The cult of the water bottle girlies making hydration cool

Owala, Stanley, Frank Green or HydroFlask? thirsty communities are popping off

By Darshita Goyal14 Feb 2024

3 mins read time

Did you know that an Owala water bottle is called that because when you drink from it you look like a koala? It’s leak-proof, insulated and dual coloured: apparently if you leave the bottle with ice cubes overnight, you’ll wake up to them still frozen. Fun facts, right? Now imagine if you’re reminded of this every single day IRL and on your FYP: either someone’s saying it in a GRWM video or carrying it on the tube.

Rewind to a month ago when TikTok was abound with the same fervour but for another water bottle: the gigantic Stanley Quencher. Tweens were reportedly fighting each other in supermarkets for the limited edition Valentine’s Day colours (some collectors have over 100 tumblers!) while someone else’s Stanley survived a car crash, making it the ultimate hero of thirst quenchers. The cups’ cult status plummeted just as quickly when reports of them containing lead emerged.

But Stanley and Owala are hardly the only water bottles to touch fame. Remember the pastel-hued Frank Green bottles that took over the internet in 2023? TikTok couldn’t get enough of the brand’s Lucky Bag Mystery Box promo that allowed customers to place an order without knowing what colour they’re going to get. Then there’s the Yeti, the Bink, every brand's fave merch bottle Nalgene (ours too!) and the starter of the cult water bottle: the HydroFlask. At the height of VSCO’s popularity in 2019, a cool girl was never spotted without her emotional support HydroFlask.

If you’re wondering how we got here, there are some signs. Gen Z talks about hydration a lot. We had the “stay hydrated” memes, water bottles with motivational quotes and trackers, the rise of smart tumblers and hydration apps to track your water intake and of course, #WaterTok, the impassioned online community that drinks flavoured water to meet their daily goal. And as studies show, young people today are terrified of ageing. This also influences their relationship with water, you know, for flushing out toxins and rewarding better skin.

But it still feels weird to think that water is “trending”. It’s like if oxygen suddenly had a moment and we start investing in breathing (oh wait). According to trend analyst and content creator Tariro Makoni, the water bottle’s position as a necessity is what makes it appealing to us today. “Water bottles have been an integral accessory throughout our lives, from your first sippy cup as a toddler, to bringing a water bottle to grade school. It doesn’t surprise me that we’re assigning comfort to them, almost as a transitive property between being nurtured as a child and nurturing yourself as an adult,” she says.

At a time when there’s global despair and uncertainty, individuals are prioritising self-care more than ever and hydration is a low-barrier, easy access path to wellness. Unlike floatation tanks and sound baths, a water bottle (even a spenny branded one) costs less than £50 and can be reused for years. Raika Aban, 26, rarely leaves the house without her emotional support HydroFlask. “I keep it with me at my desk at work, and even cuddle up with it in bed when I’m reading. There’s just something so comforting about my bottle,” she tells woo. “I think it also says that I take my hydration very seriously and I like that.”

Tom Novak, senior behavioural analyst at Canvas8 also thinks Gen Z is drawn to water bottles because it shows a “commitment to productivity and personal wellbeing”. The water bottle’s role as a signifier makes it even more attractive. Carrying an Owala on you says you’re in-the-know with what’s trending, care about the environment and are big on hydration. Similarly, if you have a limited edition Stanley, it reveals just how quickly you can cop a product while a HydroFlask reps a classic girlie.

This in turn creates a subculture of people spotting each other with bottles in totes or in hand and knowing that they have something in common. If you’re surprised that your water bottle can say so much about you, you’re not alone. This habit of identifying common threads to find belonging has seen an uptick in young people since the pandemic. Trend forecaster Coco Mocoe says, “Gen Z lost a lot of their access to community and identity with the way the world shifted in 2020. A lot of them missed out on graduations or starting their first in-person job.”

Mocoe believes this lack of support groups and experiences has made the young generation obsessed with spotting -cores and micro-trends that help them bond. In this context, “heavily marketable water bottles in bright colours make for great accessories. They are easily noticeable in person and in videos,” she adds. Touching on this idea, brands have convinced young people that these water bottles can become even more customised, niche and representative of their identity with accessories.

You can buy waterproof stickers, snack trays, straw covers, phone holders and even charms to fit your sippers. While culpable buyers are looking at these trends as a way to express themselves and find community, brands – across categories – come out winning. The cult of the water bottle girlies is the hydration version of the Adidas Sambas girlies, the Ganni tie-up top girlies, the Diet Coke girlies and the dispo vape girlies. And no, this doesn’t just affect the girls and gays… anyone else seeing men wearing Carthartt everywhere?

All this to say, whether you’re an Owala koala or a Stanley stan, you should use a reusable water bottle, make her cute and colourful too. But you don’t need to switch it up every time a new brand finds its five seconds of fame. There’s community in consistency. Stay sipping <3