I bought the viral Starbucks bear cup after camping outside the store at 1 a.m. They only had 2 in stock.

I bought the viral Starbucks bear cup after camping outside the store at 1 a.m.

Paden Ferguson and his partner managed to get the only two viral Bearista cups available at their local Starbucks. Customers were frustrated by the extremely limited stock of the bear cups.

Background on the bear cup launch

In October, Starbucks announced new holiday drinks and desserts along with a special holiday bear cup featuring a green beanie hat and straw. Paden and his partner planned to get the cup on its release day, November 6th.

Initial expectations and social media buzz

They assumed it would be easy to just walk into the store at noon on launch day. However, they soon realized that many others had the same idea since the cups were going viral across social media, and people were very excited about the bear design.

Preparation and local market research

As the release day approached, Paden and his partner decided to check how many cups their local Starbucks locations would have in stock to gauge the competition. The evening before the launch, they visited their five local Starbucks stores, focusing on the busiest one.

"We asked the barista how many they had — seven, they said."

Ultimately, they secured two of the scarce cups by camping out at the store at 1 a.m.

About the author

This account is based on a conversation with Paden Ferguson, CEO of Padiano's Kitchen. It was edited for length and clarity.

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Author's summary: The viral Starbucks bear cup caused a frenzy, with very limited stock leading customers like Paden Ferguson to camp overnight just to secure one.

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Business Insider — 2025-11-06