Stanley

How a 100+ Year Old Water Bottle Brand Found Revitalized Success

Stanley, the century-old brand known for its steel bottles, found unexpected success over the last few years thanks to a rebrand of its Quencher water bottle and the savvy use of social influencer marketing. When Terence Reilly joined the company as president in 2020, he embarked on a listening tour and was introduced to Ashlee LeSueur, the co-founder of an ecommerce blog called The Buy Guide. She had purchased her first Quencher in 2017 after falling in love with the product, and began to gift it to her friends and recommend it to her followers. Reilly partnered with The Buy Guide to promote new and exciting colors of the Quencher, leading the product to sell out in days and become the brand’s top selling bottle in 2020. Since then, the Quencher has remained Stanley’s top selling item, and with more than 100 colors to choose from, the utilitarian product has quickly turned into a fashion accessory. According to CNBC, the company, which once averaged $70 million in annual sales four years ago, has grown to a $750-million-a-year business.

By Courtney Connley