I got my first Hydro Flask in 2019 when they quickly became popular. I’ve always been a huge water drinker, so I loved having my own cute and durable water bottle that would keep my water cold for hours. When Stanley water bottles started to become popular, and then Owala water bottles, I found myself feeling a little embarrassed that I hadn’t moved on. However, when I really started to think about it, I began to wonder, why am I embarrassed about a water bottle?
The rise and fall of Hydro Flask.
Hydro Flask water bottles first became popular in 2019, largely because of the photo sharing platform, VSCO. This app was the it-girl of social media at the time, and people would post aesthetic photos of the beach, their scrunchie collection, friendship bracelets, and Hydro Flasks. The water bottle brand offered a range of cute colors, and were durable enough to survive any and all adventures — they were perfect for “VSCO girls.” Despite their great qualities, Hydro Flasks are expensive. They started to transition from the “VSCO girl” symbol to a status symbol: if you had one, you were cool. If you didn’t, you were viewed differently, and often negatively.
I got my Hydro Flask during the peak of the “VSCO girl” aesthetic, and yes, I covered my bottle in stickers and bracelets and posted it on my VSCO account. Yes, I thought it was aesthetic and cool. But when the water bottle brand started to get too popular, the “VSCO girl” trend was over and became cringey and easy to make fun of. Of course, I still needed to use a water bottle, but every time I brought my Hydro Flask into a room, it was the subject of every joke. It felt like it was easier to just move on with the rest of the world.
Stanley swoops in.
From my perspective, Stanley took over the water bottle market as soon as Hydro Flask started to fall off. I remember hearing people praising the new bottle, gushing over the handle and the way it fit in your cup holder. I remember not wanting to spend money on something I already had a version of, just for a different size and handle.
From Stanley’s perspective, though, their 100-year old company rose to fame through strategy and listening to consumers. Before the Stanley tumblers grabbed everyone’s attention, The Buy Guide found them first, expressing how much they loved them. The Buy Guide was under the impression that the tumblers were being discontinued, so they told their followers to buy one immediately. This announcement blew up and the tumblers were bought up quickly; the fear of missing out on a Stanley was consuming.
I will admit that I did have a Stanley, but I got it as a gift. In fact, my entire graduating class got one in high school. Of course I was excited — hello, they were everywhere — and I thought it was fun that we were all using them, but I ended up going back to Hydro Flask anyway. I bought a new one and refrained from decorating it, but I still preferred it over my Stanley.
After Tik Tok and social media inevitably ran with the Stanley trend, water bottle accessories started flooding the algorithm. You could get a clip-on cap for your straw, you could buy charms that hang off the handle, or you could get a full phone holder to wrap around your bottle. Of course, all of these new additions were available in a variety of colors and designs, so now you could buy multiple for each of your new water bottles.
Now we’re using Owalas?!
If having a collection of colorful Stanleys wasn’t enough, there’s a hot new water bottle brand in town: the Owala. The brand gained popularity largely thanks to Tik Tok and promotional social media posts, but also because the water bottle boasts an innovative straw-plus-spout cap. The bottles and lids come in a variety of colors, allowing you to try and find the best color combination.
After Owala blew up and the need to have the prettiest water bottle grew larger, the company began making online scavenger hunts and secret giveaways. This leaned on the consumer’s fear of missing out, as they felt the need to get the new color or pattern before others did.
Why is this happening so fast?
Although these brands were definitely doing some strategic things behind the scenes, arguably the biggest reason why they all got so popular is because of Tik Tok and social media. Social media platforms are the hub for finding what’s trendy because you can always see what people are talking about. This has prompted the beginning of microtrends, where something becomes popular and trendy fast, but falls into irrelevancy quickly.
It is true that each of these water bottle trends were a couple of years apart, while most microtrends we see now last only months or weeks. However, it seems to me that there wasn’t really a “water bottle industry” before the rise of Hydro Flask and social media. Sure, there were water bottle brands and different styles to choose from, but it was nothing like it is now.
The viral platform VSCO launched Hydro Flask into popularity, in tandem with a certain aesthetic to fit into. When that was over and Stanley rose to fame, we saw the brand leveraging fear and exclusivity to make their water bottles even more desirable. Someone with influence thought the tumblers were being discontinued, and consumers thought they were missing out on a hidden gem. Then, you couldn’t just have a water bottle, you needed to have multiple colors with accessories for all of them. And now, Owala is taking advantage of the eager consumer, creating scavenger hunts to make their products more exciting and exclusive.
It does seem a little wild to me that something as simple as a water bottle has become such a huge influence on our wallets. I certainly feel like each brand and accessory has been a bit of a microtrend, because I am still using a Hydro Flask while everyone else is two brands ahead.
So why do I feel embarrassed?
It makes sense that one can feel a bit behind if they are still using something that is no longer trendy. But why do I feel embarrassed about it? Probably because consumerism, specifically conspicuous consumption, is literally consuming us.
Conspicuous consumption is when money is only spent on products that display a certain image, or insinuate your social status. This can lead to using more resources than necessary, causing excess waste and damaging the environment. It can also cause anxiety surrounding your social status and how you are viewed based on what you have.
This sounds pretty familiar in the context of water bottles. If you had a Hydro Flask, you were thought of as cool and popular. If you had colorful Stanleys with an array of accessories, you were viewed as having enough extra money to collect and have them all. Now, if you have the best Owala color and pattern, you probably had enough time to be in the social media loop and find the exclusive limited edition. Our society has become so wrapped up in social media and buying popular things, that when someone has excess income, the first thing they think is to spend it on the new trendy item. It’s getting to the point where if you don’t have the trending item, you’re thought of as lacking the resources to buy it, and therefore viewed negatively by a materialistic society. We have become so obsessed with buying things that one feels embarrassed when they don’t.
After laying it all out like this, it almost seems silly that I care about what water bottle I have. Because it is kind of silly. It’s just a water bottle. Hydro Flask, Stanley, and Owala are just brands, and they all make products that simply hold water. Accessories can be cute and fun, but nobody needs them. Buying and consuming an excess of products that you don’t need and won’t use in a few months can cause unnecessary anxiety in yourself and others. I love my Hydro Flask with three stickers on it, and it works perfectly for me. Knowing that, I can come to the conclusion that I don’t need a Stanley or an Owala, and I don’t care how it might make me look. I shouldn’t feel embarrassed for using a product I like, even if it isn’t trendy — and neither should you.