Whitney Leavitt Says This Utah Company Is the New Stanley Cup

‘The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ star’s favorite water bottle has won over Gen Z and millennials, like her, landing on the Inc. 5000 three times.

BY ALI DONALDSON, STAFF REPORTER @ALICDONALDSON

Whitney Leavitt. Illustration: Inc.; Photos: Courtesy CoolSips, HydroJug

All the water bottle wars lead through Utah. The state sparked the Stanley cup boom after three moms posted about the 40-ounce colored stainless steel tumbler on their blog, the Buy Guide. Their recommendation eventually led to a flurry of celebrity collaborations, billions of TikTok views, 150,000-person waitlists, and annual sales growth approaching 300 percent for the more than century-old company. Now, the state is powering the explosive growth of a homegrown rival: HydroJug.

The company, which is based in Ogden, Utah—about 40 minutes north of Salt Lake City—has won over one of the state’s most famous residents: Whitney Leavitt. The star of Hulu’s Secret Lives of Mormon Wives Star tells Inc. “It’s the new Stanley.”

Leavitt even pulled out her HydroJug during our interview to discuss her new role as the chief creative and brand officer of Cool Sips, a New York City-based chain selling dirty soda, the Mormon-fueled trend of soft drinks mixed with flavored syrups, fruit purees, and creams. “I’m literally drinking out of one right now,” says Leavitt, who called HydroJug one of her “go-to Utah brands.”

The biggest draw? The design, Leavitt says. Compared to the stiff straws that come with Stanley cups, the HydroJug tumblers feature flexible straws that can be flipped down and locked closed, making it easy to throw in her bag. “Whereas a Stanley, I couldn’t do that, because it would just leak everywhere,” she says. 

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The seemingly simple design choice by founder Hayden Wadsworth has converted legions of customers and turned them into loyal fans. After launching in 2017, the company grew by 9,032 percent and surpassed $10 million in annual revenue within its first three years. That pace was rapid enough to land the company at No. 33 on the Inc. 5000 in 2021. 

Wadsworth and HydroJug did not stop there. The water bottle brand has maintained that velocity for nearly a decade, landing on the Inc. 5000 twice more, most recently last year, when HydroJug posted a three-year growth rate of 119 percent. The company has done that by winning over millennial and Gen Z consumers. Its colorful water bottles, which range in price from $30 to $55, have become so popular with teenagers that Casey Lewis cited HydroJug as one of the top 15 most requested holiday gifts of 2025 in her popular newsletter “After School,” which follows Gen Z trends. 

Call it the Utah effect.

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