Stanley (drinkware company)

Stanley is an American brand of food and beverage containers invented by William Stanley Jr. The company was founded in 1913, and is best known for its Stanley Quencher line, also known as Stanley cups.

History




On September 2, 1913, William Stanley Jr. patented the all-steel vacuum flask. The idea came about as a result of his work with transformers, during which he discovered that a welding process he was using could be used to insulate a vacuum bottle with steel instead of glass.

Stanley's new bottle was announced in The Berkshire Courier on July 8, 1915. Soon after, he established the Stanley Insulating Company in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, and began mass production of the bottle under the Ferrostat, and later Supervac, labels. He acquired financial backing for the company from his friend William H. Walker, who severed as its president, while Stanley served as vice president. Walker would eventually take control of the entire company.

In 1916, William Stanley died at the age of 57. Walker died soon after in 1917. A New York City investment company acquired the operation and hired a mechanical engineer, Harry Badger, as General Manager who continued to invent and develop new products which expanded the product line.

In 1921, the company was acquired by Landers, Frary & Clark of New Britain, Connecticut who manufactured Stanley's insulated bottles under its Universal trade name. The company continued to manufacture out of Great Barrington until 1933.

In 1965, the Stanley line was acquired by Aladdin Industries of Nashville, Tennessee. In 1988, Aladdin outsourced the plastic molding assembly of Stanley thermoses to Brazil.

The United States army reportedly tested Stanley thermoses in World War I by dropping them out of airplanes and running them over with heavy equipment. Stanley thermoses were notably carried by bomber pilots during World War II.

The company was acquired in 2002 by Seattle-based company PMI Worldwide.

Stanley introduced the Adventure Quencher tumbler in 2016. The Quencher's early sales were not substantial, and the company stopped restocking and marketing it in 2019. After working with the Buy Guide, a women-run blog based in Utah, to sell 5,000 Quenchers, the company resumed production in an increasingly broad array of colors. The product was the primary driver of Stanley's annual sales increasing from $70 million USD in 2019 to an estimated $750 million USD in 2023. Since successful influencer marketing campaigns for the Quencher, Stanley has shifted its marketing to sell primarily to women.

In 2020, the company hired Terence Reilly, formerly of Crocs, as its president; sales of Quenchers rose 275% between 2020 and 2021.

Quencher
Released in 2016, the Stanley Quencher became popular as a result of influencer marketing campaigns on social media, particularly TikTok. The sales started picking up in 2019.

The Stanley Quencher is a vacuum insulated tumbler-style cup offered in 14, 20, 30, and 40 fluid ounce sizes. Features include a removable straw, vacuum insulation to hold the contents at a desired temperature for a longer period of time, and is offered in multiple color options, some limited by seasonal offerings. Many limited edition quenchers have been released to date including some in partnership with Starbucks that have quickly sold out.

IceFlow Flip Straw Collection
The Stanley IceFlow Flip Straw Collection is a collection of vacuum insulated drinkware that utilizes a flip-straw design that is integrated into the cap. They come in 16, 24, 32, 50 and 96 ounce sizes.

Other products
In addition to the Quencher tumblers, Stanley also offers a handful of different vacuum insulated and non-vacuum insulated products including flasks, pint glasses, vacuum bottles, and other types of beverage containers. Stanley also offers outdoor coolers, lunchboxes, and camp cookware sets.