Starbucks is providing fans of its viral Bearista Cold Cup a new way to snatch up the popular tumbler with news that it will be available through the Starbucks app after the initial in-store drop sold out almost immediately. The company teased the shift in a brief social post directing customers to the app, a signal that the next wave will be digital and probably rationed.
How to get the Bearista Cup through the Starbucks app
The most obvious suggestion at this point is that access will be available through Starbucks Rewards, possibly in the form of a game or instant-win mechanic directly on the app. Newsweek noted that 17,000 Bearista cups would be offered as part of the Starbucks Rewards instant-win game related to its seasonal “Starbucks for Life” sweepstakes experience. That’s in line with the way Starbucks has previously utilized gamified drops to incite app activity in past promotions.
- How to get the Bearista Cup through the Starbucks app
- Why the Bearista Cold Cup took off and sold out fast
- Anticipate heavy app traffic, glitches, and timeouts
- How to increase your odds during limited app drops
- What Starbucks gains from app-based merch drops
- Bottom line on the next Bearista Cup app opportunity
- What to do: Answer survey questions and download apps for points that can be redeemed for gift cards.
- How much you’ll make: Varies.
- Practical steps: Check the offers.
Keep an eye out for pop-up tiles or banners that advertise the promotion, and turn on push notifications so you don’t miss one of these extremely narrow windows. If the experience isn’t immediately visible when you relaunch, force-quit and relaunch the app, or use the desktop account page as a backup.
Why the Bearista Cold Cup took off and sold out fast
The Bearista Cold Cup — a cute 20-ounce glass tumbler emblazoned with the face of a bear in a knit beanie — represented a perfect storm: limited allocation, collectible design, and the larger moment in branded drinkware mania.
Early store shipments were limited, and many stores said they sold out minutes after opening on the first day, while other locations never received inventory at all. That scarcity drove secondary-market prices up, with eBay listings rising to $200 — and beyond, in an example of the kind of bidding war that occurred during Stanley Cup madness.
When a product has gone viral as a signaling device on social platforms, traditional retail throughput cannot keep up. A limited-run collectible like the Bearista Cup ceases to be merchandise so much as a lottery ticket, which is one reason it makes strategic sense for Starbucks to shift the next opportunity into its app.
Anticipate heavy app traffic, glitches, and timeouts
Early signs suggest the digital queue will be no less intense. Those who’ve accessed the promotional tiles describe experiencing app hiccups and website timeouts, with error messages like “Whoops! Something’s not right on our end” and “We’re busy brewing up a fresh new site.” Submissions on Reddit have echoed more widespread problems with loading. Translation: There will probably be more demand than capacity at peak times, so being persistent helps.
How to increase your odds during limited app drops
- Sign in early — and stay signed in. Authentication slowdowns can trip you up when promo tiles finally appear.
- Use a good, stable Wi-Fi network and have another device handy. If the app freezes on your phone, consider using a tablet or going to the desktop account page.
- Enable push notifications and email alerts. Tiles with limited-time offers often appear with very little warning.
- Preload your e-wallet and ensure you have the correct default store. This decline is probably yet another NVI, but frictionless checkout is nice when Starbucks has a normal purchasing path, too.
- Do not repeatedly refresh for a long time. There’s not much that can be done to prevent a rate limit if you hammer away, but short bursts and then breaks can work well (and let cached pages reset).
What Starbucks gains from app-based merch drops
The Bearista wave-driving move is a flywheel play through the app. Starbucks currently has more than 34 million active Rewards members in the U.S., and by recent earnings calls, Rewards spending makes up well over half of U.S. sales. Mobile order and pay sits around 25–30% of all transactions. Limited-edition merch drops help convert casual users into daily openers, driving time in app and purchase frequency across beverages, food, and gift cards.
Moreover, scarcity reconfigures commodities as media. Seventeen thousand units is a microscopic drop in the bucket compared with the Rewards base — but millions of people will hear about all that free stuff. Even losing customers are pushed to seasonal drinks or bonus star challenges, and to buy gifts during a critical retail window. It is a classic engagement funnel, but with a cute bear costume.
Bottom line on the next Bearista Cup app opportunity
The next Bearista Cup opportunity is now in your Starbucks app, probably in instant-win or game form, with tiny quantities. And, while traffic spikes continue, keep your app updated, look for promo tiles, and expect intermittent outages. With such low supply and high demand, it’s a lottery — worth a shot, but make sure you come into the process with sober second thoughts and your next move if you don’t win.