Did the internet create a must‑have cup — or just a very expensive game of musical chairs? Either way, the Bearista Cold Cup has become the season’s most awkward holiday accessory.
The short version: Starbucks’ teddy‑bear shaped glass cup sold out almost immediately when it launched in November. Instagram and TikTok turned the 20‑ounce glass critter (complete with a green beanie lid and striped straw) into a viral obsession. Out of the blue, Starbucks told fans to check the app for "your chance" on Dec. 8 — and then revealed that 17,000 genuine Bearista cups would be offered as prizes in its Starbucks for Life / Merrython instant‑win game.
How the restock actually works
This isn’t a traditional restock. The cups are part of Starbucks’ holiday instant‑win promotion in the Starbucks app that runs December 8 through January 4. That means you don’t simply tap “buy”; you play for a prize. According to Starbucks’ promotion rules, there are limits on plays (one prize play and one sweepstakes entry weekly, plus up to two prize plays per day with ways to earn extras) and the giveaway is capped at one cup per person. The Merrython kickoff was scheduled for early morning Pacific Time — 4 a.m. PT — which only intensified the scramble.
If you want to try: download the Starbucks app, make sure your account and payment details are up to date, and watch for prize‑play opportunities. There’s also a no‑purchase entry route for the sweepstakes, so you don’t need to buy anything to enter, though many people earn plays by making qualifying purchases.
Why people were angry (and why resellers were happy)
The first drop in November was unevenly distributed — many stores reportedly received just one or two cups. The result: lines, cross‑country hunts, viral videos and a predictable resale market. Original retail hovered around the low‑to‑mid $20s to $30 depending on reports; resale listings quickly pushed prices into the triple digits. That scarcity prompted Starbucks to apologize publicly and to lean on app‑only drops to try to control chaos.
App‑only availability can cut in‑store lines, but it brings its own headaches: server crashes, confused users, and accusations that the company moved from scarcity into a kind of luck‑based distribution. Many customers expressed frustration about the lack of clear timing and app glitches when the Dec. 8 tease rolled out.
Walmart and copycats: when a trend becomes a product category
Where there’s demand, there will be imitators. Walmart quietly listed bear‑shaped glass cups with the same size, hat topper and striped straw — but without Starbucks branding — selling across a wide price spectrum (reports showed listings from around $10 on clearance up to about $35). For shoppers who only wanted the aesthetic — and not the Starbucks logo — the dupe offered an instant, affordable solution and took pressure off the resale market.
That dynamic is worth watching: when big retailers sell lookalikes, it undercuts the secondary market and changes the conversation from "did you get it?" to "did you care about the brand or just the vibe?"
What this says about modern merch drops
The Bearista saga is part hype, part scarcity economics, part platform play. Companies now use apps and instant‑win promotions to manage launches and keep fans engaged — a digital lottery of sorts. That trend sits alongside other shifts in mobile commerce and promotions, like platforms expanding digital gift options and smarter in‑app features that change how brands reach customers; for context on how apps are becoming retail layers, see how digital gift partnerships are expanding on platforms like Google Play Google Play’s new digital gift shop and how apps are experimenting with more proactive booking and commerce tools Google’s AI Mode and agentic booking.
If you missed both the original drop and the Merrython
You have options: hunt the resale listings (prices may have cooled a bit since the first frenzy, but authenticity is a concern), buy a lookalike from a major retailer, or treat the whole episode as a small lesson in how quickly internet culture can inflate ordinary things into collectibles.
The Bearista cup won’t change the world. But it shows how a tiny piece of merch can expose the messy overlap of fandom, commerce and technology — and why brands are experimenting with giveaways, app exclusives and gamified drops to keep attention (and revenue) spinning.