This was the line at my Starbucks to get the new Bearista cup…. We only got 6 of them and people waited over night for them…. I'm glad I didn't work this morning… #starbucks #holidaylaunch #bearista #barista pic.twitter.com/eT8y8pIsbS
— Silas (@Silas_Ottx) November 6, 2025
My dog My Guy and I were on a lovely morning walk yesterday when we came upon a Missing sign… for a Labubu. My Guy and I were dumbfounded; me by another instance of fad insanity, and My Guy over the fact that we had stopped for no apparent good reason. I bring this up because if Labubu and Stanley Cups had a baby, it would be this story: last week Starbucks rolled out their holiday menu and merch. Among the latter is their 20-ounce glass Bearista Cold Cup, a reusable glass cup in the shape of a teddy bear. It seems Starbucks teased the sh-t out of the Bearista online, because people camped outside stores in the wee hours to get their hands on these limited edition cups that go for $29.95 a bear. Only the coffee company took the “limited” part a little too far, as people were complaining all over social media that stores were woefully under-supplied. Like Starbucks coffee itself, the outrage was so bitter that the company issued an apology for the shortages:
Starbucks spox speaks: “The excitement for our merchandise exceeded even our biggest expectations,” a Starbucks spokesperson told us. “Despite shipping more Bearista cups to coffeehouses than almost any other merchandise item this holiday season, the Bearista cup and some other items sold out fast.” They added, “We understand many customers were excited about the Bearista cup and apologize for the disappointment this may have caused.” Starbucks did not return our request for clarification on how many Bearistas are being supplied to each store and how frequently they’ll be restocked. Still, they did say that customers can expect “more exciting merchandise coming this holiday season.”
‘Real consequences’: “I find it quite disappointing that a big company like Starbucks would release a new collection that clearly generates hype and inevitably, frustration,” one wrote. “I’m sorry, but this time the disappointment has real consequences. There are plenty of alternatives out there, and many of us feel let down.”
Multiple attempts: “I went to four stores (first one opened at 4:30), saw the barista put out two cups and then right as the clock struck 4:30 before opening the doors, went and purchased both of them before and acted like they didn’t get any at the store,” a user shared. “The other three I went to only got one in stock and one store didn’t get any. This was all before 5:30 in the morning.” “I got up at 4 a.m. and drove to a location that specifically said it would have this cup. I was first in line, they didn’t have it. i drove to four more locations, none of them had it and said they never did,” someone wrote. “If you are going to excite people over this then make sure ALL stores have supply. so many people are disappointed.”
Stores were only sent 1-2 Bearistas? Many fans claimed that the stores they went to were “sold out” of the cups — and some locations were only stocking one or two Bearista cups per store. “Why do we hype these up, then give stores only one or two to sell? Our store literally received one bear cup,” one person commented. “Not cool marketing, Starbucks, to only have one to two at each store and allow your baristas to buy them before customers. You should have had additional stock for your baristas and at least 10 to 20 for each store,” someone said.
There comes a time in every consumer’s life when a line of barcode is crossed, when the boxes of product are stacked against us so steeply that we are forced to call out the injustice we see. And by java, that time is now and its name is Bearista! Oh my latte. The righteous sense of grievance is killing me, y’all. The world is on fire and we’re maybe/probably witnessing the fall of the American experiment, but Starbucks not stocking enough bear-shaped cups is really the last iced coffee straw and there WILL be CONSEQUENCES! And you see why I said Bearista was the baby of Labubu and Stanley Cup, yes? Cause it’s like a Labubu-shaped Stanley Cup. Plus the same problems of brawls to obtain them, employees getting early access, and uber expensive resales. For, once again, a beverage cup. If only democrats could package voting as a limited edition water bottle, maybe then we’d get consistent high turnout.
Hey @Starbucks I need yall to please run it back on the Bearista Cup! I’m sorry I can’t camp out overnight, I got up as 6am thinking I’ll be able to get one. But apparently I needed to camp overnight….its so cute! pic.twitter.com/X2qFne1gtT
— Mitch (@DMitchumTX) November 6, 2025
Oh he’s so cute I’m obsessed 🥹😭😭🐻 #Starbucks #Bearista pic.twitter.com/lXT7kVFFuO
— Jami 🧡❤️🔥 (@jamisversion13) November 6, 2025
Got my daughter the #starbucks #bearista cup!! #girldad pic.twitter.com/ZPSamzFQ1d
— Ryan Salo (@RyanSalo3) November 6, 2025
These people will fight for anything but equality 🙄. These cups will be in the goodwill stores by January because the idiot who bought 40 of them couldn’t resell them on EBay.
I despair of people.
In my neighborhood in Toronto the people who wanted these and the hello kitty collection were kids, they were a really big deal for my 12 year old and her friends. I don’t know a single adult that was desperate for these, all of us who went to starbucks and got any of this collection did it for them. My starbucks had no lineup and we went in at 1:30pm for a after lunch coffee and got a hello kitty cup. Some of these videos online are crazy, watching adults stampeded and fight,
I’m old enough to remember the Tickle Me Elmo and Cabbage patch kids craze. Children have a short attention span and by January most of those toys were under their bed. Capitalism will be the death of us. Unfortunately these cups will end up in thrift stores or landfills.After watching the Buy Now documentary on Netflix I’ve really tried to be more conscious of what I spend my money on.
These are for kids & their little hands? And they’re glass? Oh, man, so many of these are going to end up broken!
First time I heard of this since I don’t drink Starbucks. That cup looks like it would be a bear to clean. No thank you!
Ha! That is the first thing that I thought of too!
It looks like the kind of utter misery that I hid in the back of cabinets before my son forgot about it entirely and I could get rid of it. I can’t imagine any cup being worth getting up at the crack of dawn.
My niece works in a Starbucks – one that is very busy. They got ONE and it went to the first of several people who were already lined up for the 4:30 am opening. There is apparently more coming in another week.
Umm, it’s cute but it’s not so cute as to warrant all that.
Especially when there are hundreds of other cute bear glasswear options out there. Honey companies, beekeepers have been doing that stuff for decades
https://www.foxhoundbeecompany.com/products/12-oz-glass-bear-honey-jar.
Walmart even has one – heat resistant, complete with green cap and straw, available on-line. So, aside from the scarcity and Starbucks logo, there’s not much special about theirs.
Yes! I saw somewhere online last night, you can get the exact glass for like $8 it just won’t have the logo or hat. And they created the scarcity by only sending 1-2 / store. They’re trying to get people to come back into the stores.
I don’t get it.
I like to thrift shop and will sometimes find Starbucks cups and mugs. Sometimes they are re-selling on Ebay for decent money (like $25) , but not enough for me to bother with it. I’ll get one if I think it’s cute, it’s in good condition and I know someone who will like/use it.
I will never wait overnight in line for a damned cup.
I camped out all night back in the day for concert tickets but I would never do that for a cup.
I went to Starbucks on thursday to get my first caramel brûlée latte of the season – it’s my favorite seasonal latte. I went in the afternoon though. The sign for the bear cup said “sold out for the season” and I asked the barista about it. She said they got ONE SINGLE CUP and people had camped out before they opened. No idea if they’ll get more. 😆 I went to work with my laptop at another Starbucks on Saturday and the poor barista fielded two calls from people looking for the cup.
It feels wild that they would promote this product all over social media and then provide so few cups.
I have been laughing at the reels where people are making coffee cups out of honey bear bottles. 😆
yeah, no. Fuck Starbucks.
Please support the workers going on strike in 3 days if a contract for improved labor conditions is not signed. Workers have long spoken out about serious issues of short staffing, unreliable scheduling, low pay, unfair labor practices, union busting, retaliation against those speaking up, illegal firings, racial bias, siding with customers harassing LGBTQ+ employees and the list goes on —
while the corporation promotes an image of performative allyship and greenwashing bullshit while forcing their struggling employees to be dependent on Medicaid and SNAP that is being yanked from underneath them.
Boycott Starbucks. Don’t cross the picket line.
Thanks for the heads up. I usually stop at a drive-thru Starbucks after my thrice-weekly lap swim at the Y. Will find another place.
solidarity @BeanieBean! <3
To me this just looks like the cheap plastic honey bee bottles you see in the grocery store. I don’t get the hype!
$tarbucks has certainly started something with these cups and mugs that people just HAVE to have. I watched my daughters lose their minds over the sparkly ones a few years back. I see all of them in Value Village and the Habitat store now.
Bread and circuses.
🎯
Yep. On to the next distraction.
Well I think we know who our next Dem nominee for President will be. Help us Starbucks Bearista you are our only hope.
My daughter manages a Starbucks. They got a box of 8 to sell. That was it. There was a line at 5:30 in the morning when she got to work.
I wish some people lined up to vote like that.
Maybe instead of an “I voted” sticker, states need to give away “limited edition” insulated cups or T-shirts to voters. 😆
Honestly. it’s pretty shitty of Starbucks to do that to their workers, like your daughter. They have to deal with people all day getting mad about the lack of bear cups. At the same, sometimes the drama can make the day go by quicker but still.
It’s silly to me…whether it’s a Starbucks cup or the Trader Joe’s mini totes or a limited edition Stanley, etc.
But whoever does Starbucks ordering is borderline incompetent. Not only for this, but for the last two years the Starbucks in my area have run out of the syrup to make peppermint mochas within the first week of the season. Personal opinions…the CEO, district managers and up thru the C-suite should be mandated to work in a front facing position in one of their busy stores from open til close the first couple days of one of these viral product launches.
People are so weird over cups.
I wish that they invested half of this enthusiasm in fighting for our democracy.
The world being a mess is the reason why we need bear cups! A small joy in a screwed-up world.
This situation reminds me of Meghan’s sold out products. She recognized that people would be bummed and frustrated by not being able to get her jam, so she added more stock. Starbucks, do better! Give the people what they want!
America is weird. On the one hand you have people not receiving their food stamps on the other you have people camping out at 4 am for a cheap looking 30 dollar cup.
This is intentional, and they’re going to keep restocking just a few per store. People will choose to keep buying Starbucks “just in case” the cups are in stock over the next 6 weeks. They’re trying to increase foot traffic and it’s working. I used to go daily. I quit on Jan 20th. I get cheap drip coffee from the gas station now. Fuck Starbucks.
I saw a post about how breakable they are … people are weird.
These 8.5X11’s are never beating these allegations.
I can only look at them and think how hard they’ll be to clean.
Tricia, yes, small joys.