Over the past few years, a certain water bottle that everyone must have has been trending. These water bottles are discovered through social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram and align with an era that matches an aesthetic that teens and young adults were trying to achieve.
Starting strong with Nalgene water bottles. These are clear plastic water bottles that are also sold in various colors. This bottle started to trend in the late 90s and early 2000s. In my personal opinion, this became the IT water bottle because it was promoted to be used for hiking and outdoor activities. This water bottle also had the measurements for how much water you drank and a big screw-off cap.
Following Nalgene, CamelBak water bottles then became the next new thing. This water bottle trend started in the early 2000s and peaked in 2007-2008. For Generation Z, this bottle was released and trended in middle school. From my personal experience, everyone and their mother had these water bottles in middle school. It was the It water bottle since it was sold in several colors and had the iconic silicone straw. For this reason, it made much sense for it to start trending, and whenever I hear about the brand, it reminds me of those years in middle school.
After CamelBak, S’well water bottles started to trend in 2016. This water bottle was the first to have different characteristics, so it began to trend. S’well water bottles are metal instead of plastic. They were tall and skinny, and I once again owned this water bottle in middle school. This was again the time that it was trending for Generation Z.
There were no huge water bottle trends from 2016 until 2019. 2019 was the iconic era of VSCO girls embracing a summer aesthetic. 2019 was the year of Hydro Flasks. This was when people realized that water bottles could trend and wanted the same thing as everyone else. The trend of having a Hydroflask was all over social media, and memes were created about having these water bottles.
Finally, the last two water bottles are “fighting” for the new trending water bottle; the Stanley and the Owala. The Stanley Cup started to trend on TikTok as of last year and was purchased by millions. The 40-ounce cup was being sold for $40 and was loved because of how big it was with a wide variety of colors and styles. After Stanley became successful, Owalas slowly started to trend but could not compare to Stanley’s sales. As of this year, within the past few months, Owalas have started rising in popularity.
As of right now, I have a Stanley that I must stress was a gift because of the price – I would not buy it for myself. However, since water bottle styles are constantly changing, it is hard to track the next trending bottle. I think Owalas are going to be on the rise for a while but my prediction is that the Owala will continue to trend and I’m hoping another bottle similar to the Owala will trend and not another cup with a straw! I want something different!
I hope you enjoyed reading about water bottle trends!