Like a plague, certain trends may have a huge impact that can reach a global scale. Even so, these trends can cause some people to act like savages over a simple item, such as a reusable water bottle. In today’s consumer-driven world, that might not seem surprising, but decades ago, few would have believed that water bottles could become coveted status symbols.
A quick walk down the history lane of today’s most popular brands yields some surprising facts, and a possible hint at which bottle may emerge on top for 2026.
S’well
Travel back to 2015, the year of dark monochrome colors with a hint of marble. The S’well water bottles became popular with their trendy patterns, alongside their collaboration with Starbucks. The bottles were stainless steel with either a solid color or a popular design incorporated onto the bottle, and a tube shape that was a start of the Instagram baddie look. These water bottles became a staple fashion accessory and dominated all the way from 2015 to 2019, until the year the VSCO girl was born.
Hydroflask
The year is 2019, the air smells like Wild Flower Honey from Bath & Body Works, and sunsets look like a Monet painting. Everyone is wearing baggy sweatshirts, Crocs, scrunchies, Pura Vida bracelets, shell necklaces, and saying phrases like “and I oop,” and “sksksks.” Most importantly, they are carrying around a Hydroflask.
The Hydroflask bottle was the staple of the “VSCO girl” look, symbolizing the VSCO aesthetic (so-named after a photo editing and sharing app of the same name). Hydroflasks came in pastel colors ranging from a baby blue to a guava color. When the VSCO girl aesthetic died out, so did the Hydroflask, hence the beginning of the “evil” era of water bottles.
“I love the VSCO girls, and I’m glad they saved the turtles, sksksks,” said senior Chloe Ford.
Stanley
Flashback to 2023. There are hundreds of people at Target fighting over finding a different shade of red on a tumbler cup, marking the start of a very long era called the “Stanley Cup epidemic.”
Stanley cups came to be associated with the preppy/clean girl aesthetic–due to their range of colors that range from a hot pink to a millennial gray– and the social media influencers who used them. The trend of adding a cute little straw topper onto the tumble became very popular, with toppers that looked like flowers or ones that looked like little sharks. A light was found at the end of the tunnel on Stanley road when the Owalas entered the scene, to the relief of some consumers.
“I feel like every time I dropped my Stanley it would spill, plus it wouldn’t fit into my backpack pouch,” said senior Ladashia Tinsley.
Owala
The 2025 season brought a new bombshell into the villa, and it was not Chelley or Olandria; it was the Owala water bottle. The bottle became popular for its pastel colors and designs that offered a wide variety of aesthetics, and its value really took off after people saw the bottle lids that looked like a koala’s nose when they lifted them to their mouths. In addition, the bottle can be put into the water bottle pouch on backpacks with ease, a feat that challenged Stanleys.
Today, the water bottle craze has yet to end, with people still going to Target to fight over the latest popular colors. It’s a frenzy that has yet to reach its peak.
“I feel like it’s like the Stanleys all over again,” said junior Lief Lines.
So when it comes to the battle of the bottles, some predict the water bottle of the year is going to be the Owala, due to the fact that they are still being sold out in stores like Target and the Owala website. The brand continues to hop onto different trends, keeping itself relevant. While Owala has yet to release official sales numbers for 2025, it’s estimated that Owala sold 7 million water bottles last year and captured 10% of the U.S. reusable water bottle market.
Will Owala keep its number one spot or succumb to a new challenger by year’s end? Time will tell.
