The Stanley Cups just recently became really popular in 2023. When Stanley created the Valentine’s Day Stanley cups, this thrilling release launched in Target stores nationwide and online on December 31st, 2023, this had people going bizarre. This collection of cups was so valuable, that Target made it mandatory that these Valentine’s Day Stanley cups were limited to two per customer, this caused people to make altercations over this very rare collection. “Video showed people running around and pushing through others in an attempt to reach the cups – before showing the almost barren shelves after people left” (themirror.com). This goes to show how obsessed people are with trends, and that they’ll do anything to be a part of them, these cups have the same purpose just as any other metal tumbler or water bottle to keep one’s water cold so what’s so special?

Once the allure of collaborations in the Starbucks x Stanley Limited-Edition Cup was released, on January 3rd, 2024, a lot of people went crazy for this cup. The cup is only available at Starbucks stores at Target locations in the U.S., this is causing customers to create these massive lines outside the stores, waiting for these one and only cups.

Except for are these Stanley cups really one and only? This same hype and popularity happened back in 2019, with the Hydro Flask. When Gen Z or Young Millennials, the subculture known as “VSCO girls” received a lot of press and attention from the internet. This “VSCO girls” area was also a trend created by Tiktok users, the term derived from Tiktok, referenced a sect of teenage girls and a distinguishing aesthetic attributed towards them. Now that trend has died will this Stanley Cup trend die as well? Just like any other trend seen on social media, it dies down after some time as a new one arrives.

Both Stanleys and Hydro Flasks are just like any ordinary metal cold-keeping water bottle, it’s the trendiness from social media that gets both companies their customers, so I guess the real question is are these two cups worth their popularity? Just because one sees another with the exact same thing, does that mean they really are worth making a commotion in front of others just to get a cup for an average price of 45 dollars?