The latest Starbucks Stanley cup released in early January sold out immediately, as consumers camped out and even got in fights over the limited edition tumbler.
If you’re hoping to score one of those limited-edition pink Starbucks Stanley cups, you’ll have a hard time finding one. The cups sold out at many Starbucks Target locations soon after they were released on Jan. 3, 2024. This was just days after Target’s own exclusive Stanley cup release caused chaos in Target stores.
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Starbucks confirmed to Axios that the 40-ounce pink Starbucks Stanley Quenchers won’t be restocked. But, given the popularity of the reusable cups, it’s likely Starbucks could be collaborating with Stanley again in the future. Here’s what we know about the Starbucks-Stanley collaboration.
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Starbucks and Stanley partnered on an exclusive pink Quencher cup that sold out immediately.
According to Axios, January 2024’s pink Starbucks x Stanley Quencher tumbler is at least the third reusable cup offered as part of a partnership between Starbucks and Stanley. In November 2023, people camped out in front of Starbucks locations for the chance to buy a red Stanley Quencher.
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Social media influencers and hashtags like #StanleyCup and #WaterTok have fueled the popularity of the Stanely reusable tumblers. Invented in 1913 by William Stanley Jr., the Stanley brand products have evolved from thermoses for construction crews to status symbols for so-called “Stanley Girlies,” NBC News reported.
Since 2019, annual revenues at Stanley have jumped from $70 million to over $750 million, CNBC reports.
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How much is the Starbucks Stanley cup?
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Where to buy the Stanley Starbucks cup — is the Quencher still for sale?
As mentioned, the Starbucks-branded Stanley cup released in early 2024 was only available at Target Starbucks locations. However, it’s all sold out, so your only option is to buy it secondhand.
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People are pointing out the issues with the Stanley cup trend.
Unfortunately, the Stanley cup trend is a prime example of the ugliness of consumerism and overconsumption. Much like the Cabbage Patch Doll craze of the 1980s, people are getting into fights just to get their hands on one of the limited edition Starbucks Stanley cups, The Los Angeles Times reported.
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Other people are grabbing as many tumblers as they can so they can resell them at grossly inflated prices. “I bought 20 of the Cosmic Pink and 20 of the Target Red, the max you could order, just to try and sell,” Los Angeles-area resident Ubaldo Rene Rodas told The Los Angeles Times.
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Amassing a collection of Stanley tumblers sort of defeats the purpose of owning a reusable cup, doesn’t it?
“Reusable water bottles can last for so many years, so if you have one that’s in usable condition, just use that,” said a TikTok creator with @livekindly.
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Many see Stanley as the water vessel of the moment, following in the footsteps of other brands like S’well, Yeti, and Hydro Flask — but this won’t last forever.
“[The] Stanley cup trend will inevitably pass,” the @livekindly video stated. “We should all be more conscious of overconsumption due to trends.”
Having 20 different reusable tumblers in pretty colors isn’t very sustainable if you aren’t using them regularly. In theory, a reusable bottle should be better for the environment than plastic bottles. However, the MIT Office of Sustainability found that you need to use a reusable bottle at least 10 to 20 times for it to be a more sustainable choice than a plastic bottle.
