I bought the viral Starbucks bear cup after camping outside the store at 1 a.m. They only had 2 in stock.
Paden Ferguson and his partner managed to get the only two viral Bearista cups available at their local Starbucks. Customers were frustrated by the very limited stock of these bear cups. This essay is based on a conversation with Paden Ferguson, CEO of Padiano's Kitchen, and has been edited for clarity and brevity.
The excitement around the Starbucks holiday bear cup
In October, Paden noticed Starbucks announcing their new holiday drinks and desserts, including a special bear cup adorned with a green beanie hat and straw. For weeks leading up to the release on November 6th, he and his partner discussed how they would get one right on launch day.
They initially assumed it would be easy to just walk into the store at noon and buy the cup. However, they soon realized others had the same plan, as the cups were becoming extremely popular on social media.
Planning and preparation
As the release date approached, they decided to check how many cups their local Starbucks locations would have available to better understand the competition. On the evening of November 5th, they visited five nearby Starbucks stores, focusing on the busiest location.
“We asked the barista how many they had — seven, they said.”
Despite the number, it was clear that demand was high and supply would be scarce on launch day.
Camping out and limited stock
Paden and his partner camped outside the Starbucks store starting at 1 a.m. on November 6th. When the store opened, they were able to purchase the last two bear cups in stock.
Many customers were disappointed because the availability was so low and the hype around the cup was immense.
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This note highlights the media attention the viral cup received during its launch.
Author’s summary
The viral Starbucks bear cup generated huge excitement, but extremely limited stock forced fans to camp out and left many disappointed.