It wasn’t that long ago that the Stanley Cup was the object of desire for girls and young women, bringing stamps to Target stores and causing chaos across middle schools. But the trend has changed: the stylish Owala FreeSip bottle is now the must-have water bottle for Gen Z.
But there are still movies.
The Owala bottle, which costs $27.99 for a 24-ounce version, has amazing, similar-looking fun colors like Poolside Punch, Sunny Daze, or Tangy Tango. Tan bottles are combined with orange and green lids, for example, bright pink bottles come with lids sporting a combination of tan, gray and red.
Some customers don’t like these color combinations, so they make their own bespoke Owalas by changing the bottle caps on the store shelves.
Caroline Nguyen, a parent in Texas who makes TikTok videos about parenting and shopping, found that at her local Target store, the mix of colors and bottles in the Owala section was pure chaos.
He told BI that so many covers have changed that it is impossible to tell which is the right mix. He found a white bottle, for example, with five different lid options.
Business Insider visited a Target in Virginia and found that the Owala area has some mismatched bottles — including three tan bottles with three different lids.
“We encourage customers to think about other Owela fans and avoid pushing the lid over the bottle at any store,” Holly Bennet, PR representative for Owala, told Business Insider.
Owala sells replacement covers on its website for $6.99, which customers can buy to mix and match in color.
Walk-in department at Target. Hayley Peterson / Business Analyst
Insurance coverage change is not a harmless crime. The Frankensteined water bottle is causing headaches for some Target employees, according to two users and several Reddit and TikTok posts from people who say they work for the retailer. In some cases, unfit Owala bottles have been collected to be thrown away, donated, or returned to Owala, officials said in the letter.
A sales representative in Texas told BI that they find four or five non-conforming bottles a week before the summer, and that the problem has increased in recent weeks. The employees who spoke to BI asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak for Target. Their work is supported by BI.
“As soon as school goes back to school or we get new paint, it will drop to two or three a day since we’re one of the biggest stores in the area,” said the Texas employee. .
A couple of mismatched Owalas on the same day can quickly add up if this happens at most Target stores.
“It doesn’t sound like much, but we were told to destroy two bottles in one swapped bottle for the fact that it was a Frankenstein creation from two existing colors,” said the Texas employee, referring to their supervisors. The original instructions for tracking the goods did not match.
Later, the instructions changed: The employee said that they were told to stop removing the bottles that do not fit the product and let people buy them.
An operator in Massachusetts told BI that inconsistent bottles have also created problems with online orders.
“The cups displayed on the website are the exact color scheme that Owala made and sent to us, so if the lid is on, we cannot sell the cup they requested,” the employee said.
Target did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
Nguyen, who owns his (appropriately enough) Owala FreeSip, has insurance providers. “I think people are trying to get a color combination they like without realizing the problem it’s causing for the store,” he said.
Carly Christy, a college student, said she covered the lid to make a tan bottle with a tan-green lid. He posted an apology on TikTok after seeing several other videos about how he was a problem.
“I’m happy with my Owala and use it every day, but now I know that I’m changing the cover and causing problems for the users who want something and I won’t do it again,” he said. Business Insider.