Nalgene Cup



The Nalgene Cup is a proprietary product of Nalge Nunc International. The initial production of the cups yielded only 50,000 pieces, and were used by athletes and promoted during the 1976 Winter Olympics. Though the initial line of the cups were designed with the athlete and outdoorsman in mind, the full line of Nalgene Cups has grown, today, to include products marketed to: toddlers, the tween demographic, the young professional market, baby boomers, and the elderly. The Nalgene Cup came under some scrutiny and controversy in 2007, due to various opinions and early research findings out of the public health and professional medical community. The cups were thought to be made of a controversial chemical commonly used in the manufacturing of plastic goods, BPA. However, it's been concluded by the FDA and other health inspecting agencies in the United States and the European Union that if the cups are used within the designed range, the chemical will not be released.



Today the popular cup line is a success for the parent company, and produces the bulk of the revenue for its stake- and shareholders. Lines include products made of stainless steel as well. In 1999, the first stainless steel line was launched to great fanfare. Though the marketing expenditure was an issue addressed by investors and analysts at the regular shareholder meeting prior to launch, by the next fiscal year, in 2000, shareholders were praising executives of the company for having the foresight to diversify out of the plastic cup line. Today these cups are ubiquitous and can often be found at highly visible sporting engagements, such as the 2005 Tiger Woods Foundation Juniors Golf Championship. The Nalge Nunc has taken some odd chances with marketing in recent years.

In 2003, the company agreed to a sponsorship-endorsement deal with pop star Justin Timberlake. The deal called for him to place the company's various cup products on stage, forcing his choreographers to re-work many of his dance routines. The cup has inadvertently found other-free-ways to market itself. For example, in a 2005 bank robbery attempt in Minnesota, a security guard on break, used the steel cup to jam the door that was to be the robbers' escape door. The steel cup's unique design made it possible for the security guard to lodge the product just between the door and the door's frame, effectively locking the robbers within the room before the bomb proof shielded door.