The “Bearista” Craze

Starbucks recently released its 2025 Holiday Merchandise and among the patterned cups and mugs, one stands out: The Bearista, a glass tumbler in the shape of a cute bear wearing a Starbucks beanie. Designed to hold cold drinks, they claim it brings “instant joy to every sip”, pricing it at around $30, but its price has varied drastically with the increasing demand of Starbucks enthusiasts around the world, reaching costs of a few hundred dollars.

Why has it gotten so expensive you ask? Well for one, people have an inclination to buy things they find small and cute. Like the earlier craze for Labubus or Sonny Angels, the Bearista is essentially Starbucks’ take on such products. Additionally, there was always a limited amount of the bears, likely because the company anticipated the hype consumers would have, and with high demand, prices tend to increase, allowing them to profit.

Videos online demonstrate the scarce supply as calls about the Bearista became so frequent, some stores had to automate a message that they were sold out. Not only that, but employees also recorded themselves setting aside bears to buy themselves as getting your hands on one later one would be quite difficult. That being said, it wasn’t like there were alternatives, in fact, there were a lot. Retail stores like Walmart have near identical replicas to these bears(minus the logo of course). But these carbon copies are priced at a similar range, where the hundred of dollars price tag comes from is through online marketplaces.

Etsy, Ebay, Shein, you name it. Sellers on these sites who have procured the Starbucks Bearista are upselling them like crazy. While most are only a few tens more than the original selling price, others go for almost double and eventually, hundreds more than the normal $30. And you might be thinking, surely no one would buy a cup that is that expensive, but people are. The desperation people have to obtain the Bearista has convinced people to make these controversial financial purchases, and as a result, it has sort of become a meme in itself.