Stanley Drinkware (1913), company history

Stanley Drinkware - from the beginning to the Quencher

Of his new invention, Stanley said “these bottles not only possess remarkable thermal properties, but as they are made of steel are practically indestructible,” according to “William Stanley Lighted a Town and Powered an Industry.”

How can a brand move from appealing to a “30-year-career veteran policeman” and “a retired Army soldier,” to appealing to Gen Z and millennial women, in their droves? Let’s take a look. But, as usual, we have to start at the start…

William Stanley Jr. (November 28, 1858 – May 14, 1916) was an American physicist from Brooklyn, New York. Throughout his career, he secured 129 patents for various electrical devices. On September 2, 1913, he patented the first all-steel vacuum flask, a breakthrough inspired by his work with transformers. During his experiments, he discovered that the welding techniques he used could effectively insulate a vacuum bottle with steel instead of the traditional glass. Important note: In 1885, William Stanley built the first practical alternating current transformer, building on the prototype developed by Lucien Gaulard and John Dixon Gibbs in 1881. This innovation served as the foundation for the modern transformer.

Stanley’s innovative flask design was announced to the public in The Berkshire Courier on July 8, 1915. He then established the Stanley Insulating Company in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, and began producing the bottle under the brand names Ferrostat and later Supervac with financial backing from his friend William H. Walker, who became the company’s president, Stanley served as vice president. Over time, Walker assumed full control of the business.

Unfortunately William Stanley passed away in 1916 at the age of 57. The following year, in 1917, Walker also passed away.

There is a ‘Stanley Collection’ housed at Union College, NY - although his Alma Mater was Yale - consisting of 19 boxes filled with laboratory notebooks, original drawings, printed materials, and more, primarily spanning from 1882 to Stanley’s passing.

The collection highlights Stanley’s significant contributions as a pioneer in the field of electricity, including his work alongside notable figures like George Westinghouse, who briefly attended Union College in 1865.

I find the story’s evolution extraordinary. I wonder what he’d think of the famous quencher today??? Anyway, I digress..

In 1921, Stanley’s insulated bottle business was acquired by Landers, Frary & Clark of New Britain, Connecticut. The company continued producing Stanley’s iconic bottles under the Universal brand and operated out of Great Barrington until 1933, when production was consolidated at their New Britain facility.

Stanley's thermos quickly earned a reputation for its durability, being the only all-steel thermos available until the mid-1960s. During World War I, the U.S. Army reportedly tested its toughness by dropping the bottles from airplanes and running them over with heavy equipment. By World War II, Stanley thermoses were standard gear for bomber pilots, underscoring their reliability in extreme conditions, and the brand continued to grow on these pillars. continued below polls..

In 1965, Aladdin Industries of Nashville, Tennessee, acquired the Stanley product line, marking a significant shift for the brand. By 1988, Aladdin began outsourcing plastic molding and assembly of Stanley thermoses to Brazil. Then, in 2002, Seattle-based Pacific Market International (PMI) purchased the Stanley and Aladdin retail and branding rights, expanding the brand to include a broader range of products such as barware and flasks. PMI also moved manufacturing to China as part of its global strategy.

In 2016, Stanley launched the Adventure Quencher tumbler with little fanfare. The Quencher, a 40-ounce insulated cup priced between $45 and $55, featured a convenient handle and a tapered design to fit snugly into a car’s cup holder. Despite its practicality, the Quencher struggled to gain traction in its early years. Stanley’s best-selling item remained its iconic green bottle, and by 2019, the company had stopped restocking or marketing the product due to low sales. As you can see below, it was a crowded market, making differentiation really difficult.

In 2020, Stanley welcomed Terence Reilly as its new president. Reilly, who previously spent seven years at Crocs helping transform the brand into a global phenomenon, took a fresh approach at Stanley. During a company-wide listening tour, he sought feedback from employees about what was working and what needed improvement. One employee mentioned The Buy Guide, a women-run commerce blog based in Utah.

Ashlee LeSueur, cofounder of The Buy Guide, had purchased her first Quencher at a Bed, Bath & Beyond store in 2017. Instantly impressed by the product, she began gifting it to friends and recommending it to her followers, laying the groundwork for the Quencher's eventual resurgence. In 2019, she tried to persuade Stanley to continue the production of the Quencher, but unfortunately, the sales data didn't support her case. Instead, Stanley offered her an alternative: she could place a wholesale order to sell Quenchers directly to her audience at The Buy Guide.

Reflecting on her decision, LeSueur told CNBC Make It, “I felt like I was signing a mortgage” regarding her purchase order for 5,000 Quenchers. “It was a significant risk that required every penny in our business account, plus some personal funds.”

To her delight, those Quenchers sold out within days, demonstrating the product's newfound popularity. Interestingly, Reilly has since gone back to Crocs to run their new Heydude shoes brand.

Matt Navarro, senior vice president of global commerce at Stanley, told Retail Dive that while there were no plans to discontinue Quencher production in 2019, “the tumbler wasn’t prioritized at the time.” Ha! Let’s take a look at what this all did to company revenues..

The Quencher has become the driving force behind Stanley's dramatic growth, with sales skyrocketing from $70 million in 2019 to an estimated $750 million by 2023. Influencer marketing played a key role in this success, and Stanley has since shifted its marketing focus very much toward a female audience. This shows the power of influencer marketing at that particular time. I think we can all agree that it has waned somewhat.

As Stanley introduces new colors, its sales steadily climb. The company’s revenue increased from $73 million in 2019 to $94 million in 2020, and then more than doubled to $194 million in 2021.

In 2022, Stanley unveiled a redesigned Quencher model featuring a sleeker look and a wider range of colors and finishes. This innovation fueled another revenue surge, with sales doubling again to $402 million.

The Instagram-friendly pastel shades helped shift the perception of the Quencher from a purely utilitarian item to a trendy fashion accessory. With over 100 colors now available, some fans have even started collecting different versions of the product.

The ‘Stanley cup’ has become a social media sensation, particularly on TikTok. The hashtag #StanleyTumbler has amassed over 900 million views, with the product featured in numerous viral videos, solidifying its status as a digital favorite. During his tenure Reilly also capitalized on the Quencher’s viral success by pushing for collabs with celebrities and brands. And the product was perfectly positioned to take advantage...even Saturday Night Live has had a go..

The story is the epitome of a successful pivot. And I love it. The brand found real product market fit - in an unlikely segment - by listening carefully to the audience. And then executed with precision. Text book. As Reilly has moves on, the company would do well to replace him carefully. His little black book of PR contacts isn’t easily replicable.

Your subcategory size - TAM vs SAM vs SOM 

OK, first, what is the difference?

1. TAM Definition: The maximum potential demand of a specific market.

2. SAM Definition: The size of the TAM you can reasonably target as you build your audience.

3. SOM Definition: The size of the SAM you can potentially convert.

A picture tells a thousand words.

Now, here is the breakdown from Amazon.com (US)

Assume this is about 35-40% of the overall category online sales in the US. You can do the math. We’ll be breaking this, and your TAM/SAM/SOM down further in our Product/Market fit analysis as part of the proposed course outline.

If an outdoors specific brand, think of outdoor recreation as your online TAM, the applicable subcategory (below) as SAM, and the specific level below that as SOM (there is another layer below what you see below).

Bikes bucking the trend

Interesting to see in Google Trends that this summer saw a spike in bike related search, even higher than that of covid (2021). This is bucking the trend we see in other sub categories.

Webinars coming up - signup email this Thursday

As per the poll above, I’ll be sending out an email this Thursday which will detail 2 webinars that are coming up. One with regard to our planned outdoor industry get-together - provisionally scheduled for April 2025. I want to get an idea of actual interest levels so I’ll post the draft agenda and a November webinar signup link where we can discuss further.

Plus,

I’ve had an overwhelming response to the proposed Product/Market fit course. Similarly, I’ll be sending a signup link for a scheduled 30 min webinar in November, so we can outline further.

Keep an eye out.