When criticism began circulating late last month that Stanley, the drinkware darling beloved by Gen Z and Gen Alpha consumers, had trace amounts of lead in its products, rivals pounced. Brands such as Owala and Klean Kanteen responded within a matter of hours.

“Owala Bottles are lead-free. Always have been. Always will be,” wrote Owala on Instagram. “For over a decade, Hydro Flask has not had lead in our sealing process,” wrote Hydro Flask, before dropping the hammer: “We aim for a higher standard.”

The snipes were just the latest battle in the cutthroat war for water bottle dominance as both established and new brands try to capture greater share of the $1.4 billion insulated drinkware market. The 2010 founding of S’well, a brand whose sleek bottles share more commonalities with fashion accessories than with the clunky plastic bottles of earlier years, helped usher in the arrival of dozens of similar brands. Some, such as Nalgene and Stanley, are enjoying a renaissance thanks to the rise in popularity of the category. Others are just a few years old, including Owala, which launched in 2020. Yet the plethora of brands, and their social media marketing, have helped create a trend that’s pervasive.

“You can’t go through an airport or anywhere without seeing everybody with a water bottle,” said S’well Founder Sarah Kauss, who sold the brand two years ago to Lifetime Brands and now works as an independent brand advisor. “It expresses individuality, your color, your pattern, your brand—there are so many brands out there but we did start a movement with thinking about the reusable category.”

Like many of today’s trends, COVID-19 also played a part in the rise of water bottles, as consumers began spending more time outdoors and became more focused on their own health and wellness.

“COVID-19 certainly boosted the drinkware market by shifting consumer preferences towards home and remote work, increasing health and hygiene awareness, and encouraging outdoor activities,” Anand Sanwal, CEO and co-founder of data company CB Insights, said in an email, adding that such use has led to more demand for durable drinkware options. Additionally, the category has few barriers to entry, which has helped newer direct-to-consumer brands enter the fray.

TikTok boost

The category’s growth in recent years has also paralleled the upswing of TikTok, where influencers have been touting their favorite brand bottles with videos that gain viral attention. For example, a TikTok video from a consumer whose Stanley tumbler survived a car fire attracted 9.1 million likes; Stanley’s response video, which included gifting the woman an automotive replacement, raked in 7 million likes.

Many brands have also deployed a hefty influencer strategy, partnering with like-minded representatives who have their own impressive following. Owala recently started its own ambassador program and already has some 1,000 partners for it, according to Michael Sorensen, who was promoted from VP of marketing this year to CEO of parent company Trove Brands. It’s a strategy familiar to most brands, including Stanley, which famously rebranded its 111-year-old company from its rugged workman origins into a brand appealing to stylish lifestyle influencers.

Stanley declined to be interviewed for this story.

A desire to be more sustainable, a key tenet of younger generations in particular, is also helping to drive the trend, experts say.

“There’s a sustainability factor—people want to use not as much plastic and these tumblers offer the opportunity to have your coffee and your water and not overuse plastics,” said Richard Hanna, professor of practice in marketing at Babson College. “But a bigger part of it has become the pop culture aspect of it, what we see in social media with everybody using it has made it become a fashion statement.”

Also read: Gen Zer pens essay on brand sustainability

While the size of the market is growing—one market research firm, Fact.MR, predicts insulated drinkware will grow from $1.39 to $2.57 billion globally in the next decade—brands are taking turns reaping the benefits. For example, in 2022, 1.2% of U.S. consumers bought Stanley branded products; last year, that figure grew to 3.6%, according to market research data from Numerator. Similarly, only 0.8% of U.S. consumers bought Owala products in 2022, but that figure nearly doubled to 1.5% last year. Yet Hydro Flask saw its share decline during the same time period, Numerator found.

In a recent report, CB Insights found that Yeti and Stanley are vying for leadership. Yeti’s estimated 2023 revenue of $1,587 million was more than double Stanley’s $750 million. But Stanley is quickly catching up with faster growth.  For example, CB Insights said Stanley’s revenue rose 87% from 2022 to 2023, while Yeti’s was roughly flat year over year. The takeaway? Popularity changes.

“There was Nalgene, then S’well, then Yeti and now Stanley,” wrote Sanwal. “There will likely be someone who overtakes Stanley and the drinkware circle of life will continue.”

Stanley’s immediate challenge is dealing with negative publicity related to the lead issue. Earlier this week, two customers sued Stanley parent company PMI Worldwide over its failure to disclose the inclusion of lead in its drinkware. Filed in U.S. District Court in Washington state, the class action lawsuits reference the lack of lead in other branded bottles such as Owala and Hydro Flask. Stanley has said its lead is sealed and not present on the surface of any of its products.

Consumer targeting

By cultivating a distinct personality, most brands have been able to target different consumer segments. For example, Hydro Flask, which became popular with so-called “VSCO” girl culture in recent years and is associated with granola-loving earthy types, has a “Parks for All” program. The 15-year-old brand has donated $3.7 million to improving national park access.

Similarly, Yeti, which is known for its bear-proof coolers as well as its more recent expansion into drinkware, has stuck to its outdoor enthusiast identity for its nearly 20-year existence. Last year, the brand ran an out-of-home marketing campaign, created in-house, that tied its products to sustainability with clever copy. It went viral on social media.

“Yeti is not as entrenched in trying to be a fashion statement,” said Hanna, adding that the brand “has always been steady in terms of who it’s marketing to and how they do it.”

Read more about the viral Yeti campaign here

Paulie Dery, chief marketing officer at Austin, Texas-based Yeti, said the company does not chase trends, and that helps contribute to the brand’s longevity.

“We have seen competitors come and go since the day we were created—we’ve had dupes, cheap knockoffs, big box retailers making their own white label,” he said. “We've seen it all and we’ve stayed true the whole time and grown rapidly throughout it because of us staying true to who we are.”

While Owala is one of the youngest trending bottle brands, its products are quickly gaining ground for their diverse colorways and unique sipping tops. The brand, with hundreds of product and color combinations, has tried to take a fun tone to marketing by doing ads in the voice of the bottle versus using a spokesperson, Sorensen said, noting that the strategy attracted “tremendous engagement.”

“There’s an opportunity here for a fun brand,” he said. “A brand that pushes against the norm that’s out there, that’s more focused on self-expression.”

Big Dumb Cups

But there may be signs of a cooling category—or at least a fad that is becoming played out among trendsetters. In late January, “Saturday Night Live” ran a skit with host Dakota Johnson making fun of the size of Stanley’s Quencher tumblers. Called “Big Dumb Cups,” the latest iteration of the show’s “Big Dumb Hats” joke in 2022, the sketch made fun of the cups’ size, lead content and leaky nature.

In addition, brands are facing criticism around overconsumption, begging the question of how many bottles each consumer really needs. Many brands offer several color drops a month, for example. By continuing to offer continual releases of new products—Stanley’s recent Valentine’s Day drop with Target caused in-store frenzies—brands appear to be in conflict with the category’s earth-friendly roots.

“When you really think about it from a sustainability perspective, how many reusables do you need?” said Kauss, noting the challenge for brands including Stanley. “Do you need 30 of them? Probably not.”

Pay it forward

Most experts agree that a shakeout of water bottles is inevitable as the market becomes overly saturated and consumers move on to the next cool trend. Those brands that survive are those that are linked to more purpose, particularly from when it comes to post-use. Brands could explore a recycling program for their bottles, for example.

“It’s like clothing—everyone buys the latest clothing and no one considers what happens to your clothes when you get rid of them,” said Hanna.

Kauss agreed, noting that despite the expected growth of the insulated drinkware category, there still may not be enough room to sustain the plethora of brands.

“I like to think there will be a shakeout and the brands that are making quality products and stand for something will be here for long term,” she said. “Consumers are smart and take the time to do the research behind the brand and what they stand for.”

For Owala’s part, the brand is talking about how to sustain a long-term existence and “not just be another trend water bottle” on a regular basis, according to Sorensen. To do so, the brand is constantly in talks with consumers to see what is resonating and what is needed. That includes exploring recycling.

“We are looking at recycling programs we can implement or when a consumer is done with a bottle, is there a way to help them recycle that or pay it forward,” he said. “Certainly we don’t want them to end up in landfills.”