I’ve tested nearly 20 Stanley cups and their dupes over the past few years as an analyst in the Good Housekeeping Institute Kitchen & Cooking Lab. These 40-ounce tumblers, with their comfortable handles and built-in straws for easy sipping, have become wildly popular and highly collectible. While plenty of water bottle and outdoor brands have jumped on the tumbler trend, one shift I didn’t anticipate was large appliance brands redesigning their products to accommodate these oversized vessels.
My team and I just returned from the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show, where the influence of Stanley cups was unmistakable throughout the convention center—a trend I don’t see going anywhere.
Water dispensers now accommodate bigger capacities
Refrigerator water dispensers don’t have a standard size, but most measure about 9 to 10 inches tall and 8 to 9 inches wide. At the show, Midea, KitchenAid, and Samsung stood out for enlarging their external dispensers to fit extra-large water bottles and tumblers over 10 inches tall. That means no more awkwardly tilting your tumbler to fill it up—you can simply rest it on the dispenser shelf and let the fridge do the work.
This feature will roll out on new refrigerators coming to market soon, including select Midea models, the KitchenAid Counter-Depth French Door Refrigerator with Intelligent Auto Fill, and Samsung’s Bespoke AI 3-Door French Door Refrigerator.
Cleaning a water bottle is easier than ever
I don't know about you, but washing a tumbler with multiple pieces or a narrow water bottle can be a pain, even with a bottle-and-straw brush on hand. I often throw them in the dishwasher and am sadly disappointed when I remove them dirtier than when they went in.
Two new dishwashers from Monogram and Midea caught my team's attention for their ability to deep-clean bottles. Monogram's new dishwashers feature dedicated bottle jets designed to deep-clean taller items like oversized water bottles, pitchers, and, of course, tumblers. Midea's new 24-inch Top Control Dishwasher with STRAWash and SENSOR TruDry features many thoughtful details for tumbler users. It has new high-pressure jets that can clean narrow straws and tall bottles, and even a spot to hold tumbler lids.
Collectible designs and colorways aren’t just for tumblers anymore
Tumblers have undeniably become a form of personal expression—you might carry a heart-covered design in February or choose one that matches your outfit for the day. At the show, though, it was clear that large appliances are becoming a bold statement in their own right.
Tired of white or stainless steel? JennAir debuted a colorful array of refrigerator panels, including my favorite: a shimmering finish made from upcycled shells. Meanwhile, BlueStar and True Residential showcased large appliances in vibrant, eye-catching colorways.
Stanley cup users unite!
As an avid Stanley Cup user and tester, I can’t overstate how excited I am about these innovations in the large appliance space. If the large-capacity tumbler trend has shown us anything, it’s that we’re all trying to drink more water—and our homes are starting to reflect that. With that push to hydrate comes the need for appliances that can handle our oversized bottles, help keep them cleaner, and, of course, still align with our personal style.
