley Quencher collector
Stanley's strategy of releasing new colors in limited editions and promoting the latest additions to its roster on social media is generating even more excitement. Reilly also capitalized on the Quencher's viral success by pushing for collaborations with celebrities and brands.
“My experience at Crocs was one of collaboration and drop culture,” says Reilly. “And I knew that once we had our feet under us at Stanley and once we could see the connection with consumers that we were creating, we were ready to work together as well.”
In fact, collaborations were key to the Stanley Quencher's popularity. The Quencher is often released in limited edition colors that sell out in minutes. A recent collaboration with Starbucks resulted in a red quencher that was resold for hundreds of dollars on eBay the same day it hit the market.
A recent collaboration with country star Lainey Wilson sold out in minutes.
Stanley
When Target recently introduced new quencher colors, some stores had to impose limits on how many a customer could buy, down to two per person.
“The resale market is definitely flattering,” says Reilly. “The fact that there are signs at America's top retailers limiting the number of Stanleys you can buy is an amazing thing to think about.”
Quencher collector Emily Fahrlander headed to her local Starbucks at 5 a.m. on the day the Starbucks collaboration was released, determined to get her hands on the limited-edition product.
“I'm not normally that crazy, I really am not,” she tells Make It. “But I didn't get the last one [drop]so I thought, 'Let's just get up early.'”
And while Reilly and the Stanley team still “want a little bit of scarcity” to keep excitement around the product, he says they are constantly working to make as much product as possible.
“We really increase the number of units available every time we come by because we see the trend and the waiting lists growing,” he says. “But there are only so many seats in the stadium, and when the seats sell out, they sell out.”
Stanley has now sold more than 10 million Quenchers and demand for the cup is unlikely to slow down any time soon.
The Quencher's popularity on social media has also been a boon for the rest of Stanley's business. Ellyn Briggs, brand analyst at Morning Consult, tells CNBC Make It that a rising tide lifts all boats.
“It brings the Stanley name to the forefront of consumers’ minds, making them aware of the brand and ensuring they have a more positive perception,” Briggs tells Make It.
In fact, Reilly says that “the entire Stanley brand has benefited from the quenching trend.”
The entire Stanley product range has adopted the color variety of the Quencher.
Lauren Shamo
“We see that our new products are very well received,” he says. “And certainly our heritage products have regained prominence and taken their rightful place in culture and in meeting the needs of consumers.”
For Espejo, who became aware of the brand through the Quencher, Stanley has become a permanent fixture in her cupboards with drinking glasses and mugs.
“When I go into a store now, the first thing I look at is the Stanley collection, whether it's the mugs or the quencher,” she says. “My love for [the Quencher] gave me the opportunity to love all of Stanley.”
Close observers may notice that Stanley's product line is a departure from the Quencher's book, with both new and old Stanley offerings adopting aesthetic colors and eye-catching designs.
“[The Quencher redesign] “It gave us confidence that we could apply the same aesthetic principles to other categories,” says Stanley design boss Graham Nearn. “It gives us the confidence that we can even begin to refine and define the products we are best known for.”
And while the Quencher's success rested in large part on its acceptance of the colors preferred by its new, female audience, Stanley was clearly on the right track in its first 110 years.
One of the Quencher's most sought-after new colors? Hammered green.
DON'T MISS: Want to be smarter and more successful with your money, your work and your life? Sign up for our new newsletter!
Get Warren Buffett's free investing guide from CNBC, which distills the billionaire's best advice for regular investors, dos and don'ts, and three key investing principles into one clear and simple guide.