- Owala is exploding in popularity as Gen Z’s new favorite water bottle, with the company transforming from a family business to a social media sensenation.
Next time you’re at the gym, airport, or just walking down the street—take a close look at the water bottles people are carrying. You may easily recognize the long-popular Stanley cups or Hydroflasks, but the longer you gaze, you may notice dozens of multi-color bottles taking Gen Zers by storm: the Owala.
The company has skyrocketed in popularity thanks to viral TikTok posts, a loyal fanbase, and strategic partnerships with major retailers. Each bottle comes in five different curated color shades and can be found lining the shelves of Target, Whole Foods, Dick’s Sporting Goods and more.
Viral color drops, like the “Bowala”—an Urban Outfitters exclusive—have created demand on resale sites so high that fans pay over $100 for a bottle. Owala has also landed coveted branding deals with Disney (including Star Wars, Marvel, and Disney Princesses), NASA, Joanna Gaines, the San Diego Zoo, and more. Collectively, this marketing success has helped propel Owala to be the bottle of choice for thousands of Gen Zers.
But for many consumers, Owalas are more than just another water bottle, they’re a way to be seen, express personality, and even an emotional crutch.
More than just another water bottle–they’re emotional support
While the pandemic was a dark spot for many Americans, Owala saw almost immediate success. Michael Sorensen, CEO of Trove Brands—Owala’s parent company—says it is because the bottles became a source of positivity during a bleak time.
“We all know how dark things got during those several years, and so I think Owala coming on scene as a bright spot and as a little bucket of joy, I think actually really helped a lot,” Sorensen tells Fortune.
While most families sat at home in lockdowns, videos of nurses loving their FreeSip bottle helped the brand explode. They tapped into this with clever social media tactics like sharing the company’s tagline of being just for “the people who need to drink water” and emphasizing the mental well-being benefits of having a water bottle that matches your personality.
Owala’s true explosion came with users finding emotional solace in their bottles.
“@Owala will forever be my fave emotional support bottle with how cute their designs are and how well it keeps me hydrated,” posted one user on TikTok. Another video, just of an influencer unveiling her new bottle, has garnered over 400k views. “It’s my child,” wrote another user.
Collectively, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of examples of Gen Z women in particular who have taken to platforms like TikTok to express that despite all the turmoil and stress in the world, their new water bottle will always stay by their side.
Using FOMO to build an Owala empire
In 2021, the company started doing giveaways on its website—dishing out free water bottles to the first 5,000 customers who could make it through checkout. Since then, the company has launched a website scavenger hunt to similarly give out free bottles and heavy discounts—and it’s translated into lasting customer engagement.
That’s how Suzie So first stumbled on Owala. After receiving her bottle, she fell in love—so much so that she founded a Reddit community, which now has over 22,000 members. Every day, fans turn to the platform as a place to show off their latest finds, covet their wish list, and even try to purchase rare bottles.
Owala has mastered the art of exclusivity to fuel demand and grow its fanbase. With every new bottle color drop—there have been hundreds released so far—only a limited batch hits the shelves, turning each launch into a race to buy before they sell out.
“They do a really good marketing strategy of creating FOMO (fear of missing out), so, it sells out pretty much within less than an hour of the drop. Once that happens, the aftermarket picks up,” says So, a mom of two who serves as the sole moderator of r/Owala.
Avoiding becoming just another trend is the number one hot-button internal topic, Sorensen says, acknowledging that there is not necessarily a shortage of water bottle options out there.
“When we look at the hydration market, we acknowledge a lot of other brands that are already in here, and they’re doing well, and they’ve got a loyal following. We’re not going to try to just be them again,” Sorensen admits.
What’s different, he says, is Owala’s ability to bring excitement for something as mundane as water drinking.
“We hear from people over and over and over again: ‘So I was skeptic. It’s a water bottle, and then I take a sip and like, I’m enlightened,’” he says.
Owala’s overnight success was seven years in the making
Owala’s parent company, Trove Brands, was founded close to 25 years ago by Sorensen’s parents, Kim and Steve Sorensen in their Utah living room—where they invented the now widely popular BlenderBottle (used to make protein shakes). Since then, the company has expanded to six different brands. But just because his bosses are mom and dad, it doesn’t mean he has an easy ride of running Owala.
His parents’ philosophy on employing family is: they’ll give you a job in the warehouse, but otherwise you had to prove yourself worthy.
“They were always deliberate about having us report to non-family members and giving us a chance to sink or swim,” Sorensen says. “And that’s something that was important to me: making sure I felt like I was earning improving, not just being handed everything.”
During his studies at Brigham Young University, Michael joined the company as a marketing assistant, and as he describes it, threw some ideas around and worked his way up. His 10-year journey to vice president of marketing included many mistakes, but he says it helped him develop as a leader who deeply cares about a product from start to finish.
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What’s important to remember, he says, is that Owala was not an overnight success.
The first attempt at launching the FreeSip water bottle largely failed, he admits, because they tried to put it under the BlenderBottle brand—and consumers didn’t know their bottle wasn’t necessary for blending. Instead, they learned from their mistakes and tried again: “Ultimately, we pulled it back off the market, and we said, we’ve got to build this the right way,” Sorsensen says.
“It took seven years to get the FreeSip bottle design to the point that it is today because we are obsessed about the user experience,” he adds. “We’re obsessed about quality. We’re obsessed about making things easy to clean.”
His advice for other entrepreneurs looking to successfully bring a product to market, even after a rocky start?
“There’s always an element of luck,” he says—but it’s persistence that turns luck into results.
“If you’re willing to put in the 80-hour work weeks. If you’re willing to eat, sleep, drink, breathe, your idea and your product, and you’re going to get out there and you’re willing to keep pushing through the failures, you’re going to be successful.”
Owala declined to share any financial details of their company.
