How the Starbucks Bear Cup fiasco actually benefited their competitors
Dare I say the Starbucks bear cup is more popular than a Labubu?
This holiday cup just broke the internet.
Starbucks just dropped its holiday bear cup and they’re sending stores no more than two units.
The result? Absolute chaos. Lines wrapped around buildings, people posted TikToks leaving empty-handed, and resellers listed the cup for $50,000 (because why not).
People haven’t been this excited for cups since Stanley dropped their limited-edition Valentine’s Day tumblers.
While Starbucks continues to receive backlash for selling out its viral cups, other brands are winning from their strategy.
Walmart and Aldi released their own “bear-adjacent” holiday cups at a lower price. And on socials, they posted a bear-shaped honey jar, poking fun at Starbucks’ hefty price tag.
This is competitive hijacking in real time. Instead of creating scarcity, these brands are solving it. They’re inserting themselves into a conversation Starbucks started, then redirecting frustrated customers straight to their aisles.
Aldi dropped its own gingerbread cup for $4.99 while Walmart posted its own “Walmart version” of the bear cup (which earned a “ 😅 ” comment from Starbucks).
We’ve seen this playbook before with fast food companies. Wendy’s is known to be an expert in competitor hijacking, lashing at McDonald’s’ throat any chance they can get. Remember the Frosty Fix campaign? Wendy’s parked frosty trucks outside of McDonald’s with broken McFlurry machines. It screams, “I’m better than you.”
This is further amplified by the fact that the pace of organic social content allows brands to monitor competitors’ cultural moments and respond in real-time. From a quick comment to an unhinged social post approved by legal in under 24 hours, these reactions not only generate buzz, but it creates a storyline between brands.
These storylines then turn into online tropes that people remember (like Coca-Cola and Pepsi).
And the brands that know how to keep up with their competitors and capitalize off of moments like these will benefit from the most buzz.
What are your thoughts on the Starbucks bear cup craze?