Stanley Cup frenzy: Here’s how much it costs to get one in SA

Would you spend over a thousand rands on a vacuum cup? If your answer is a straight up ‘no’, then you’ll be surprised to find out there’s a significant number of South Africans who are willing to put their money where they’re mouths are – literally.

The Stanley Quencher H2.0 Cup recently sparked social media frenzy after a viral TikTok video showing the remains of a burnt down vehicle. All the contents were scorched by the blaze, except for one item – a seemingly indestructible stainless steel cup whose ice cold contents remained unscathed.

Following the rationally inconceivable visual content, many people were left wanting to get their hands on the fancy fire-proof vacuum cup. But, exactly is it and how much does it cost?

Well, if you have R1,299 to spend, then you might be the target market.

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Century-long heritage

The Stanley brand has been around for more than a hundred years, manufacturing stainless steel vacuum cups, however the famous Quencher was only introduced in 2016 – but didn’t quite take off from the onset.

Its market breakthrough only came a year later when a popular blog, The Buy Guide endorsed the cup in 2017, causing a social media craze.

The blog, ran by a group of women, also suggested possible colours the company could add to its palette.

“They had a keen eye for what colours might work for their audience, and they were right,” Stanely Global president, Terrence Reilly told CNBC.

The company heed the call, introducing pastel colours – which saw sales gradually taking off, before eventually skyrocketing.

“It was a slow build over many months, and then you could see that the waiting lists began to grow,” said Reilly.

Stanley’s revenue grew from $73 million in 2019 to $750 million in 2023, with the Stanley Quencher claiming its spot among the company’s best sellers.

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‘Influencer’ power

The combination of experience and the willingness to embrace new ideas has proven to be a winning formula for Stanley’s global president.

Prior to joining Stanley in 2020, Reilly worked for popular shoe brand Crocs where he was pivotal in revolutionising the once ‘bland’ slip-on shoe.

He played a role in the company’s move to introduce a new range of colours and patterns to appeal to a younger demographic. As a result, Crocs became a social media sensation and sales shot through the roof.

Reilly has managed to work his magic once again, attributing some of his success at Stanley to lessons acquired from his journey with Crocs.

“My experience at Crocs [taught] me that that kind of influencer opportunity was just the magic that Stanley might need, and we were right.”