Buc-ee's fans are going wild over $25 Valentine's Day tumblers. Here's what it's all about
Not long after Santa finished delivering his last presents, Springfield's newest travel center began stocking what would become its hottest commodity: a 40-ounce tumbler.
Buc-ee's fans didn't waste any time racing to the new Springfield location, which opened last month, for the travel center's Valentine's Day collection, which includes a 40-ounce Yukon Outfitters tumbler.
The Valentine's Day tumbler is white with a baby pink handle, rim and straw, featuring cartoon candy hearts and the Buc-ee's beaver sporting heart-shaped sunglasses. The phrase, "Buc-ee's will never break my heart" is sprawled across the tumbler with "2024" on full display. The tumbler's retail price is $24.98, according to a TikTok video posted by a shopper.
One of the first online mentions of the Valentine's Day tumbler appeared in the "Fans Of Buc-ee's! Springfield, Missouri" Facebook Group, which contains more than 30,000 members dedicated to the travel center, on Dec. 26, 2023. Facebook user Kellie Kvittum Walsh shared a photo of the tumbler, which quickly flooded with comments.
When will Buc-ee's get more Valentine's Day tumblers?
As of Friday, the Springfield location remains sold out of the tumblers. A Buc-ee's spokesperson told the News-Leader on Wednesday that a restocking date has not been confirmed.
Texas Snax, the largest online reseller of Buc-ee's merchandise, was sold out of the tumbler as of Friday. Texas Snax is reselling the tumbler for $44.99.
It appears that Buc-ee's fans who desire the tumbler will need to be prepared to pay an inflated price, as several are available on resale websites like eBay for more than double the original cost. Listings range anywhere from $41 to $150 on eBay.
The hype revolving around the Valentine's Day tumbler isn't just in southwest Missouri. TikTok videos about the tumblers have tens of thousands of views, with the most popular video, posted on Dec. 26, reaching more than 980,000 views.
In addition to the ever-popular tumbler, Buc-ee's Valentine's Day collection includes two t-shirts, socks, hair bows and scrunchies, a coloring activity book and a plush cupid beaver, which also appears to be popular.
The tumbler trend
The online craze about Buc-ee's Valentine's Day tumbler appears to be a part of a larger trend related to limited edition tumblers circulating on social media.
On Wednesday, Starbucks and Target released a limited edition Stanley tumbler that has caused both excitement and tension nationwide. The 40-ounce Stanley Quencher is glittery pink, featuring the Stanley and Starbucks logos on the side in silver. The tumblers were only available at Target.
The hype of the tumbler's release led to people camping outside of storefronts and racing once inside, just to ensure they got their hands on one. Several Targets even executed a two-tumbler maximum for customers.
This is not the first limited edition project Stanley has released in conjunction with Starbucks. The two brands released a peachy-pink tumbler in May 2023 and a red tumbler a few months later in November, according to USAToday reporting.
At retail price, the Starbucks x Stanley tumblers cost $49.95, but similar to the Buc-ee's tumblers, they are selling for double, triple and even quadruple that price on resale sites like eBay and Mercari.
USAToday reported on Wednesday that a Starbucks spokesperson said the tumbler will not be restocked in stores and products will only be available "while supplies last." The tumbler was unavailable to purchase online, as of Thursday.
A Target spokesperson told the News-Leader on Thursday that the Springfield location received the limited edition tumblers but all have sold out. The spokesperson said it is unknown if the store will receive more.
Why are Stanley tumblers so popular?
The Stanley brand has been around for more than 100 years, founded in 1913, and the tumbler that appears to be getting most of the attention, the 40-ounce FlowState H2.0 Quencher, first hit shelves in 2016. Stanley claims that these stainless steel tumblers, which come with handles and reusable straws, keep drinks hot for up to seven hours and cold for 11 hours. The Quencher comes in a variety of colors, from standard black and white (which they call "Frost") to "Tigerlily," a bright orange, and "Pool," an aqua blue.
Like most microtrends, the Stanley Quencher came to "power" via social media influencer marketing. The tumblers have become the face of WaterTok, a TikTok trend in which users share videos of them using syrups and powder packets to flavor their water, and the "Clean Girl Aesthetic," a minimalist approach to natural beauty. The tumblers large size and sleek design helps it fit into both trends.
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The Quencher received even more attention in Nov. 2023 when a TikTok of the tumbler survived a car fire with ice left intact. The video garnered more than 9 million views, and in response, Stanley offered to gift the woman a new car.
It seems like every few years a new (and bigger) reusable water bottle is all the craze. Prior to Stanley tumblers, it was the Hydro Flask and before that, CamelBak. These trends date back all the way to the 1970s, with the rise in popularity of the plastic Nalgene water bottle, according to Spoon University, an online food publication.
Tumblers like the Stanley Quencher and Buc-ee's Valentine's Day exclusive surely won't be the last of their kind.
Greta Cross is the trending topics reporter for the Springfield News-Leader. Follow her on X and Instagram @gretacrossphoto. Story idea? Email her at gcross@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Buc-ee's Valentine's Day tumblers sold out quickly. Here's why
