The Hydro Flask product line.

I remember the first time I experienced Hydro Flask’s ability to keep iced beverages cold, even in the record-breaking, sweat-inducing heat of a New York summer. The temperature must have been in the 90s, and I begrudgingly walked to the subway in the heat. Now anybody who knows how hot New York subway stations can be in the summer can tell you that it feels like you’re sitting in the warmest sauna, but dirtier and smellier. I opened my Hydro Flask bottle to discover that the ice cubes I had put in there that morning were still in tact. How could this be possible? I drank my ice-cold water with a sigh of relief from the heat. Hydro Flasks also keep warm beverages hot for 12 hours, even when it’s freezing cold, so you can keep your drinks at the temperature they were meant to be consumed at. 

The Bend, Oregon company recently celebrated its 10th anniversary. I questioned Hydro Flask general manager Scott Allan about the evolution of the brand over the last decade, from how it started to where it is now, and how it turned into one of the VSCO girl’s accessories of choice.

What prompted the founders of Hydro Flask to create the brand in Bend, Oregon in 2009?

While living in Hawaii, the Hydro Flask founders were drinking lukewarm water out of a bottle on the beach and had an epiphany about a better, reusable water bottle experience that kept cold liquids cold or hot liquids hot. The founders created Hydro Flask with vacuum insulation to do just that and changed expectations about what a water bottle could do. One of the founders had lived in Bend previously and knew that the Central Oregon community would be a great place to start an outdoor lifestyle brand like Hydro Flask: people here love where they live and want to take care of the places they play and call home. The spirit of Bend underscores not only Hydro Flask’s products but also drives our company culture — hikes before work, company ski trips or grill sessions on a sunny day.

From the beginning, Hydro Flask changed the perception of what a water bottle could be. Up to that point, vacuum technology was thought of as something that was only used for hot liquids like coffee, and only came in the form of a big, bulky thermos. Hydro Flask applied that same technology to a reusable, lightweight yet durable, portable, safe and aesthetically pleasing product that functioned like a thermos yet looked and felt like a water bottle. It truly changed the idea of what a water bottle could be, and what it could do — ultimately leading to the creation of a new category and as a result, a better experience for consumers. 

How long did it take Hydro Flask to develop TempShield Technology?

From the beginning, innovation has been at the core of our commitment to deliver delight to our customers. We started out with the same vacuum insulated technology in thermos-type bottles that’s been around for 125+ years; within a few years, our team of engineers and production partners had pioneered improvements that were simpler, better for the environment and delivered enhanced performance. TempShieldTM is our unique way of applying double-walled vacuum insulation — from our unique sealing process to the proprietary ovens and dedicated lines we use to ensure quality control — all of which ensure temperatures remain icy cold for 24 hours and hot up to 12.

What was your product line in 2009? How has it expanded since then?

In the beginning, there were two bottle sizes — an 18 oz. and a 24 oz. bottle — available in a variety of colors that when coupled with TempShieldTM technology, proved to be a differentiator for us. Our original male and female co-founders had the foresight to offer an inclusive palette when competitors at the time were producing limited colors, and nearly all single-wall stainless steel bottles. In response to consumer input, we expanded our hydration line with additional capacities and Wide Mouth designs, while also innovating in new areas. We introduced the first vacuum-insulated beer growler, inspired by the amazing craft beer movement in Bend and across the Pacific Northwest, then followed with coffee flasks, food flasks, wine bottles and tumblers, kids’ bottles and large vessels meant for sharing. Leveraging our insulation mastery, color expertise and delightfully simple design aesthetic, Hydro Flask then launched into soft goods – creating the lightest-weight soft coolers on the market, in addition to the first insulated hydration packs designed to keep cold water cold for more than four hours. Most recently, we launched reusable insulated grocery totes and lunch totes this August. These are just the latest steps in our commitment to innovative, high-performance insulated solutions that help people enjoy active, outdoor lives.

What was Hydro Flask’s initial marketing strategy?

Cash was tight for the founders, so the marketing strategy relied upon product experiences and word of mouth. The first Hydro Flasks were sold at the Portland Saturday Market and festivals in Bend, Oregon. The founders put ice in the bottles the day before and let people see how Hydro Flasks performed the next day when the bottle was left in the hot sun yet still had ice cubes floating inside. Even the most skeptical consumer knew his/her water bottle could not do that. This convinced people to purchase, and later they returned with friends that also wanted a Hydro Flask. 

After a few years of the local markets and a bit of growth, we hired our first marketing person and began to put a focus on public relations and social media. The small budgets forced us to be creative and we developed hard-working tactics, such as overnighting ice-filled bottles to media across the country with hand-written notes describing the contents and the environment (ie the temperatures) in which the items were packaged. This helped to garner us good early exposure and eventually we extended this tactic to our sales team in helping us open doors with key retail buyers. The launch of our social media further propelled word of mouth since Hydro Flasks quickly became a favorite for gifting and peer-to-peer recommendations. Hydro Flask’s inclusive and playful nature was helpful in setting the stage for this word-of-mouth growth.

What makes Hydro Flask different from its competitors?

There are three things that make us different: A relentless focus on experience; our brand and the values behind it; and our charitable giving program Parks for All.

Our focus on experience starts with product incorporating striking simplicity, clean design, attention to detail and a performance that all combine to deliver a superior user experience. This includes everything from TempShield Insulation in our bottles, Cold Flow System in our packs, our focus on color, and everything in-between.  

The essence of the brand, complete with joy and a focus on living happier, healthier and more sustainable lives outdoors, is a key differentiator. Our brand is rooted in our culture and inspires active, outdoor lives through two simple words: Let’s Go! We are proud of how this focus, cause, and brand essence are resonating with the core values of our consumers. Today, we are the #1 water bottle brand in Outdoor and Sporting Goods as well as Natural Foods (sources: NPD and SPINS).

 Lastly, with the values of the brand well established and our consumers in line with these values, we want to give back to the areas that help us lead these active, outdoor lives. For us, parks represent the conduit for becoming better people, whether through exercise, mental rejuvenation or social emotional health via family and community connection. Parks for All directly ties into this by giving back through monetary donations via grants and product donations to nonprofit organizations whose missions line up with building, maintaining, restoring, or providing better access to public green spaces – whether that be city parks, public beaches, trail and river corridors or the grander national parks. Since the launch of the program in 2017, we’ve given over $838,000 to 63 non-profits and donated nearly 17,500 bottles. This is something that our employees are passionate about and that our consumers are proud to support. 

 How much has the business grown in the past decade?

From the beginning, the company has flourished. Prior to the acquisition, Hydro Flask was twice named to the list of Inc. 500 Fastest Growing private companies. During this period, we saw consistent four-figure percentage growth rates. Since the acquisition, Hydro Flask has been a part of the Housewares Division with Helen of Troy, which consists of two companies – us and OXO, based in New York City. Because of this, growth rates for Hydro Flask are no longer broken out separately but the division itself continues to thrive, including the recently disclosed growth rate of 23.6 percent in Q1 of FY20.

 I remember how amazed I was when ice cubes survived a scorching hot day in my Hydro Flask bottle in New York. I opened it a good eight hours after I filled it when I was in the subway. What are some other anecdotes that you’ve heard?

We’ve heard countless stories, and after all these years we still love them. It’s truly a testament to how connected our consumers are to their Hydro Flasks and how passionate they are about the brand. Stories include a consumer that cried when TSA attempted to confiscate her Hydro Flask at an airport security checkpoints so the empathetic TSA agent snuck the bottle back to the consumer. We’ve heard of people that were lost on hikes, returned to their car very dehydrated, found an extra Hydro Flask in the car with cold water that they claim may have saved them. We’ve even had multiple people email us after a house fire (in which everyone was safe) telling us everything burned down and their charred Hydro Flask still had ice in it. We have people tell us continuously that they don’t leave home without their wallet, iPhone, or Hydro Flask.

To what does Hydro Flask owe its success?

There have been many contributors including those mentioned above – innovation, culture, brand, business strategy, etc. Throughout our ten years, we’ve also put a large focus on partnering with the right people, whether that means vendors, retailers or ambassadors. Ultimately, we look to align ourselves with other businesses and individuals who share similar values and similar outlook in driving positive change for both their customers and fans, as well as the environment in which we live. With this in mind, recently we’ve seen the brand really resonate with younger, active consumers who love the outdoors. This is a group that spreads their affinity for a brand quickly through social media and word of mouth. We are pleased to see them take to Hydro Flask given that these are the generations that will face enormous environmental challenges. These consumers care and are quickly finding brands that reflect their values – in our case quality, reusable products that replace single-use plastic. They are also proud to support Hydro Flask’s charitable arm Parks for All, thereby ensuring there are clean, well-maintained public lands and green spaces that people everywhere can enjoy. Our products and giving create a virtuous cycle in which more consumers are encouraged to get out and live healthier, happier, more sustainable lives.

What are your current best-selling items?

As an outdoor company catering to active, on-the-go consumers, our hydration lineup has always been very strong. Our newest categories, including soft coolers, hydration packs and lunch and grocery totes, are in their early years and resonating with our core fans as well.

What is your current business strategy?

Our business strategy builds upon our successful playbook of understanding consumer needs, delivering a great product and elevating the experience within core hydration and across a larger number of categories. Our strategy now leverages Helen of Troy – including their capable shared services platforms designed to successfully support leadership brands on a global basis. Hydro Flask benefits from this, as do other Helen of Troy leadership brands like OXO, PUR, Braun, Hot Tools, Vicks, Honeywell and Revlon.

What’s new for the 10th anniversary?

Innovation, new technology and new products are always on the forefront here. Our latest products include our Insulated Grocery and Lunch Totes, which were just released in August. Additionally, we have a few new products on the docket for release for the holiday season. Looking ahead, we’re introducing our new Trail Series bottles in Spring 2020, which includes our Ultralight Trail Series: Titanium bottle, the lightest weight vacuum insulated bottle on the market.  

What does Hydro Flask think about being an accessory of choice for the VSCO Girl?

The association with VSCO happened naturally. We started as an outdoor brand, and our core consumer remains active, on-the-go individuals who love the outdoors. With this in mind, we have not directed marketing specifically toward this movement. However, our reaction for anyone using Hydro Flask products is the same: we love seeing people making a conscious decision to help eliminate the use of single-use plastics by carrying reusable products and having a little fun and expressing themselves in the process. 

What’s next for Hydro Flask?

After ten years, Hydro Flask has had great success and yet there are untapped opportunities for the brand. These include regions in the US where awareness remains low, international markets, and new categories, like the Insulated Grocery Totes and Hydration Packs, that we just recently entered. We are excited by the brand’s potential and feel that our new tagline “Let’s Go!” sums it all up perfectly. Let’s go!