Stanley shares its playbook for growth as sales overall cool in the once-booming drinkware sector
The water tumbler boom seen over the last few years is beginning to fade, leaving brands like Stanley 1913 in search of new areas of growth.
Sales of bottles and insulated containers at sporting goods retailers have seen year-over-year declines each month from September 2024 to February 2025, according to Matt Tucker, a sports equipment analyst for Circana. Tucker attributed this to the now-widespread availability of these products and increased consumer spending on packaged beverages such as carbonated drinks, energy drinks and sports drinks. On a full-year basis in these retailers, the category declined from 38% growth in 2023 to 14% growth in 2024.
In a conversation at Shoptalk in March, Stanley global president Matt Navarro told Modern Retail that amid a cooling in the drinkware sector overall, the brand is looking to diversify in new countries and with new products. While the company doesn’t disclose financial performance publicly, Navarro said Stanley continues to see growth in key products, categories and countries after the business as a whole grew substantially from 2020 to 2024.
“I think it’s a little early to tell what the true indicator is, but we’re certainly seeing a settling of the hydration category in the U.S., in particular, which is why we’ve worked so hard over the last 12 months to really push into other parts of the world,” Navarro said. He added that, for brands and retailers, staying ahead in drinkware comes down to offering the right assortment, a premium experience and well-merchandised products. “That’s never been harder, but I think our team is also well suited to meet that challenge for the next six or eight months.”
As Navarro sees it, Stanley is now in its third era. As part of its first era, Stanley was laser-focused on supporting American workers with durable, reliable gear. Then, in its second era, Stanley started to market itself more to outdoor enthusiasts. Now, the company is more focused on the broader hydration category. As Navarro explained it, the company has found a younger and more female base of consumers by injecting color into the category.
“We were able to be a disrupter in a bit of a stale space,” Navarro said. “That’s continued really strongly through through 2024. I think we need to continue to bring relevant, innovative products to the market to see that continue.”
Navarro said the company is seeing high levels of growth in the U.K., Germany, Japan, Korea, China, Australia and New Zealand, and plans to push beyond North America, Europe and Asia into markets like South America. “That diversification for us is really at the root of our strategy.”
Additionally, Stanley has introduced new products such as hard coolers, soft coolers and bags. In 2024, the brand unveiled its first line of cooler bags — including a mini cooler, a backpack cooler and a sling carrier for the 40-ounce Quencher — that garnered a waitlist of roughly 50,000 people within its first week and a half on the market. That same year, Stanley also released the Cross Bottle, a 23-ounce water bottle with a crossbody strap.
“We see white space there, and we see the willingness and want for consumers to make that part of their lifestyle, through backpacks and sling bags and wearable water, and things of that nature,” Navarro said. “That’s a really big opportunity for us, and one you’re seeing us step in and lean into.”
Yeti had taken the opposite trajectory, launching with coolers first before getting into water bottles and similar products.
Tucker, the Circana analyst, said he expects manufacturers to continue to compete for market share this year by launching new colors and designs, as well as engaging in new partnerships with other relevant brands to attract repeat customers. For example, Stanley last year announced its first-ever multi-year brand partnership with athlete Leo Messi. It also continues to launch new collections in partnership with brands like Barbie and E.l.f.
“In the next 60 or 90 days, you’re going to see some incredible partnerships and collaborations from Stanley with athletes, entertainers and folks who are at the heart of culture,” Navarro said. “We still stay very connected [to customers] and are at the heart of culture, and we continue to move from a product or utility to a cultural, global lifestyle brand.”
Even in March before the latest announcements on tariffs, Navarro admitted that the macroeconomic environment isn’t easy for business leaders. He said the company has focused on diversifying its materials, products and countries of origin so its business is not too concentrated in a single sector or country.
“It’s changing so fast and so rapidly,” Navarro said. “We feel really confident in the resiliency, efficiency and flexibility of the supply chain we’ve built over the last couple of years to continue to be able to bring our products to market for consumers at the right price, at the right time, in the right way. And we’ll continue to evaluate as things unfold, both from a political and geoeconomic standpoint.”