Hosana Fieber
Chief Executive Officer / Tervis
Trends may come and go, but a quality product withstands the test of time. Tervis, a premium drinkware brand led by CEO Hosana Fieber, has shown in its 78-year history that it’s possible to stay culturally relevant without sacrificing the standards that make its offerings last a lifetime.
No longer seen as just a vessel to sip on a beverage, premium drinkware is now an accessory—like luxury purses or well-crafted shoes, the products must keep up with the trends while still maintaining the quality for which the brand is known.
Enter Tervis, the maker of classic insulated drinkware that everybody knows and loves. Its products are made to be seen, allowing the owner to show off personality and preferences. But, even when capitalizing on the latest crazes, there’s always a focus on maintaining the integrity of the product that was developed decades ago and still withstands the test of time.
“Tervis is such a legacy brand,” said CEO Hosana Fieber in a magazine interview with CEO North America. “We’re a 78-year-old company, so there are just so many things that we have done—but there’s so much potential for the future.”
The trends change so quickly in the premium drinkware category, but Tervis seamlessly honors its history while also giving customers what they want in the moment.
“There’s a nostalgia with the brand because it brings people together,” Fieber shared. “It lives in the moments that are special because you can memorialize them on your cup.”
“There are people who have the best Tervis stories. They can take you back to 35 years ago when they got their Tervis.”
Growth at Home
A third-generation, American-owned and -operated company, the Tervis brand started at home—or, at least, home-adjacent—when entrepreneur John C. “Jake” Winslow sought a solution to the problem of keeping drinks cold and hands dry while enjoying life in the sun.
“You had it on your dinner table. You had it on your patio,” Fieber said. “You had it poolside. You had it on the boat.”
She referred to the “legacy side” of the product lines, which are the classic, double-wall-insulated tumblers that don’t break and are backed by a lifetime guarantee. Although Tervis offers plenty of other products, including on-the-go options, Fieber said that the company is focusing on expanding the products used primarily at home.
“How you outfit your home matters so much,” she said. “We can outfit your dinner table or your patio set, and you tend to keep that for a while.”
“These products have a lifetime guarantee. Whatever you design or buy, you have forever.”
‘Nimble and Flexible’
A key facet for Tervis’ business strategy is to stay “nimble and flexible,” allowing the company to respond quickly to trends. For example, when the popularity of the recreational racquet sport pickleball started to soar, Tervis quickly formed a partnership with the Association of Pickleball Players to become its official, exclusive water bottle, as well as developed a pickleball design for its tumblers.
Tervis has a robust sales and operating process (S&OP) that provides forecasting, giving the team a preview of what is coming, “so we can react if we need to react,” Fieber added. The company needs to constantly predict the next viral hit to be successful in the industry.
But even without the company’s help, Tervis’ customers can be nimble through the use of the company’s customizer. Driven by software created in-house, the customizer allows a customer to personalize products with photos, names and other designs.
“The customizer is one of the biggest and most prideful things we’ve created, as far as technology,” Fieber exclaimed, noting that they’re currently working on enhancing the customizer using artificial intelligence. “We fortunately do not have a lot of competition in that space.”
Growth Outside the Home
Although Tervis may be refocusing on its legacy products at home, Fieber is quick to note that the company sees “opportunity for growth” through products made for customers who are on the go.
Some exciting recently released options include a new straw lid for the 30-ounce tumbler, as well as the 24-ounce Venture™ Light water bottle, the company’s lightest water bottle yet in the plastic category. The new water bottle also comes with the new two-in-one VersaLid™, which allows a person to chug from a water bottle or use a straw instead.
The company prides itself on offering premium drinkware. For example, the stainless steel product line is “the most premium product that exists in the market today,” Fieber shared in an interview with CEO NA. She ticks off its attributes one by one: “Triple-insulated, dishwasher-safe—even if you have a design on [the cup], it will not chip off. It looks super-sleek.”
“The main challenge is that everything changes so quickly in this category. Drinkware has just become almost like an accessory. So what’s the next fun thing?”
“As far as premium goes, we’re the mark,” the business executive explained. “We’re not the cheapest, but we’re the mark of what premium is.”
Fieber sees growth potential in other places, too—not in the product lines, but geographically. Tervis sales are concentrated in the U.S., with the largest share of sales occurring in the Southeast. But, Fieber believes, the company is “geographically primed to be outside of the U.S.”
Outsourcing for Success
Although Tervis has long manufactured its products in-house, there comes a time when that business strategy makes less sense. “Our business is very seasonal because of gifting,” Fieber expressed. “So you have a huge spike at the end of the year.”
Therefore, the company has started outsourcing some of the manufacturing to a partner that they’ve worked with for 22 years. This frees up resources for the internal team to expand on the company’s product offerings.
In the end, it’s about what makes the Tervis customer happy with their experience. “We want all of the touch points that the consumer has with the brand to be as frictionless and flawless as possible,” Fieber said, “so that they have the best experience, whether it’s with the website, at one of the stores, at one of our retailers, or just calling our customer service.”
