I bought the viral Starbucks bear cup after camping outside the store at 1 a.m.
In October, I noticed that Starbucks was releasing its new holiday menu together with a small festive bear cup wearing a green hat and featuring a straw. My partner and I instantly decided we wanted one when it hit stores on November 6.
Initially, we assumed we could simply stroll into our local Starbucks around noon to grab it, but as launch day approached, the excitement around the cup exploded on social media. Everyone seemed obsessed with this little bear.
Realizing we weren’t the only ones eager to get it, we decided to find out how many the nearby stores might have. On the evening of November 5, we marked five local Starbucks locations on a map and visited the busiest one to get a sense of what to expect.
“We asked the barista how many they had — seven, they said.”
By 1 a.m., we were already outside the store, determined to secure our cups. When doors finally opened, we managed to grab the only two Bearista cups available. Many other customers who showed up later were disappointed to find that none were left.
Though it was just a small collectible, the frenzy around this limited-edition cup proved how powerful online hype can be when it comes to seasonal merchandise.
Author’s Summary
Paden Ferguson recounts how viral buzz led him and his partner to camp out overnight to secure one of the last remaining Starbucks Bearista holiday cups.