Nightline: Exclusivity helps drive the Stanley x Starbucks quencher craze

Shoppers have waited for hours in line at Target stores to purchase the 40-ounce tumblers, often documenting their experiences on apps such as TikTok. The cups come in a variety of colors, with pink and red Galentine’s Collection models in particular demand.

“It’s crazy also that we as consumers will pay for that, but the reason we’re paying for it is precisely because it is difficult to get or maybe even impossible to get,” said Joshua Clarkson, PhD, the Arthur Beerman Professor of Marketing in UC’s Carl H. Lindner College of Business. “And nothing against Stanley but certainly the question could be raised, how popular would this be if it had never been limited edition or if were easy for people to get?”

The tumblers have been so popular, “Nightline” reported, that Stanley’s annual sales are projected to increase to $750 million or more in 2023 from a previous mark of $70 million a year.

For people how wait long hours to obtain one of the coveted cups, Clarkson hopes the Stanley quenchers provide a good memory.

“We are seeing consumers go to extreme lengths to obtain these cups,” he said. “And so that Stanley now not only serves as a water container, but it also serves as a reminder of a hopefully special time in people’s lives.”

See more from “Nightline.”