A glass cup with a bear in a balaclava is not an obvious thing to line up for before sunrise. Last year, plenty of people did, and one scene from inside a store went viral. This year, Starbucks has put a number on how many a customer can take home.
Starbucks limited store purchases of its Bearista Glass Cold Cup Surprise Box Edition to two boxes per customer when the cups went on sale Nov. 10, the New York Post reported, a safeguard after shoppers were filmed wrestling over a single cup during last year’s drop. Each box holds one of five glass cups for $39.95, and one of the five is a rare gold bear that Starbucks had not yet revealed.
Five Bears, One Blind Box
The five characters are Reiny, Aspen, Joy, Bunny and Goldie, according to the New York Post and TODAY. Each cup is hand-blown glass and ships with a personality card describing its vibe, holiday tradition and signature Starbucks drink order.
TODAY described them one by one. Aspen is the skiing bear, an “alpine adventurer.” Reiny is the reindeer, a “giddy-up glow-getter” who likes classic holiday movies such as “Home Alone.” Bunny is a snow bunny and “winter wanderer” whose color changes when the cup is filled with a cold drink. Joy is the ice-skating bear, a “whimsical winter dreamer” who collects snow globes.
The New York Post added that Reiny wears a Rudolph-style balaclava and a North Pole straw topper, and that Joy has a snow globe hat. Goldie, the golden bear, was described by TODAY as the rarest of the bunch, so the luckiest box-openers may find it. A themed cup makes an easy gift, much like the picks in a holiday gift guide for cat people, though a blind box leaves the character to chance.
What Happened Last Year
The two-box limit follows a drop that turned chaotic. The New York Post pointed to a viral TikTok video from last year’s release, in which frantic shoppers were filmed wrestling over a single Bearista cup inside a store. The clip, from the account @jerjericciardi2, is from the previous drop and not from this week’s sale.
Delish said the original cup sparked a frenzy at release, with limited stock leading to long lines, fights and inflated online resales. The New York Post reported that the cups fetched up to $200 on eBay and $800 on Mercari, citing TODAY. A Starbucks spokeswoman told the Wall Street Journal that demand last year exceeded the company’s biggest expectations, and that customers lined up before stores opened.
Delish also noted that some fans have turned to affordable look-alike cups on Amazon, and that the chain’s limited-time collection has inspired other coffee chains to try their own version. The cup’s first run reportedly generated $64 million in incremental revenue over two weeks, according to the data firm Facteus, as relayed by the New York Post. That figure is a report rather than a Starbucks number.
A $39.95 glass cup is the kind of purchase that gets compared with products Americans overpay for without realizing, and shoppers weighing a blind box can borrow ideas from a list of ways to save money fast.
Anyone buying a cup from a reseller should also take the payment method seriously, a point that comes up in a list of things never to do on Zelle, Venmo or Cash App. Spreading a purchase across installments brings its own questions, covered in a guide to buy now, pay later loans.
Where the Boxes Were Sold
Delish reported that the surprise collection would arrive only in limited quantities. The surprise boxes were available at select locations nationwide, the New York Post reported, which means not every store carried them. Starbucks Rewards Reserve members got early access on the Starbucks Shop beginning Nov. 9 at 1 p.m. ET, capped at one cup per member. The Starbucks Shop opened to all customers on Nov. 10 with holiday Bearista apparel, including hoodies, sweatshirts and T-shirts.
According to Wikipedia’s company profile, the Starbucks Rewards program launched in May 2008, and the chain sells official merchandise such as mugs and tumblers, with a new holiday collection each year from November to January. Starbucks was founded on March 30, 1971, at Pike Place Market in Seattle.
The Rest of Starbucks’ Holiday Calendar
The Bearista boxes land in the middle of a busy stretch. TODAY reported that Starbucks rolled out its holiday cups on Nov. 5, including, for the first time, a seasonal pup cup. New drinks include the Tiramisu Velvet Latte, Tiramisu Velvet Cold Brew and Apple Pomegranate Refreshers, alongside returning favorites such as the Peppermint Mocha, Caramel Brulee Latte and Sugar Cookie Latte.
Red Cup Day returns Tuesday, Nov. 17, when customers can take home a reusable holiday cup with the purchase of a holiday beverage, TODAY said, with the design still to be announced. On Tuesday, Dec. 1, the original Bearista Glass Cold Cup returns to coffeehouses while supplies last, and three Snowcap Marshmallow drinks arrive, along with a marshmallow-flavored cold foam. The Merry Berry Frappuccino follows on Dec. 17.
For anyone who missed the surprise boxes, that Dec. 1 return of the original cup is the next date to watch.
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
Image: Donald Trung Quoc Don – CC BY-SA 4.0/Wikimedia Commons
